Drill has officially gone global.
From London to New York to France and now Ghana, the genre birthed on the streets of Chicago in the early 2010s has spread like wildfire.
Just last month, a clip of a Ghanaian drill music video went viral.
“Sore”, a track by emerging rapper Yaw Tog, left Twitter users across America, the United Kingdom and Ghana eager for more.
Featuring Life Living label-buddies Jay Bahd and O’Kenneth, Yaw Tog’s “Sore” is one of many Twi-infused drill cuts coming out of Kumasi, Ghana.
The movement, which has been dubbed ‘Asakaa’, has generated so much buzz in and around the country they’ve nicknamed the city ‘Kumerica’ (a portmanteau of ‘Kumasi’ and ‘America’).
On lead with production and management, Rabby Jones is one of the core founders of Life Living Records.
Along with Kwaku DMC and Sean Lifer, they came up with the name Asakaa and manage the rappers and source production.
“Asakaa is just Twi expression on a drill beat,” Jones explains. It also comes from a secret language used by a lot of the young boys out in Kumasi—a pig Latin-like language that consists of shifting initial consonant, or consonant clusters of each word to the end of the Twi word.
For instance, Kasa, which means “talk” or “language”, becomes Saka, which is the name of this secret language.
Beyond the music, the assimilation of traditional Ashanti culture and American hip-hop culture depicted in their videos has been thrust into the light.
The blending of local culture and Western influence has created what is called “Akata”. Akata is a fashion and lifestyle, where young people dress like Black Americans from the early 2000s.
One can trace it back to the 1980s, when many Ashanti men travelled to America and Germany to look for work. They often came back home with baggy pants, Timberland boots and gold chains, and is now a part of everyday life.
Although their music videos and lifestyles depict a strong gang affiliation, the unit representing Asakaa music is all about unity.
In August 2020, the Life Living crew organised a clean-up exercise in the traditional royal neighbourhood of Manhyia, where the King of the Asante Kingdom lives. They did this as a contribution to their community.
I took a trip from my base in Accra, Ghana, over to Kumasi to get to know the artists leading the drill music train in Africa right now. Here’s what went down.
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Yaw Tog
At just 19, Yaw Tog is the youngest in the scene.
The high-schooler is tasting fame for the first time with his single “Sore” (meaning ‘rise up’), which topped the Apple Music, Audiomack and Boomplay charts upon release.
Waking up to see the track he recorded with his friends in their home studio go viral on Twitter, and then on Instagram, was more than a dream come true.
“I know I couldn’t have done this without my brothers,” he says.
“We all work together, and we all push our sound together.”
His brothers, in this case, are O’Kenneth, Jay Bahd and City Boy, who featured on the single. “Sore” has become the anthem for Asakaa and Yaw Tog has become its poster boy.
O’Kenneth
O’Kenneth’s deep tone makes him stand out in the Asakaa crowd.
His persona in his music is very different from his own personality; the seriousness reflected in his bars is levelled with his playful nature.
The jester out of the group, he shares jokes the entire time we hang out and admits that if he didn’t find rap, he would have become a footballer.
Always sporting a red bandana, O’Kenneth, like the rest of the Life Living squad, is a self-proclaimed Blood.
His stance, like the others, is that it’s all about community and loyalty, and never violence. O’Kenneth wouldn’t hurt a fly, it seems, adding all the more intrigue.
Sean Lifer
Sean Lifer is the quiet, unassuming leader of the pack whose label, Life Living Records, is the home of Asakaa.
In the developing area of Santasi, Sean and two others set up a recording studio—which they affectionately call their “trap house”—and it quickly became a safe haven for young creatives.
Sean created the space for his “brothers” to create music and express themselves.
Their journey to drill set off in 2019 after the late Pop Smoke’s “Dior” spread across the continent.
Prior to Asakaa’s popularity, the crew were hung up on straight-up hip-hop, making music inspired by Lil Wayne, 2Pac, 50 Cent and even Young Thug.
Although some think that they’re blindly copying American culture, it is far from their truth.
“This is what we grew up on,” says Sean.
“We grew up on hip-hop, on 2Pac and Biggie. Africa isn’t just drums and forests! We are proud of our culture, but we also see what goes on around the world.”
Kwaku DMC
Having built a cult-like following over 10 years in the Kumasi underground scene, the success of Asakaa for rapper Kwaku DMC is just icing on the cake.
“We’ve been pushing this sound for a long time,” he says.
“Everyone else is just becoming cool to it. If they move on, we’ll still be here, doing our own thing.”
For many, the question looms on if they understand and/or promote gang culture.
“We understand gang culture, we know the signs and the calls, we know what it means,” he makes clear.
“But we like it for the community and the family it creates. It teaches loyalty and service to the community, and that’s what we represent.”
City Boy
City Boy has a strong love for his city, which is proudly displayed in his chest tattoo that says “Prince of Kumasi”.
In Ghana, Asante people are stereotyped as being proud—and rightly so: the Asante Kingdom is an African kingdom that goes back many centuries.
It’s also one of the groups that raised absolute hell for British pre-colonialism.
The Asante Kingdom, to date, is a bedrock of traditional culture and for many of its people, they refer to themselves as royalty—just like City Boy.
Quiet in nature, every rhyme he spits is filled with wordplay.
Each punchline is served in a powerful cadence, and City Boy’s remarkable control over Twi and the local Akan dialect is his superpower.
Reggie
21-year-old Reggie’s song with Kawabanga, “Akatafo”, was a local hit, securing the No. 1 spot on Apple Music for a week before trading places with his labelmate Yaw Tog’s track, “Sore”.
Reggie is still reeling from the sudden fame, but maintains humility.
“Akatafo” (meaning ‘Akata people’) was a celebration of Akata culture prominent in Kumasi, with a focus on their fashion sense and style.
Since then, young Reggie has released a joint EP with O’Kenneth entitled Straight Outta Kumerica.
The 6-track EP is littered with Pop Smoke and Travis Scott influences; Reggie allows mainstream pop culture to colour his music without being overbearing.
Dousing his work in Twi and pidgin English, this grounds him to his roots and culture.
Jay Bahd
Jay Bahd, the protector of the group, describes Asakaa as “soul music because it comes from the soul.”
Raised in the ghetto, his life changed for the better last September when he met up with the Life Living team.
Unlike the others in the team, Jay’s connection to the Bloods runs a little deeper. “My father was a Blood from DC, so I’m a Blood,” he says.
“It’s a family thing. For us, it’s not about the violence, and that’s what makes Asakaa different.”
He gets excited at the mention of his idol, Pop Smoke.
“Long live The Woo!” he shouts.
“He was gonna take over the world.”
Armed with a low growl, just like his idol, Jay Bahd has what it takes to do the same.