Fuse ODG

“It’s so cool to be African now… it’s not like back in the day, when I was at school.it’s really not fair!”

“To me, New Africa is a country, and every citizen in there is making moves, and is saying something with their actions; to say I’m African and I’m successful. I want the kids to know they can actually be themselves, be African and proud and be successful.”

“I met Reggie Rockstone, this rap legend who I really looked up to, and he treated me like a London guy.”

“People would cuss me about being African, tease me because of my accent. Being African back in the day wasn’t as cool as it is now.”

“It just looked so good man – I’m not a dancer but I fell in love with it, and I was going to clubs and practising – trying to show it off to Killbeatz and he was just laughing at me: London boy trying to do azonto. When I came back to London, no-one had heard of it, and I thought you guys need to know – so let’s do a video showing everyone how to do it.”

“But my music was kind of in-between too. Same as feeling like you don’t belong in this country or that country – wherever you go, you’re a stranger. I just wanted to make African music, but coming from me. So I messaged Killbeatz on Twitter, we started talking on BBM, and I said I’m coming over to Tema. He was shocked, I called him like ‘I’m here.”

“We didn’t even win, but I was just buzzing off that performance.”

“It was a confusing time for young Fuse – and despite trying to adapt to life in south London, something of Ghanaian culture did stay with him – tapes of Ghanaian rappers like Obrafour, Reggie Rockstone and Lord Kenya he brought to the UK.”

“I was trying to find myself in this country! I guess it was the moulding of me as a person. When I come home, I’m African, when I go out, I’m trying to blend in.”

“Not so much. But my parents would play it at home, and they’d take me to the parties, and you’d have to sit there and listen. I’d sit at the side, with cousins I’d never met before, and watch them party-.”

“At that time I was so into American rap, so I was doing hip-hop tempo, but obviously I was an African boy, and I still had my accent, so it always had an African twang to it. Obviously, my parents would play hilife, African music in the house, so I had those genes, and then there was grime everywhere and So Solid as well – I’d practise So Solid lyrics on tape too. It was crazy man, all these little elements.”

“That’s literally how I managed to connect with my peers at school, was to become cool through music, because I had a studio set up in my bedroom, skinny mic on the wall, and that’s how people started coming to my house.”

“My parents, both of them came – because I was born here, it was much easier to bring me back. The thing is, I came back with an African accent, so secondary school wasn’t the easiest journey, and I had a lot of fights, just because I always stood up for myself – people would cuss me about being African, tease me because of my accent. Being African back in the day wasn’t as cool as it is now.”

“After several years growing up in Kumasi in Ghana, Fuse came back to south London for secondary school.”

“We went back to Ghana when I was just a baby, then my mum had my brothers and sisters – I was the only one born here.”

“My parents came over here from Ghana for a better life, to be better off financially. My mum was in her 20s, my dad probably 30 or so. My mum was a cleaner, she’d be making her money and sending some back to Ghana for her family.”

“You can probably tell which one’s which.”

“I know, I know! But it’s got to be true, I heard it from more than one person.”

“I perform all over the world, in Europe or America, but being in Africa is like being home. I’m expecting energy — pure energy. If you’re not here, you’re nowhere!”

“CAF stands for love and unity, It’s an honour to be here and meet such incredible talent. There are good vibes everywhere. I can’t wait to see the performances.”