AJ Nelson

AJ Nelson, born Adjei Nelson Otumfour on 5 May 1985 in Dormaa Ahenkro, is a rapper who has used his music as much for campaigning as for the charts. He is credited as the first Ghanaian musician to rap in the Bono language, and he is best remembered for the singles Same Girl, Faith and Power to the People.

Early life

He is the fifth of seven children of Agnes Isha Yeboa Mensah and Mohammed Amoani Mensah. He attended Saint Dominic School, started writing songs at 14 and spent his teenage years performing at high school and community shows. He later studied web and graphic design at IPMC College of Technology in Accra.

Breakthrough

His first wide exposure came in 2009, when he featured on a song welcoming President Barack Obama to Ghana that played on television stations across Africa. Same Girl with Quabena Maphia followed in September 2010. After a quieter single, Dream, he released Faith with the New York based singer Jay Ghartey in late 2011, and its video went into daily rotation on channels including MTV Base.

Power to the People

In 2015 he released Power to the People with Wiyaala on Corna Rock Entertainment and turned it into a campaign urging young Africans to speak up about corruption and conflict and to hold their leaders to account. World Bank official Kofi Tsikata and broadcaster Berla Mundi joined the campaign. In November 2015 the song was the third most downloaded Ghanaian hip hop track on iTunes.