Deborah Vanessa

Sister Derby's 2016 song "Ghana Jollof" poked fun at Nigerians' pride in their own jollof rice, adding a musical round to the long-running West African jollof wars.

Background

Deborah Vanessa Owusu-Bonsu was born in 1984. Her mother is Romanian and her father Ashanti, and the two filled the home with records and art. Her brother is the rapper Wanlov the Kubolor. She went to Christ the King International School and Wesley Girls' High School, took a publishing studies degree at KNUST, and earned a master's in book and journal publishing at the University of the Arts London.

Media and music

Her 2012 single "Uncle Obama", about Barack Obama, was covered by CNN. That year she began hosting The Late Nite Celebrity Show on e.tv Ghana, and she later briefly presented Glitterati on GHOne before passing it to Berla Mundi. She also models and works as a graphic artist. She dated rapper Medikal for three years until 2018.

Causes

She has used music to promote sanitation and recycling, and in 2018 urged the government to ban plastic bags. During the COVID-19 pandemic she and Wanlov made face masks from second-hand clothes. She has also spoken up for LGBT+ rights, opposing the anti-LGBT bill in 2021 and featuring on two campaign songs by Angel Maxine.