Ian Jazzi

Ian Jazzi's "Get Some" and "Get Your Clap On", both produced by Jayso in 2003, kicked off a wave of gospel rap in Ghana. He is also counted among the early figures of GH rap, Ghanaian-made hip-hop.

Roots

Ian Frederick Oshodi was born in Osu, Accra, on 30 March 1986. His father, a Nigerian businessman, died in a car crash in Lagos before he was born, and his mother brought the family home to Ghana. He boarded at Datus Complex School in Tema and lost his elder sister when he was twelve. He started rapping seriously at Adisadel College in 2001 and studied economics, mathematics and theatre arts at the University of Ghana, airing singles on Radio Univers.

Music and business

He released the mixtapes In Stereo Vol. 1 (March 2010), largely self-produced, and Ian Jazzi on the Heartbeats and Other Freestyles (October 2010), freestyling over Jayso beats. In 2009 he appeared in a TIGO advert shot in Mumbai, and he has modelled for Coca-Cola. That year he founded The Unwind Agency, a modelling and advertising agency, which he runs as creative director.