O'Kenneth

O'Kenneth, born Kenneth Opoku, is a Ghanaian rapper from Santasi in Kumasi and one of the founding members of the Asakaa Boys, the crew that launched Kumasi drill, or Asakaa, around 2020. With Yaw Tog, Reggie, Kawabanga and others, he helped turn Kumasi into "Kumerica", a city with its own drill scene rapping in Twi over dark, sliding beats.

Santasi and Tepa

Opoku was born in Santasi, a suburb of Kumasi, in August 1998. He studied general science at Tepa Senior High School in the Ashanti Region. He started rapping in 2016 and has named Kendrick Lamar as a key influence.

Asakaa and Kumerica

"Asakaa" is Kumasi slang, and the Asakaa Boys used it as the name for their take on UK and Brooklyn drill, sung and rapped mostly in Twi. The collective's videos, shot on Kumasi streets with a mock-American "Kumerica" swagger, spread quickly on social media in 2020.

O'Kenneth was on several of the tracks that broke the scene. Yaw Tog's "Sore", on which he featured with City Boy, Reggie and Jay Bahd, was the scene's breakout hit in 2020, and "Akatafoc" with Kawabanga followed the same year. Other songs include "Agyeiwaa" with Reggie and City Boy and "Obaa Hemaa" with Skyface SDW. He has been signed to Life Living Records since 2019.

Projects

He has released most of his work as joint projects. Straight Outta Kumerica, with Reggie, came out on 27 August 2020, and a sequel, Straight Outta Kumerica II, on 20 July 2022. In between he released his solo project Until It's All Said and Done on 18 December 2021. Pain in Glory, a joint EP with Xlimkid, followed on 27 October 2023.