When Ghanaian rapper Yaw Tog dropped his debut single ‘Sore’ late last year, he became a young prodigy and global success overnight. The 17-year-old went viral gaining recognition from some of the scenes A-listers including; Kwesi Arthur and Stormzy. Fast forward to 2021 – and following Stromzy’s trip to Ghana – the remix and video surfaces featuring all three artists.
Born Thorsten Owusu Gyimah, Yaw Tog is now at the centre of the West African Drill and Hip-Hop movement, with the video for ‘Sore’ being the first within the genre to reach over one million views organically. Featuring members of the Asaaka boys collective (O’Kenneth, City Boy, Reggie, Jay Bhad), ‘Sore’ aptly translates to ‘Rise’.
This meeting of great minds happened whilst Stormzy was in Ghana for ‘Beyond The Return’, during which he was hosted in Kumasi by Yaw Tog and the Asakaa community alongside Kwesi Arthur. During that trip on New Years eve 2020, Stormzy appeared as a guest at Ghana’s UPP Fest where clips of his new verse on ‘Sore’ began doing the rounds online.
Stormzy is one UK’s most inspiring and influential cultural figures. Known for evolving the underground musical landscape, as well as being a true spokesman of black empowerment and social activism. His latest album ‘Heavy Is The Head’ became his second consecutive No.1 album in the UK Official Charts and has since been certified Platinum.
Finding himself amongst some of the most exciting newcomers, this is just the start for Yaw Tog who will be releasing his debut, 7-track EP ‘TIME’ on 25th March, pre-save HERE.
