Known as Sarkodie, Michael Owusu Addo is one of the biggest Ghanaian hip hop hiplife recording artist. He is recognized in America with winning a BET Hip Hop Award and by being ranked in MTV’s list of the Hottest African MC’s.
In 2013 he released one of his controversial songs called “Illuminati”. The song addresses how his haters are always talking about him, accusing him to be a part of the Illuminati. The song is a mixture of English and the Ghanaian language which is most likely Twi. Every few words in the song you are able to catch words to understand the point of the song. In his lyrics Sarkodie says all this stuff about how he is not a part of the Illuminati. He goes to give out examples saying if he was in the Illuminati he would be pushing a Bugatti, that they call him up offering him money but he always denies it, and he continues to reference God; talking about how he is his father, he always worships him and his faith never wavers. He does admit that yes, he has had his wrongs of course, he’s human and that’s what happens. The song has a very powerful message but when it comes to the music video, that’s where I begin to lose understanding.
In the music video there are scenes of him having drug exchanges in the middle of the desert on sand dunes with Arabs, then exchanging diamonds with other people and driving around in expensive looking cars, all in the club and images of money falling. This isn’t a video showcasing that this man isn’t a part of the group, in actuality it makes it look like he is more than anything else. The song contains a very strong message but it’s just the understanding that the video doesn’t match the lyrics and could definitely send off the wrong message honestly.