robertoluoch oluoch
April 28, 2019
Popularly known as Quata Budukusu, Jacob Nana Kwame Etroo is a record producer, rapper, hip hop and reggae artist of Ghanaian origin. He is, however, re-branding himself and wants to be referred to as Budukusu. He was born on the 4th of June 1981 and raised in Kantoment in Accra, Ghana. He is known to be the mastermind behind the tongue-twisting style of rapping in Ghana. He came to the limelight after releasing his debut album dubbed Wonie whose video was shot in a traditional setup and trended immensely on Channel O. The producer behind the viral video is Hammer of the Last Two.
He after on backed it up with a concert which is what made him gain recognition in the Ghanaian music scene as the fastest twisting rapper. On the other hand, his other album named Quantum Riddim is a set world record since it consists of thirteen songs which have been recorded on one riddim. This was dropped through VPAL Music, based in New York, in August 2017. Quata Budukusu was signed into VPAL records for a three-year contract which included distribution of his albums. He has also worked with Africabox Productions and Bakus Entertainment/Beat Jonkeyz Music.
He has also worked with a couple of big names in the music industry such as Wyre from Kenya, Sidney Mills of the Steel Pulse roots reggae musical band, Uhuru, Gully Bop and Ephraim (Fiifi,2017). He has also worked with Kenyan Eric Wainaina for a much-anticipated track that will be an integration of the Wainaina’s Benga style of music and Budukusu’s Hip hop and dancehall genre. He also has the undying support of Ernest Annoh Dompreh and his manager Tengol, from Bakus Entertainment, who have been doing all they can to ensure he remains dominant in the music industry, especially in the tongue-twisting rap category.
Budukusu disclosed that he decided to seek collaborations outside the boundaries of his country Ghana since getting Ghanaian colleagues to work with after his musical break of six years had not been a walk in the park for him. He delivers his music both in English and Ghanaian native language. Here is a list of songs that he has done; “Fake Loyalty”, “Pum Pum Shots”, “Africa Cry”, “Ginger”, “Hallelujah”, “U Too Bad”, “I Don’t Need a Hero”, “Stars”, “Jah Give I Strength”, “Heaven in Your Eyes”, “Motivate Yourself”, “D) Mi”, “Ano Dey See You Seff”, “Be Free”, “Grateful”, “Bombo”, “Rotation”, “Spitology”, “Ohia”, “Wine N Go Low”, “One Life to Live” and “Sangolo”.
The USA Coast to Coast mixtape, which is the world’s most downloaded mixtape series, incorporated his hit single One Life to Live in 2016. Budukusu mentioned that it was quite a privilege to be the only African to feature in that edition. He has won the Ghana Music Awards South Africa as the Hip Life Artist of the year. He was also nominated at the GODIT Ghana Music awards for his song “Sangolo” featuring Wyre as the best collaboration of the year. His album Quantum Riddim was considered for the 2019’s edition of the prestigious Grammy Awards in the Best World Album Category.
