M.anifest facts for kids

Quick facts for kids M.anifest
M.anifest
Background information
Birth name	Kwame Ametepee Tsikata
Also known as	M Dor-dor-dor-ti-dor M Digidi god MC
Born	(1982-11-20) 20 November 1982 (age 42) Accra, Ghana
Genres	Hip hop hiplife R&B Afrobeats
Occupation(s)	Rapper singer songwriter record producer
Instruments	Vocals Pro Tools
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Singitdamnit Music Mass Appeal Records
Associated acts	Rocket Juice and The Moon, Damon Albarn, Flea, Tony Allen, Burna Boy, Brother Ali, Erykah Badu, Richy Pitch, A.R.M, Ko-Jo Cue, Efya, EL, Sarkodie, Brymo, Paapa, G-Mo, Jayso, Worlasi, Cina Soul, Dex Kwasi, Nomisupasta, Tumi Molekane, Evil Twin, Wanlov the Kubolor, Checkmate, Desdamona, Coptic, Samahra Daly, eLDee the Don, HHP, Bisa Kdei, Camp Mulla, Obrafour, Blackway, Kid Konnect, DJ Mic Smith, MzVee

Kwame Ametepee Tsikata (born 20 November 1982), known as M.anifest, is a musician, rapper, and producer from Ghana.

He won awards for Best Rapper and Hip-Hop song of the year at the 2017 Ghana Music Awards. M.anifest has worked with famous artists like Damon Albarn, Flea, Tony Allen, and Erykah Badu. He is also featured on five songs from the Rocket Juice and The Moon album. His grandfather, J. H. Kwabena Nketia, was a very important music expert and composer in Africa.

In 2012, BBC Radio named M.anifest as one of four artists to watch. In 2015, his song "Someway bi" won third place in an international songwriting contest. That same year, The Guardian newspaper called M.anifest "the foremost rapper on the continent." M.anifest now lives in both Madina, Ghana, and Minneapolis, United States.

About M.anifest's Life and School

M.anifest's father is Tsatsu Tsikata, a lawyer and teacher from Ghana. His mother is Rev. Dr. Priscilla Naana Nketia, who is also a lawyer and a pastor. His grandfather, J. H. Kwabena Nketia, was a composer and a professor who studied music from different cultures.

In 2001, M.anifest moved to the United States. He went to Macalester College in Minneapolis-St. Paul. He studied economics and graduated in 2005.

Before college, M.anifest attended high school at SOS-Hermann Gmeiner International College in Tema. He was in charge of entertainment at his school. M.anifest has also been a guest speaker and teacher at places like St. Lawrence University and the University of Ghana. He has also spoken to classes at Hamline University, Macalester College, and Ashesi University.

M.anifest's Music Journey

While living in the Twin Cities, M.anifest learned how to be an independent musician. He even sang for a Pepsi advertisement that played on U.S. radio. This helped him earn money to make his first album, Manifestations, which came out in 2007. This album won him "Songwriter of the Year" and was named one of the top five albums of the year by the Star Tribune. In 2009, he released a free album called The Birds and the Beats. This was to help a group called Young Entrepreneurs Africa.

In 2010, M.anifest joined Africa Express and toured France and Spain. He impressed Damon Albarn, a co-founder of Africa Express. Damon Albarn then asked M.anifest to work on the Rocket Juice & the Moon album. In September 2012, M.anifest toured the United Kingdom with Africa Express again. He wrote about these experiences for The Huffington Post.

In September 2011, M.anifest released his second album, Immigrant Chronicles: Coming to America. This album included songs like "Suffer," "Asa," and "Blue (Chale What Dey Happen)." It was about his ten years in the United States and his move back to Ghana. In 2012, M.anifest became more well-known in Africa. He performed on the Big Brother Africa stage and at the Channel O Music Video Awards in South Africa. The music video for his song "Makaa Maka" was nominated for an award and won Best Hip-Hop Video at the 4Syte Music Video Awards in Ghana.

M.anifest also helped create a short Hip-Hopera for Channel O. He performed a piece about the history of Ghanaian music at the first Ghana Music Week. M.anifest is also a co-founder of Giant Steps. This is a conference for creative people who want to start their own businesses. He is also in a documentary called We Rock Long Distance.

On 30 June 2016, M.anifest released a song called "god MC." This song was part of a friendly rap competition with another rapper, Sarkodie. Sarkodie replied with his own song called "Kanta." M.anifest's "god MC" later won Hip Hop Song of the Year at the Ghana Music Award. Two years later, on 24 December 2018, M.anifest and Sarkodie performed together at M.anifest's Manifestivies concert in Accra. This showed they were friends again. On 18 June 2020, they worked together on a song called Brown Paper Bag.

god MC and Nowhere Cool (2016)

M.anifest released "god MC" on 30 June 2016. This song was a response to Sarkodie's song "Bossy." In "Bossy," Sarkodie used one of M.anifest's famous phrases, "dor dor dor ti dor," at the end. M.anifest felt this was disrespectful. In "god MC," M.anifest rapped: "Go to the market, buy yourself some manners; don't use my name in vain, that's just for starters." Sarkodie then replied with "Kanta." M.anifest did not reply to "Kanta." He said he had already said what he needed to say. He also felt that "god MC" made people talk more about the meaning of songs.

Many people thought M.anifest used this rap competition to promote his new album, Nowhere Cool. This album was released a few months later.

On 14 July 2016, M.anifest released another song called 100%. Some thought it was still about his competition with Sarkodie, but M.anifest said it wasn't. The song featured Worlasi and became very popular. It had a catchy beat and was different from M.anifest's usual thoughtful songs.

On 6 September 2016, M.anifest released a trailer for his Nowhere Cool album on YouTube. He then released "B.E.A.R." and "Sugar" as lead songs. Nowhere Cool officially came out on 8 September 2016. It received good reviews. The album featured many artists from Ghana and other countries. These included Worlasi, Cina Soul, Tumi Molekane, Nomisupasta, Dex Kwasi, and Brymo.

The Nowhere Cool album tells a story. The first song, "Nowhere Cool," talks about how hard it can be to be a creative person in Ghana. The last song, "Good Bye," is about losing someone important. Between these songs, the album has songs about people's struggles and hopes. For example, "Invisible" is about feeling unseen, and "Rich People Problems" is about the dreams of a poor person. The album also offers hope, especially in the song "Now Here Cool," which is a play on the album's title.

M.anifest has said Nowhere Cool is his best work. The album's title came from a short story by a famous Ghanaian writer, Prof. Ama Ata Aidoo. In the song "Now Here Cool," you can hear her reciting a part of her story: "Nowhere cool sister, ain’t nowhere cool. Therefore let me hide here among the thorns while I dine on wild desert green. And if they should ask you of me, tell them the name of the game was life, and I never learnt the rules."

Awards and Recognitions

M.anifest has won many awards for his music:

• Songwriter of the Year (2008) - City Pages
• Minnesota Emerging Composer Award (MECA) (2010) - American Composers Forum
• Best Hip-Hop Video - 4syte Music Video Awards
• Hip-Hop Song of the Year (2013) - Ghana Music Awards
• Best Rapper of the Year (2013) - Ghana Music Award
• Best Special Effects Video (2016) - 4syte Music Video Awards
• Best Individual Style (2016) - Glitz Style Awards
• Hip-Hop Song of the Year (2017) - Ghana Music Awards
• Best Rapper of the Year (2017) - Ghana Music Awards
• Midem Best Artist (2017) - International Midem Awards, France
• Best Artiste in African Hip Hop award (AFRIMA 2018)
• Known to his fans as the Greatest Rapper of All Time

M.anifest's Music Albums

• Manifestations (2007)
• The Birds and the Beats (Free Mixtape, 2009)
• Immigrant Chronicles: Coming to America (2011)
• Apae: the price of free EP (2013)
• Nowhere Cool (2016)
• The Gamble EP (2019)
• Madina to the Universe (2021)
• Madina to the Universe: The E.P.Ilogue (2022)
• NEW ROAD AND GUAVA TREES (2025)

Singles (Individual Songs)

• "Babylon Breakdown" (2007)
• "Gentleman" (2007)
• "Coming to America" (2011)
• "Suffer" (2011)
• "Asa" feat. Efya (2012)
• "Makaa Maka" (2012)
• "Blue (Chale What Dey Happen)" (2012)
• "Ebei" (2013)
• "Mind Games" (2013)
• "Someway Bi" (2013)
• "Jigah" feat. HHP (2014)
• "No Shortcut to Heaven" feat. Obrafour (2014)
• "W'ani Aba" (feat. Bisa Kdei)
• "Forget Dem" (2015)
• "god MC" (2016)
• "100%" (2016)
• "Sugar" feat Brymo (2016)
• "Do My Own" feat bigBen (2017)
• "Me ne woa" feat King Promise (2017)
• "Azumah Nelson Flow" (2017)
• Be my woman feat M.I Casa (2017)
• "Don’t Follow Me" feat. Bayku & Yaa Pono (2018)
• "Okay" feat. Worlasi
• "Feels" feat Kwesi Arthur
• "Rapper 101"
• "Big Mad" feat. Simi
• "Rapper 101 (Prod. by MikeMillzOnEm)" (2019)
• "No Long Talk (Prod. by MikeMillzOnEm)" (2020)

Features (Songs where M.anifest was a guest artist)

• "Camp Mulla" feat. M.anifest - All in (2013)
• "E.L." feat. M.anifest - Hallelujah (2013)
• "Lyricalwaanzam" feat. M.anifest - For sheygey reasons (2013)
• "Bodi" feat. M.anifest & Team Dharma - Hercules (2013)
• "Kindness" feat. M.anifest - 8th Wonder (2014)
• "Proverb" feat. M.anifest - Proverb's Manifest (2014)
• "Dee Moneey" feat. M.anifest, Ice Prince, Paedae(R2bees), JTown, Reminisce - Finish Line (Remix) (2014)
• "Sedem" feat. M.anifest - Falling in Love (2014)
• "Obrafour" ft. M.anifest - Odasani (2014)
• "Sarkodie" ft. M.anifest - Brown Paper Bag (2020)
• "A-Reece" ft. M.anifest - West Africa Time (2023)
• "A-Reece" ft. M.anifest - Champions (2023)

Collaborations (Projects M.anifest worked on with other groups)

• A.R.M (Budo, Krudid, M.anifest) ft Brother Ali - Heaven Only Knows (2009)
• S&M (Sarah White & M.anifest) - Losing My Religion (2010)
• A.R.M (Budo, Krudid, M.anifest) - Two Africans and a Jew EP (2011)
• Burna Boy ft M.anifest - Another Story (African Giant, 2019)