Kwame Nsiah-Apau (born 17 April 1976), known by his stage name Okyeame Kwame and nicknamed the Rap Doctor, is a Ghanaian musician, songwriter, creative director, fashion icon, and developmental activist. His dual roles as an artist and an activist have led to his recognition as an "artivist".
Life and career Early life Apau was born on 17 April 1976 in Kumasi, Ashanti Region of Ghana. He is the third of six siblings. His two younger brothers, Kwaku Nsiah Boamah, nicknamed "Flowking Stone", and Kwaku Nsiah Amankwah, nicknamed "Kunta Kinte", also perform as a duo under the name "Bradez".
As he was growing up, Kwame's parents expected him to become a physician, but he gained an interest in rap music from a very young age, writing his own songs and performing at local shows since his days at the Anglican Senior High School in Kumasi. His primary education was difficult because he suffered from dyslexia, which posed challenges for him in reading and writing. Based on his childhood experiences, he has actively promoted the inclusion of dyslexia management in the school curriculum in Ghana.
Tertiary education Kwame is a product of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, where he studied Akan and Sociology for his first degree, with formal education in music under the tutelage of Dr Daniel Amponsah, aka Agya Koo Nimo. Nimo taught him Classical Guitar and Philosophy in African Music.
Subsequently, Kwame enrolled at the University of Ghana and graduated in 2016 with a master's degree in Strategic Marketing.
He is an associate co-opted member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana in recognition of his professional use of marketing in creative arts.
In March 2024, Kwame and his wife, Annica Nsia-Apau, graduated from the Institute of Paralegal Training and Leadership Studies (IPSL) with master's degrees in Alternative Dispute Resolution. This marks the second master's degree Kwame has earned.
Music career In 1997, Kwame achieved notoriety as a member of the "Akyeame" hiplife duo, together with fellow Ghanaian Daniel Kofi Amoateng (under the stage name Okyeame Kofi). They recorded the albums Nyansapo ("Witty Knot", 1997), Nkonsonkonson ("Shackles", 1998), Ntoaso ("Continuity", 2000) and Apam Foforo ("New Testament", 2002). He performed a solo under his own record label One Mic Entertainment, after they parted in 2004. He also featured some renowned Ghanaian highlife and hiplife artists such as Daddy Lumba, Kojo Antwi and Ofori Amponsah.
For declaring himself B.R.A (Best Rapper Alive) in a song he recorded after winning the Ghana Music Awards Artist of the Year award in 2009, Kwame sparked a conflict with fellow Ghanaian rapper Obrafour, who saw himself as more deserving. This resulted in one of the most memorable feuds the Ghanaian music scene has seen, with Obrafour challenging Kwame to a rap battle on the streets, which was never honoured. In 2011, after Obrafour apologized for his actions, Kwame explained he had declined Obrafour's challenge because there was no need for it at the time, since winning Artist of the Year was enough.
Kwame has made significant contributions to education and scholarship promotion. His rap lyrics (which incorporate didactic themes, social consciousness and poetry) are studied in some Ghanaian universities.
He is an advocate for the incorporation of researchers into the music industry to provide expert perspectives and data within the field.
Style Most of Kwame's raps and songs are performed in the Twi dialect of Ghana's Akan language. However, he also performs songs in English. His stage name "Okyeame", chosen to reflect his lyrical fluidity, means "linguist (of the royal court)" in his native Akan.
His ability to also perform in other genres, including hip-hop, reggae, highlife, R&B, and jazz, has garnered him the title "Mr. Versatile".
Significant music events Aside from musical performances, Kwame launched The Versatile Show in 2012, produced by himself and performed biannually at the National Theatre. He incorporates poetry, drama, and music in this theatrical production.
In 2016, Kwame and his wife began the event "Flaunt Your Lover". Its purpose was to provide a platform for couples to come together and celebrate love.
Other events Since 2019, Kwame has been organizing the Hiplife Party, an annual event with the objective of evoking nostalgia and preserving hiplife heritage.
Ok Stripped was begun in 2016 as a fundraising initiative for the Ghana Paralympic Team and to support his hepatitis B vaccination programme.
Business career Kwame runs his own record label, OK Music, previously One Mic Entertainment and the defunct Firm Bridges Communications, co-founded with his wife,. The label has overseen the production and management of artists such as Morris Devoice, Rex Omar, Bradez, Tattoo, Ben Brako, Kofi B, and other music talents in Ghana.
He is also a partner in the shoe manufacturing company Horseman Shoes, and a partner in Sante's Hair for Kids, which produces local hair products for kids, with his daughter as brand ambassador.
In May 2021, Kwame and his wife launched two guide books to healthy relationships, Finding a Lasting Love Relationship and Maintaining a Lasting Love Relationship, under the Love Locked Down series.
In 2023, Kwame launched his own line of boxer shorts under the brand name Love Equation. He also operates a travel and tour company, OK World Travel and Tour, which helps locals secure job opportunities abroad. Additionally, the company facilitates visits by Africans in the diaspora, offering them the chance to explore Ghana, reconnect with their roots, discover investment opportunities, and experience the richness of the country's culture and heritage.
Tourism In 2023, Kwame was bestowed with a national award by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture for his contributions to the tourism industry. His Made in Ghana album, a collaborative effort with the Ghana Tourism Authority in 2019, was an initiative aimed at fostering a sense of nationalism and promoting tourism.
He has collaborated with Adansi Travel and Tour in a bid to enrich local and international tours, with a special focus on families.
On his 47th birthday in 2023, Kwame unveiled his merchandise boxer shorts label named Love Equation.
Corporate associations Due to his notoriety as a national icon in his native Ghana, Kwame has become an iconic figure for corporate Ghana. He is a brand ambassador for MTN Group, GT Bank and Coca-Cola in Ghana. He was the public relations officer of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) from 2012 to 2013 and of Ghana Music Rights Organization in 2014.
Kwame was chosen as the ambassador for the "My African Union, My Voice" campaign in 2015, which was launched by the African Union in Addis Ababa as part of the "State of the Union" (SoTU) project, which is currently being carried out in several African nations, including Ghana. The campaign intends to raise public awareness of the African Union's goals and encourage active citizen participation in the Union's member states' execution of its protocols, conventions, and policy choices.
In the same year, he was appointed ambassador for the Junior Boys Mentoring Conference, a youth-focused non-governmental initiative in Accra, which seeks to equip young people with the knowledge and skills that will enable them to tackle challenges as they come into contact with the outside world.
Kwame collaborated with MDS Lancet Laboratories on his Hepatitis B project, vaccinating more than 10,000 Ghanaians. The screening exercise is aimed at creating public awareness about Hepatitis B, which has become rampant among Ghanaians.
Research has shown that insurance penetration has been low in Ghana, partly because a chunk of the population have still not come to terms with the relevance of insurance policies. The need therefore arises for insurance companies to diversify in achieving the intended purpose. To this end, Kwame was appointed by the Insurance Awareness Coordinators Group as an ambassador for its GET INSURED CAMPAIGN project, to encourage Ghanaians to get insured, particularly against hard times.
In 2020, he was appointed ambassador for Technical and Vocational Training, TVET by the Ghana Education Service with the responsibility of promoting the preference of TVET among Ghanaians. He shares the platform with Ghana's first lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo, ace broadcaster Kwami Sefa Kayi, television host Berla Mundi, actress Martha Ankomah, founder and chief executive officer of McDan Group of Companies Daniel McKorley, founder and chief executive officer of Makeup Ghana Rebecca Donkor, and other distinguished men and women in Ghana.
Kwame was designated in 2021 as a climate ambassador by Climate Clock, a global climate initiative, with the purpose of emphasizing the urgency to enhance climate advocacy.
In 2022, Kwame was designated as the brand ambassador for Waylead Ghana Company Limited. He was also appointed as an ambassador by Water Aid for their Hygiene Behaviour Change Coalition (HBCC) as part of the COVID-19 Control initiative.
In 2024, Kwame was named an ambassador for the Earthshot Prize—an environmental initiative inspired by the U.S. "Moonshot" project—designed to inspire and reward innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental challenges over the next decade.
Discography
Kwame released his first solo album, Boshe Ba (Promised Child), in 2004, just after the breakup of the Akyeame band. He followed in 2008 with Manwesem (My Poetry) and in 2011 with The Clinic, launched at the Aphrodisiac nightclub in Accra. In 2012, he launched The Versatile Show ("Konfanko").
In 2020, he teamed up with Jamaica dancehall act Sizzla Kalonji on a song titled "Come Home", which urges Africans in the diaspora to remember to return to their motherland.
Film and television
Kwame has helped to discover native African talents by working as a judge on music reality shows in Ghana. He has also acted in Ghanaian films like Ties That Bind, The Comforter and Amsterdam Diary.
Personal life
Kwame has been married since 2009 to Annica Nsiah-Apau and has two children with her. They are named Sir Kwame Bota and Sante Antwiwaa.
His two younger brothers are also rappers, using the stage names Flowking Stone and Kunta Kinte. The two are collectively known as Bradez. Kwame has one sister.
Philanthropy
He founded the Okyeame Kwame Foundation in 2009, to raise public awareness on hepatitis B and to provide screening, prevention and education to mitigate the disease in Ghana, backed by MTN Ghana and the MDS-Lancet Laboratories. Periodic screening and vaccination campaigns are held throughout Ghana, attended by hundreds of people who receive free vaccines. In 2014, he staged the Celebrity Car Wash, an event including sports, games and photoshoots with celebrities in East Legon, to raise funds in support of his campaign to provide free vaccination to at least 1000 Ghanaians. The foundation initiated and sponsored the construction of a hepatitis B treatment facility in Tamale.
For his work in raising the funds to provide free screening for the Ghanaian urban and rural poor, Kwame has been appointed Hepatitis B Ambassador for the Ghana Health Service.
After being appointed as a Climate Ambassador by Climate Clock, Kwame launched a project to nurture 2000 Climate Champions from senior and junior high schools in the country. The objective is to instill climate consciousness among children, recognizing them as the demographic most affected by environmental changes. The Climate Clock is utilized to explain the concept of climate change to these students, followed by tree planting activities and commitments made by the students to protect the trees. This commitment is then passed on to a successor, emphasizing a shift from merely planting trees to actively growing and safeguarding them as a means of protecting the climate.
Honours