4 Ways Stormzy Paid Homage to His Ghanaian Roots at Global Citizen Festival: Accra
It was a no-brainer that Stormzy would give us an epic performance at this year’s Global Citizen Festival: Accra at the iconic Black Star Square, because the King of Grime has done it before — both at the Global Citizen Prize ceremony in 2019, alongside Coldplay legend Chris Martin, and at Global Citizen Live alongside Elton John in Paris in 2021.
But this time, he was performing for the first time ever on a Global Citizen Festival stage in his mother’s home country, Ghana.
The 2022 Global Citizen Festival campaign came to a head on Sept. 24, at twin events in New York City and Accra, culminating in $2.4 billion mobilised to end extreme poverty, with key commitments announced on the festival stages from world leaders including Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo, governments, and corporate, philanthropic, and NGO partners.
Global Citizens around the world united in taking action to drive forward an ambitious policy agenda focused on empowering girls and women, taking climate action, breaking systemic barriers, and lifting up activists and advocates.
Here are four ways Stormzy paid homage to his Ghanaian roots at the biggest music event the country has ever seen: Global Citizen Festival: Accra.
1. He celebrated fresh Ghanaian talent.
Stormzy invited the torchbearers of Ghana’s fast-rising Drill scene, Yaw Tog and Kwesi Arthur, onto the Black Star Square stage for an epic performance of Yaw Tog’s electrifying tune “Sore”.
Stormzy had worked with these two Ghanaian artists before, featuring on a remix of “Sore,” a musical collaboration that gained huge traction both in Ghana and globally, showcasing a new generation of Drill music in Ghana. Taking its title from Ghanaian Twi dialect, “sore” means to wake up or to arise.
And rise they did on the Global Citizen Festival: Accra stage. Not only was the upbeat energy on stage during this performance palpable, but there was also a tangible sense of brotherhood and togetherness between them.
Source: Globalcitizen.com