"What's a rapper from Ghana who's as smart as Talib Kweli and as funky as Kanye West doing in Minnesota?" (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
Ghana and Minnesota are worlds apart in climate, culture, cuisine, and just about every other aspect. However the 2 lands do have 1 very important thing in common: M.anifest.
Born and raised in Accra, Ghana, M.anifest is a powerful Hip Hop emcee that initially moved to the Twin Cities to pursue his education. However, within a couple years, Minneapolis' City Pages named him Songwriter of the Year, calling him "the kind of assured, joyful, ruminative voice that made Mos Def into Hollywood's favorite conscious-rap star".
But M.anifest is making his mark beyond Minnesota. His 2007 debut, Manifestations, blew everybody away, and was soon picked up by Jakarta Records/Groove Attack and re-released by the indie label in Europe and Japan. Allhiphop.com profiled him as one of four African Artists "Stormin' into the Hip-Hop World" (2009). In 2010, he played the Festa Dos Mundos festival with Africa Express in Spain and the PUMA world cup showcase in Paris.
He's shared the stage with the likes of Femi Kuti, Damon Albarn (Gorillaz), Amadou and Miriam, Mick Jones (The Clash), Tony Allen, the Noisettes and many more. M.anifest is currently completing his official sophomore release, "Coming to America: Immigrant Chronicles," gearing up for a 2011 release.
Here's his latest music video for the song Suffer off his upcoming release. He has been very successful at blending African and American styles together, moreso than many others trying to do the same...Maybe Ghana and Minnesota aren't so different after all... :)
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