• Hiphop fans from Africa as well as African followers of the renowned Steve Harvey have continued to express satisfaction after eulogies about Ghana went viral online.
• Two key American entertainers were at the fore of the praise-singing.
• Africans, Ghanaians especially, have received the tributes happily.

Recently, on two different occasions, the west African country of Ghana received unusual recognitions from two American entertainers – Tv personality Steve Harvey and Musician Chance the rapper; they both promoted the Gold Coast, in their own unique ways, to their large western audience. The humorous 66-year-old Tv Host, Harvey, advised his audience to visit Ghana first, then Botswana and South Africa. Harvey claimed it’s a way to gain a better understanding of African culture and the significant contributions made by Africans to the world.

Harvey who once visited Ghana in 2019 to film and broadcast a season of Family Feud, encouraged his American audience to disregard their preconceived notion of Africa and visit first. He said, “them Africans is us mhen; they are the beat; they are the rhythm; they are the song. They are hard work; we get our courage from them. When you see them, people, they look just like your family.”

In a similar development, American rapper, Chance The Rapper, in a recent freestyle, dropped a few lines in Twi language – one of Ghana’s native languages. Chance also referenced Osu and Kumasi, two Ghanaian towns, in his rap. He did not just make reference to the towns; he actually eulogized them in his rap in which he sprinkled some Twi language.

The rapper went beyond praising the African towns, he also saluted Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigeria, Dr Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, and the revered Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia in the short electrifying performance. His line went: “Akwaaba medaase, that’s the end of my speech. Tell them to spread the word from Osu to Kumasi…This for Dr Kwame, Selassie and Nnamdi.” 

These separate events have since attracted reactions from Ghanaians especially, and other Africans alike. People say that these mentions and recognitions reinforce the idea that Africa, its culture, and its people have garnered massive global recognition for its contribution to the arts, world politics, and global markets.