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Featured Artiste

Who is Koo Wiase?

The nation of Ghana was once called the Gold Coast and boasted some of the greatest treasure ever extracted from the earth! Today Ghana has produced another treasure!

His name is Koo Wiase and he is a musical entertainer with a sound as rich and deep as his heritage. Ghana’s export of this fantastic talent to other shores around the world will be sure to enrich music fans and the music industry! Koo Wiase was born and grew up on the hard Zongo streets of the city of Kumasi/ Oseikrom in Ghana.

He was born Gordon Asante, but as is the local custom he was given the nickname Koo Wiase by the older folks who knew him.

To honor them and his roots, Koo Wiase uses this alias as his stage name today. Koo Wiase was not immune to the trouble of the street, but he was smart and he had great potential. His mother wanted to keep him out of as much trouble as possible so at an early age she signed him up for music lessons. At the age of 10 Koo Wiase was singing and playing drums in church. Koo Wiase moved to the United States with his family and continued to develop his natural talent and his own style which is richly reflected in the music which defines him and his message today.

During a recent interview with DJ Simms of Kesbben fm, Koo said, “Doing music for me was not hard at all. I don’t feel like I’m in competition with anyone, I just do me. When people hear my music, they hear the message behind it, which is what I like. I don’t just rhyme, in some of my music I don’t even rhyme at all but at the end of the song you can relate. I like to sing and rap about life experiences and so my music is my platform for getting out those messages.” Koo Wiase has had a lot of local success with his music in Ghana and is expanding into other regions of the world.

He has performed at major events in cities in the United State and Canada. He’s currently preparing for a concert tour in Europe.

But success isn’t going to his head, Koo Wiase uses the same intelligence that would get him in trouble as a kid on the street to keep himself grounded as a professional performer. “I have a song with and produced by Jay Q called “Sika” and that’s a very inspirational song for me. I talk of the destruction that money can cause, tear up families, turn friends against each other and bring the fakers out of the woodwork. I listen to that song all the time and that keeps me going.” Koo Wiase is as humble as he is talented and intelligent and he recognizes and is grateful to all of the people who have helped him along the way. Some of the people he wishes to acknowledge are: The Quigleys, Emmanuel Sacky (Known as Sacato), Emmanual Kuffour (Rasta), Manny Bortey, Joseph Quagraine, Ashton and the list go on but there isn’t enough space write all the names.

Yet thanks for their support throughout the years. When asked about the influence of other artists on his music Koo Wiase says.

The most inspirational figure for me is Lucky Dube, he is a South African reggae singer. After Bob Marley he became the reggae king and I’ve found myself listening to his music and lyrics since I was young. When I used to play in the church band in Oseikrom as their drummer, I would practice to Lucky Dube’s music. That is how I learned most of my drum skills. KRS One and Common inspired me as well when it comes to American hip hop.

Ghana music legends like Amakye Dede, Kojo Antwi, Daasebre Dwamena, Raggae Rock Stone also inspire me growing up in Ghana. Koo Wiase ~ I’ve been in the streets before so I know how it feels when struggling to survive. I always thank God for blessing me and for how far he has brought me. I’ll do what ever I can do to help the kids of the streets. They are the future!

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