Sarkodie started his rap career writing verses in English, and he says he dropped it for one reason: rapping in someone else's language made him feel inferior on the microphone.
Speaking on The Fuse on Kenya's Capital FM, the Tema-raised rapper explained why he built a two-decade catalogue in Twi instead of chasing the English-first crossover formula that many African hip-hop acts once treated as mandatory.
"I started rapping in English but felt like I was beneath someone when I rap in English," Sarkodie said. "But when I rap in Twi, I feel equal to any other rapper in the world."
"Rapping in Twi is my superpower," he added. "I express myself way better in my mother's tongue. The emotions I want to put out come out best when I rap in my native language."
When he first refused to switch back to English, industry sceptics warned him that a Ghanaian local dialect would trap his music at the border. Instead, that fast-clipped Twi cadence carried him to a 2012 BET Award for Best International Act: Africa and a headline slot at London's Royal Albert Hall.
Even at home, the choice has kept him at the centre of Ghanaian pop across generations, from his early Tema freestyles to packing out the Kumasi Rapperholic concert and commanding the Rapperholic 2026 stage without diluting a single Akan proverb.
On *The Fuse*, he also laughed about what happens when those Twi bars cross borders—especially in Nigeria, where fans belt out his hooks word for word even while wrestling with the pronunciation.
Whether he is holding court in Nairobi or explaining why he refused to spray cedi notes when spotted in Adum, Obidi's career argument has stayed the same: the world listens harder when you stop translating yourself first.
Which Sarkodie Twi verse could you still rap bar for bar if the beat dropped right now?
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