Kidi

Despite his relatively short career, KiDi is well aware that you don’t need to follow trendy music and adapt to show business to achieve popularity. By making the music you like and putting your soul into it, success will surely come. 

KiDi was born in the capital of Ghana - Accra, on August 18, 1993. 

Dennis Nana Dwamena (his real name) from childhood was quite an artistic guy but did not show much interest in music. He graduated from St. Anthony's primary school and, for his secondary school, chose Accra Academy, which has one of the richest stories among the academies of Ghana. It was while studying at Accra Academy that his love of music began to grow sharply. KiDi listened to many genres, but the one that the guy liked the most was afrobeat. Without hesitation, he started to write songs. Of course, in the beginning, he lacked experience in writing and performing songs, but that didn't stop KiDi.  

After graduating from Accra Academy, he entered the University of Ghana with a degree in economics and information studies. While studying there, despite his specialty, KiDi spent more and more time on music. The more he delved into music, the more he wanted to become a musician. The songs he wrote became much better, and later, he decided to take the next step. To gain the necessary experience, he needed to start performing in front of a live audience. Fortunately, there are so-called Moonlight Cafes in Ghana and many other countries. In them, novice artists have a chance to perform in front of a small audience. This applies not only to singers but also to novice comedians and other people whose task is to perform in front of an audience. Without wasting time, KiDi began performing in such cafes. To his surprise, he was received very well because of his wonderful voice and energetic songs. At that time, KiDi recorded not only his songs but also made covers of other famous tracks, thus improving not only his voice but also the ability to produce songs.  

At the age of 21, while still studying at KiDi University, he decided to try himself on the big stage. For this, he applied to participate in the MTN Hitmaker Competition. By analogy with other music shows of this type, this show sought new talent and announced the winner at the end of the season, who was given a cash prize and the opportunity to sign a contract with a recording studio. Of course, KiDi could not miss such a chance and decided to participate in it without hesitation. Almost from the very beginning of the show, he became a favorite for many viewers because of his inflammatory and lyrical manner of performance. Despite a strong rivalry, KiDi was still able to reach the show’s finals, where, to his own surprise, he was able to win. This moment can be considered a full-fledged start to his musical career.  

The victory in the show allowed Lynx Entertainment to sign a contract. Although KiDi now had access to show business, he decided not to drop out and graduated in 2016. After graduating from university, all his attention fell entirely on music. He knew that his collaboration with Lynx Entertainment would help him get off to a good start, but good songs were just necessary for that excellent start. So that's what he did. KiDi always liked to do the maximum work on his songs, which means that he wrote them himself, selected and created melodies, decided the direction of the music, etc. His first singles were "Drunk", "Never Again", and "Bleed.” Although the audience liked these songs, they were too simple and could not attract the majority’s attention. The first hit that really glorified KiDi was "Say You Love Me", the clip of which currently has more than 2.5 million views. It combines inflammatory African rhythms and traditional pop music so that anyone can enjoy it anywhere in the world. In the same 2017, KiDi released another song that will bring him unprecedented popularity. 

The song "Odo" was released in 2017 and became one of the biggest hits in Ghana in a matter of days. For this song, KiDi received 5 nominations in such award shows as Ghana Music Awards and 3Music Awards. "Odo" spread so fast in Africa that it was hard to believe, and later it could be heard in many other countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Great Britain, and others. To not slow down, KiDi decided to make a remix of this song with two singers from Nigeria, namely Mayorkun and Davido. Although the remix has significantly increased the popularity of KiDi, still many still much prefer the original. Beginning in 2027, KiDi also began to perform much more actively in front of a live audience. He has appeared at various concerts, including Sarkodie's Rapperholic Concert.  

The next 3 years for KiDi will bring one success after another. In 2018 alone, he received as many as 16 music nominations, of which he won 3, namely Highlife song of the year (Odo), Most eventful Snapchat channel, and Best Artiste Duo or Group in Africa Contemporary. In 2018, the best KiDi tracks can be called "Adiepena", the clip which currently has as many as 8.3 million views, and "Thunder" with 6.4 million views. For these songs in 2019, he also received nominations, although they did not win. And it didn't matter. Because KiDi has released so many hits in a row, its popularity has skyrocketed in both Ghana and Africa in general. However, despite such popularity, KiDi did not like to share the work and continued writing and editing songs independently. Perhaps it is the attention to detail and love for his work that became the main reasons for his popularity.  

In the same 2019, he released his first album called "Sugar," which received excellent reviews, and in 2020 even won the nomination Album of the Year. The album contained 13 songs, including the previously mentioned "Thunder" and "Adiepena", as well as the hits "Fakye Me" (feat Medical) and "Mr. Bad Man" (feat Kwesi Arthur). 

In 2020, the first EP KiDi called "Blue" was released. It includes 5 songs, including a hit song called "Say Cheese", the video for which has already gained almost 4 million views.  

In general, KiDi still has many plans for the near future, namely the release of new singles and a full album, holding concerts to end the pandemic, improving their musical skills, and much more. Seeing how KiDi's career was built on a pure desire to connect his life with music and hard work to achieve this, it's nice to know that he succeeded. Not only because he deserves it but also because he is an excellent example of how desire and hard work can lead anyone to the desired success.