Why Black Sherif’s Rise Could Mark the End of the Sarkodie, Shatta Wale, Stonebwoy Era
Editor's note: Ghana's music industry has long been defined by the towering trio of Shatta Wale, Sarkodie, and Stonebwoy, whose combined dominance across awards, shows, and headlines has shaped the country's sound for nearly two decades. But one artist appears to be rewriting that story entirely.
Don't miss out! Get your daily dose of sports news straight to your phone. Join YEN's Sports News channel on WhatsApp now!
YEN.com.gh editor Godwin Nii Armah Okine examines the streaming data behind Black Sherif's extraordinary rise - and makes the case that his total dominance on the charts, streaming, and awards scene signals a seismic shift in Ghanaian music and the end of the 'Big 3' status quo.
Sarkodie, Shatta Wale, Stonebwoy: The Big Three emerges
In 2003, hiplife artist Bandana shook the entire country when he dropped the single 'Moko Hoo', featuring the hottest artist at the time, Tinny. In 2009, a young rapper from Tema called Sarkodie grabbed the entire nation’s attention with a verse on Last Two's megahit You Dey Craze; and in 2012, Stonebwoy catapulted to fame as Samini's protege.
Collectively, these three have dominated Ghana music for close to two decades, beginning with Bandana's renaissance as Shatta Wale in the early 2010s and the rise of the latter two to heavyweight status around the same era.
Source: Facebook
To say you could discuss Ghanaian music without these three would be an understatement. Shatta Wale and Stonebwoy redefined dancehall in the country. They constantly dominated headlines, shows, and awards, with their long-standing, never-ending feud keeping them at the top of the trends.
Sarkodie grew from a gimmicky fast rapper into the best spitter on the continent, dropping hit after hit that captivated audiences with his flow, style, delivery, panache, and amazingly deep punchlines that left you thinking even as you bopped your head to the music.
Together, Ghana Music witnessed a run that we had never seen and thought we would probably never see again - until now.
The rise of Black Sherif
Despite the dominance of these big three - they collectively boast five Artist of the Year Awards at Ghana’s flagship Telecel Ghana Music Awards, hundreds of other awards, and hundreds of millions of streams - one artist appears poised to end their time in charge.
Black Sherif only started his career in 2019, with the release of Mariama, and Money became his first semi-official hit in 2020; but he truly became a national phenomenon in 2021 with the release of First and especially Second Sermon, so he has only had a national profile for five years.
Within that time, he has won two Artist of the Year Awards at the TGMA - nearly half the total of the Big Three - and has released two critically acclaimed albums back-to-back with certified global hits such as Kweku the Traveller and Second Sermon (remix).
Black Sherif dwarfs big three
Beyond the frightening pace at which Black Sherif is collecting awards, the clearest sign of the new era we are in, which signals the changing of the guard, is the youngster’s dominance on streaming platforms.
When Spotify Africa released its five-year retrospective data in February 2026, covering the platform's entire history in Ghana since its February 2021 launch, one name sat alone at the top: Black Sherif.
His closest competition was not even from the traditional big three, but Asake and Burna Boy, both from Nigeria. Sarkodie was the only one of the big three who made the top five, coming in fourth position, with Drake grabbing the fifth spot.
Below is Facebook post with a chart demonstrating Black Sherif's dominance.
Another clear sign of Black Sherif ending the big three’s dominance was the Spotify Wrapped data for 2025. It was admittedly a big year for the young superstar, but he claimed nine of the top ten spots for the most-streamed songs of the year, a completely ridiculous level of dominance bordering on the farcical.
The trend continued onto lifetime streams, where Black Sherif once dominated at a level nearly impossible to imagine. His Spotify catalogue has surpassed 750 million streams, according to aggregating site kworb.net, with over 700,000 daily streams. He is followed by roughly 300 million streams for Sarkodie (200,000 daily streams), 278 million streams for Shatta Wale (185,000 daily streams), and 150 million streams for Stonebwoy (89,000 daily streams). Collectively, the big three struggle to crack Black Sherif's total, and that tells the story more than anything else could.
Nor is this dominance strictly confined to Spotify; the numbers largely bear out across Apple Music, Boomplay, and YouTube, although the level of superiority may vary. The unmistakable picture it paints is that things are changing, and they are unlikely to be reversed soon.
Factors behind Black Sherif's takeover
The biggest reason for this change is that Black Sherif is simply the product of this new streaming era. He was built for it, with his genre-bending, introspective style appealing to all, especially a young population that relates to the struggle he portrays. Older millennials and their predecessors used to get that from Shatta Wale, but Black Sherif has firmly taken over. It helps that Afrobeat and its derivatives are the dominant sound of the day, while reggae-dancehall and rap have taken a back seat.
Looking at all this data, the unmistakable conclusion is that Black Sherif has conducted a hostile takeover of Ghana music from the big three, and he’s been highly successful. It would be foolish to dismiss the era of Shatta Wale, Sarkodie, and Stonebwoy as entirely over, but the days of their collective dominance are certainly waning. Ghanaians have chosen a new champion for the underdog, and it’s not Shatta Wale. They’ve chosen a new rhyme-bending genius, and it’s not Sarkodie. And they have chosen a new scrappy teller of emotional stories, and it’s not Stonebwoy. They’ve found a blend of all three, and he’s their champion for the future. The Blacko era is not coming. It is already here. The takeover is complete.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the editorial policy of YEN.com.gh
Source: YEN.com.gh
