Introducing Mawcom X the Rapper, Mawuli the Culture Architect of Africa’s burgeoning creative scene
It was the fourth and final day of Afro Nation Ghana 2019. I had arrived on the festival site before opening, to meet iPhone photographer Derrick Ofosu Boateng as we were capturing the final set of images for our Colourful Faces photo series from the event. If there’s anything to go by, Accra very much reminds me of Los Angeles. The traffic on the road is absolutely insane and if you’re lucky to make it to your destination on time, it’s likely the person you are meeting will not. So here I am, alone but happily strolling across the shores of Laboma Beach absorbing the waves of the Atlantic, alongside the empty but grand production of one of the biggest black music beach festivals to take place on African soil. The only people around were the festival workers, from food and merchandise vendors beginning their set up, to the Ghanaian military who were tasked with securing the entire grounds of the festival. A young man walking towards me calls out and says, “hi I like your boots, where are you from?” I was wearing black Jadon Dr Marten’s and yes, I was wearing them on the sand. “Hi, I’m from London, I’m covering the festival for DSTNGR, I’m just waiting for my photographer,” I replied. “Ah cool, I knew you weren't from around here,” the guy responds. “I’m Mawuli. I’m part of the production team for the festival.” We continued in conversation, general chit chat about the festival and our careers but little did I know, that I was embarking on a conversation and new friendship with one of Accra’s creative geniuses.
Fast forward to the present day where I’ve had countless conversations with Mawuli, since our initial meeting back in December 2019. Here stands a young man with an immensely sincere passion to connect the many strands of art and creativity, across the entire continent of Africa. Ultimately, it’s the very core of his being and with this he truly understands his purpose. So allow us to introduce you to Mawuli, the self professed Cultural Architect and his alias Mawcom X, the Ghanaian rapper who today releases his joint EP project ‘Gift Of GOD’ with the highly popular Ghanaian producer Kuvie, known for crafting hits for many of Ghana’s new generation of music artists from the likes of Joey B to La Même Gang, Amarae and more. Throughout this interview, I hope to give you a clear insight into the many qualities of my dear friend Mawuli. In a two hour conversation we had back in January at The Gallery in East Legon, Accra, I became genuinely fascinated with not only the determination Mawuli has as an emerging rapper and overall creative but also his deep intent to do what’s necessary for the better of Ghana’s creative industry.
Of God exists, this is what the name ‘Mawuli’ means. “Every step of my life has kind of given me a form of affirmation, towards that name,” he tells me. He goes on to explain that a lot of people in Ghana tend to treat art like a fallback plan, for example if they were not to do so well in their studies. This then creates a certain stigma within the creative industry, negatively affecting the perception of real creatives and what they represent and stand for. As for Mawuli, he tells me that his creative journey was very much his decision, “I chose to do music. I used to draw but when I found out that I could express myself with words and melody it was like whoa, this is a very special gift.”
At the tender age of 8 years old, Mawuli saw himself experimenting with any and everything to make music. A black out in the house would inspire songs about lights off, with Mawuli getting into a rhythm and singing around the house. He wrote his first complete song in 7th grade of junior high school, year 1 at just 12 years old. “When I was able to write a whole verse and spit it, record it and hear it playback to me, I knew that there was something” explains Mawuli. “Then I decided to follow it to wherever it was going to take me.” Attending an all boys boarding school in Cape Coast, Ghana, Mawuli shares that for the first time, he was able to escape from his parents over shelteredness, “I felt like I could make my own decisions, I could be my own man. Even though I was a boy, I was like 15 but I just felt like I’m free, so I could explore this thing.” This thing, being music. In school, Mawuli’s rap talent became a gift and a curse, as the seniors would make demands for him to rap for them on the spot, sometimes as punishment. He tells me that they would go to bed and expect him to still be rapping until they woke up from their sleep to release him from his retribution. “War onto you if you go to bed before he wakes up, you’re in real trouble,” shares Mawuli. “At the time I used to be like, why are these people tormenting me but I look back at all those experiences now and it was like a training ground because I’m pretty good with freestyle.”
It wasn’t only the sleepless nights rapping that helped Mawuli to perfect his craft, his mother was also a librarian. Sadly she passed in recent years, may her soul rest in peace. “My mum and my grandma both sort of cultivated the culture of me reading, from a very tender age so I just love books,” shares Mawuli. “I was just really good with words and you would find me looking for new words and when I found a new word, I’m tryna find six/seven other new words that can rhyme with it on the spot.” Researching was and still very much is Mawuli’s thing, he’s that guy who knows about absolutely everything. “I was kinda happy when the internet came,” he admits. “We’re the generation that are old enough to understand the analog system but were also young enough to adapt when it went digital. I kinda appreciated how easy it was for me to hit up Google for any word or anything. Back then you would have to go through pages of pages.”
Just like the progression of the analog world into today’s forever expanding digital era, everything is very much an evolving passage, “It’s a cool journey looking at where we started from and where we are going, where we’re at and what we are aspiring to do,” states Mawuli. “I read somewhere that any artist that’s ten years below, is still an upcoming artist. I didn’t really understand that part because I was like man I’ve been in this thing for so long, damn and I haven’t blown up.” I can imagine this being one of the most frustrating circumstances of being a music artist, in fact an independent creative overall. That waiting game is a hard and lonely battle, with spats of self doubt whilst awaiting for the external world to recognise the greatness you hold within. It takes a strong individual to see past this and to keep things going, after all it’s not about the destination. “I look back in hindsight, all of that was my artistic development process, I had to go through these things,” says Mawuli. “I’m basically grooming myself to become the artist that I envision myself to be and my art obviously taught me a lot of things, like discipline.” Mawuli goes on to share a statement that was told to him by his friend KaySwitch, fellow artist and younger brother to Nigerian artist D’banj, “he told me one thing that I’ll never forget. ‘Take care of your art and your art will take care of you. You need to focus on the art first.’” To most including a younger Mawuli, focusing on the art simply meant, just make dope music however, he’s learnt it’s a lot more intricate. “It’s beyond that,” he says. “Even how you want the music to be presented to the people, all of that factors into being a dope artist.” It’s no longer about being the best, most skilled rapper, he’s been through the ranks and proven that he can rap. From winning a country wide Sprite competition at 17 years old, to being signed to Ghanaian music legends R2Bees, in his early 20’s. However, being a good rapper and being a great artist are two different stories Mawuli tells me, “you could be a good rapper but for you to go from that to be a great artist, you have to go through your artistic development process. You have to understand your brand, you have to have a picture of who you want to be and how you want to get there.”
It’s very much first hand experience that lends to understanding these facts, “all of this I’m saying now, because I learnt the hard way,” explains Mawuli. “Every time I meet my boys like the La Même boys, B4Bonah and T'neeya, basically the new generation of artists - when I meet them I always try to give them pointers.” He doesn’t want those who are next in line to learn the hard way. The way he sees it, he has the knowledge and it should be passed on, “knowledge in the right hands is a very powerful thing,” he states. The new generation of talent coming out of Ghana is very exciting, Mawuli clearly recognises this and so do I. “These people are super talented,” he shares expressively. “They have all these opportunities that are opening up because the world has become smaller, because of the internet.” He’s absolutely right. He goes on to explain the ease of communication, connecting with people across the entire world and the ability to share on such a wider scale than ever before. “These guys have so much opportunity, the old rules of the game are not applicable anymore,” continues Mawuli. “There’s a whole new paradigm shift, that’s something I’ve observed. A lot of the people don’t know how strategically positioned black culture is, now. You know, we’ve always been strategically positioned but because we never actually see ourselves telling our stories, it was never something believable, there was nothing to aspire to.”
Wealth can bring about great opportunities but sometimes and more so often for many of us, it’s just about being in the right place, at the right time. This is something Mawuli gratefully recognises, “I’m privileged to have come from the background that I came from,” he states. “It allowed me insight into a different side of the world. My dad is not wealthy, rich or anything like that,” which Mawuli explains gave him further insight to another side of the art. “I went to all these fancy schools, top schools, grew up around some of the richest people in the country and you see so many things. But also on the other side, you have the experience of not having so much.” Obtaining a healthy balance is the key takeaway point here, as well as understanding how best to use the privileges granted to you. “A lot of the people are going to be in the same spaces as you, doing things similar to you but will not be opportune to have access to the kind of information you have,” details Mawuli. “So now it’s your duty to convey that message. I’m an artist but then I’m also like a teacher, I always try to teach the younger ones.” With this mindset comes a level of expectation for nothing but consistent development and greatness, “when I sit with people, it’s always like what are we going to do to improve our situation, what is the next plan, what ideas do you have,” shares Mawuli. “It’s always progress, progress, progress that’s like my mantra, go hard or go home. There is no place to fall short.” To some Mawuli has an obsession with perfection, which he admits willingly, “I’d rather shoot for perfection and even if I miss, I’d still be higher than most, than shoot for mediocrity and then miss and still fall below the bar. That is my approach to life, art, all of that. My art basically governs the way I live my life now.”
So yes, Mawuli is indeed Mawcom X the rapper however, he is so much more than just a rapper or a music artist. From his intellect to his passion alone, he has ample to offer to the African creative industry and he knows it, “I wanna be like a generator or a power plant where the other creatives can just plug in and come alive, that is my goal,” shares Mawuli. “I feel fulfilled when I see an artist, maybe that I believed in and then I made a call.” As a very well connected and credible creative player across the continent of Africa, other tastemakers and plugs within the system trust Mawuli’s judgement when it comes to the art. He’s worked with the likes of Hennessy, Ballentine’s, Daily Paper and of course Afro Nation via his experiential creative agency The B.A.C.O.N Group. For Hennessy he threw two parties for them, “the first one was the Urban Glow, it was a glow in the dark party experience which was unlike anything that has happened in the city (Accra),” details Mawuli. The event had huge Hennessy inspired paintings hanging from the ceiling and the crowd were all in their glow paint, “it felt like you were part of the art piece,” he further details. “That’s also another thing about me, my creativity. I told you before I used to draw so I’m a very visual person, even though I make music, I think across the whole board. I see everything. I see how music and fashion can work together, I see how music and art can work together.” The second Hennessy party was called HyperLoop, Ghana’s first ever warehouse rave, “nobody had done a warehouse rave in Ghana before and we did it and it was really epic,” shares Mawuli proudly. I had the pleasure of experiencing one of Mawuli’s creative initiative’s, with the Daily Paper pop up at the Mhoseenu Studios in Accra. Merging with the Christmas and New Year events that take place in Ghana every season, the pop up became a popular site to visit for many of the diaspora visiting the country, as well as Ghanaian locals who were also given the opportunity to buy products by the Dutch based streetwear brand at much cheaper price points. The space was utilised as a temporary store and event space, hosting a number of parties and panel talks, with the likes of Ghana’s beloved Free The Youth collective and the founders of Daily Paper. “My boy David Alabo he’s a really dope digital artist and when we were curating the Daily Paper set up, I told the guys at Daily Paper that I want us to put David’s pieces there,” shares Mawuli. “For me it was like, what’s the essence of opportunity, if you can’t create more opportunity for people, why then do you have the position? It’s never been about me.” It’s no coincidence that the Ghanaian-Moroccan visual artist later collaborated with Daily Paper, in a limited edition tarot-inspired capsule collection for Spring / Summer 2020.
From very early on Mawuli could recognise the growth and potential for creatives within Ghana, especially within music. “La Meme, Kwesi Arthur, Bonah, T’neeya, I could see where they were going,” he explains. But it was almost too early, with the lack of interest across West Africa for anything other than Afrobeats, it was hard for people to understand what Mawuli was visualising. “When I was telling everybody, everybody was like nah rap ones KMT, it’s hip hop sit down, it’s not gonna work,” he continues. “But for me it was like, yo I know what’s happening. I was in Nairobi for a bit, I went to school in Cape Town, I did my internship in Jozi, I lived in Nigeria. Fortunately for me, every time I was in one of these cities there was like an urban renaissance happening so I saw the traits, I saw the characteristics.” Mawuli could literally see first hand what was emerging in Ghana. “When I got back to Ghana, I saw so many things that reminded me of these places and I was like yo, Ghana is about to hit that place, we’re there. It was just a matter of opportunity, we just needed somebody to come and inject cash into this generation and we’re going to be unstoppable.” Due to Ghana being seen as such a small market, it was hard for others to catch onto the vision but Mawuli knew what was happening. “Ghana could become like Japan, Ghana could be like Switzerland, a small place that is known for quality,” he explains. “We’re not trying to be Nigeria but in my opinion, everything that Nigeria is exporting to the world is taken from us.” He goes on to explain that Ghanaian’s are very good at innovation but we’re not good sales people. As a fellow Ghanaian myself, I can attest to this all too well. However, Nigerians have excellent salesmanship, he continues to tell me. “You see what happens every time the Ghanaian’s and the Nigerian’s work together, you always see black excellence. Clean example, Afro Nation. Two ‘rival countries’ that people say don’t get along but actually, when they do get along they’re unstoppable.” As for the development of the new gen music in Ghana, Mawuli would spend hours meeting and talking to emerging artists, giving them game but he also realised something very important, “all these conversations made me realise that there’s a lot of people making dope music but after they make their dope music, they don’t know what to do,” he states bluntly. “I realised that somebody’s got to take the step back, if we are all trying to be the superstar, who’s going to build the structure? Who’s gonna build for us to have a foundation to stand on.” Mawuli tried his best to onboard the right people however, nobody was all that willing to do what was necessary so he realised if it was going to get done, he was the one to do it. “I try to have conversations with a lot of people and KMT, nobody was tryna put in the work so I was like ok cool, you know what music can wait but the music business needs to be dealt with.” It was time for him to “edutain”, as his friends would say, educate and entertain. “Just try to make sure that yes we’re having fun but we’re learning a lot of things,” he elaborates. “Once you can have that mentality ingrained in them, when they go out to also propagate the message they know that OK, we’re having fun but we need to be able to teach. You know, pass the message on.”
Now after a few years working behind the scenes, creating opportunities, building festivals (including his very own For The Culture) and cutting deals for other artists. With the architectural groundwork more or less a solid playing field for Ghana and with the Afro-Trap, alternative and overall creative scene now causing a stir and huge international interest, Mawcom X embarks on a new journey with his impressive new EP ‘Gift Of GOD’. With Kuvie on the buttons throughout, the production value is undeniable - fusing elements of trap beats, immersed with african and also caribbean influences. “Different spices here and there, that’s what ‘Gift Of GOD’ is,” details Mawuli. In his own words, he can’t just give us jollof rice everyday. For Mawuli, it was important to create a project that was relatable to African youth however, not solely for them alone, “I’m not making music for Ghana, I’m making music from Ghana but it’s for the world,” he shares. “I want to drop my music and people be like this sounds like hip hop from everywhere in the world but the content is uniquely African.” Mawuli is proudly a 21st century African kid, this is what he represents, “we need to let the world know that there is a whole new breed of Africans and we’re changing the narrative,” he states. “We’re telling our stories, in our own way.”
Sharing more about the EP’s title, it’s apparent that the project is much more than just music for Mawuli, “It was a gift of God on so many levels,” he explains. “It was a gift from God, to me - but me working at that time on the project was what I needed. Was that divine intervention that I needed to get my mind off the reality of the loss of my mum. So I found a way to deal with it and music is therapy.”
Press play on the new EP ‘Gift Of GOD’ by Mawcom X and Kuvie below and in the words of Mawcom X himself, they’re “reporting live from the motherland.”
Photography by Chantal Azari