NANA NYC is an award winning Television Producer, Artist and Entertainer based in NY. NANA NYC is originally from Kwahu Obo/Kwahu Tafo in Ghana but relocated to New York City back in 1992 when his mother Doris Ama Afriyie Harrison decided it would be better to fly him in to the US because of the many opportunities given to children who had interests in Arts & Media. NANA NYC has always been into creative arts.
After a few years in the US, NANA NYC began to write rap songs. He admits that he wasn’t too good at first but he saw an opportunity to get involved in the Hip Hop world when several friends from Herbert H. Lehman High School invited him to join them as they began to record their demos. A year later after NANA NYC graduated from High School, he began to record his own demo. Although he admits that the music wasn’t the greatest, it was good enough to riled up some friends in the neighborhood who then decided to join him on his recording mission. In 2001, NANA NYC finally decided to release OSKA MYA volume 1, a mixtape that opened up many doors.
On that tape, he had a single called OH NANA, which eventually became a single he pushed on all his other mixtapes, OSKA MYA volume 2 as well as COLD HEARTED AND REBELLIOUS TOWARDS SUCKERS(C.H.A.R.T.S vol 1). OH NANA really got its push when NANA NYC was invited to perform at the 2005 MISS GHANA NEW YORK pageant where a lot of the local Ghanaians got their first look at the Ghanaian rapper who had been making a name for himself in the Bronx. Not too long after, the music video to OH NANA, shot by an Ecuadorian film maker STEVE GARAY was featured on BET finally giving NANA’s movement that main stream recognition although at the time, Africans weren’t really looking that far to see their artists. When asked about the impact this made in his career, NANA NYC said in quotes “It didn’t really help me too much at the time because I didn’t have an album in the stores. Social media was fairly new to the masses and until someone on Facebook sent me the actual video playing on TV, people didn’t even believe me when I said I would be featured, including people I had in my circle”.
He went on to say that it helped him in some ways because it made him realize that he can do anything he put his mind to. After all, he was an unsigned independent artist without an album but yet he was on BET every other week. This was big news for the Ghanaians living in NYC. His video brought an awareness to the Ghana industry that getting featured on a national American station was more than possible. This was November 1st 2008 when it was featured.
Fast forward to 2018 and NANA NYC is on to newer and bigger things. He recently released his debut album AFROKING OF HIP HOP and it has been doing so well on Apple Music and most of the other online stores. NANA NYC’s album dropped on Apple Music and was given 7 STARS when it dropped, the most for any artist worldwide. Currently, the only artist who was close to NANA NYC’s album is US Hip Hop Artist Lil Wayne, who also dropped at 7 stars. Major artists like Drake was given 4 stars. If you have Apple Music, you can go in and compare it yourself to see. The debut album has 23 songs ranging from HIP HOP to HIGH LIFE. He features KK FOSU & KWAW KESE. A lot of the songs were produced by OZ TRIBECA, DIKODER, FLO NYCE & more.
The AFROKING OF HIP HOP album is available on all platforms you can download music from. You can follow NANA NYC on all social media @nananycofficial.