NewsSarkodie's "Original" answered the Twi critics in 2013, and the argument is still going
The song opened with a promise to rap in his own language all the way to the Grammys. Thirteen years on, Rapperholic has been to Kumasi and the Grammy is still the missing stamp.
Sarkodie released the video for "Original" on 10 July 2013, his birthday. The song later became track 7 on his album Sarkology, which came out on 2 January 2014. The writer is credited as Michael Owusu Addo and the producer is Fortune Dane, whose "F-Dane" tag can be heard on the record. Big OJ Films directed the video.
The song starts before the beat drops, with Sarkodie talking in English. He says he will "spit in my own language", that people think this makes him limited, and that he is heading for the Grammys. The rest of the song is his evidence.
A BET already in his pocket
When he made the song, Sarkodie had already won a BET Award. In 2012 he shared Best International Act: Africa with Wizkid and became the first Ghanaian to win one. Some people still said rapping in Twi would hold him back.
In the verses he brushes off talk that his success comes from juju and says it is God's blessing. He tells his critics to spend that energy on sit-ups instead. He points back to Rapperholic, the album he launched with a concert at the Accra International Conference Centre on Christmas Day 2011, and says people thought it would never pick up. He also says even listeners in Togo were sending him feedback.
Sarkology backed him up. Its guests came from Nigeria, South Africa, the UK and Senegal, including Davido, Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, AKA and Fuse ODG. Obrafour, one of the big inspirations Sarkodie names at the end of "Original" along with Reggie Rockstone, Lord Kenya and Okomfo Kwadee, is on the album too.
The song has a short farewell to a Goldie. In February 2013 the Nigerian singer Goldie Harvey died in Lagos, days after coming home from the Grammys in Los Angeles. She is most likely the Goldie he means.
The debate didn't end
In June 2024 Hammer, the veteran producer, said on Joy FM that vernacular rap will limit you. That is the same word Sarkodie answered eleven years earlier.
Since the song came out, Sarkodie has become the first winner of Best International Flow at the BET Hip Hop Awards, in Atlanta in 2019, ahead of Little Simz, Tory Lanez and Nasty C. In January 2023 he featured on a new official version of "Stir It Up". On Saturday, 24 October 2026, Rapperholic was at Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi, which holds about 40,000 people.
The Grammys created a Best African Music Performance award, first handed out in 2024. Sarkodie has said he wants a Grammy.
Every time someone says Twi will limit a rapper, Sarkodie's record answers them. He took the language with him and the world came to listen. One page in that passport is still empty, and Ghana is waiting with him.
- YouTube, Sarkodie channel: official "Original" video, dir. Big OJ Films (10 Jul 2013)
- OkayAfrica: Sarkodie marks his birthday with the "Original" video (11 Jul 2013)
- Wikipedia and lyricsraag: Sarkology track listing and credits (album out 2 Jan 2014)
- Modern Ghana, Channels TV, Afropop.org and Peace FM: BET Best International Act Africa, shared with Wizkid (2012)
- Peace FM, News Ghana and Graphic: Rapperholic album launch at the Accra International Conference Centre (25 Dec 2011)
- Graphic and DailyGuide: Rapperholic Kumasi at Baba Yara Sports Stadium (24 Oct 2026)
- Graphic Online, OkayAfrica, Citizen Digital and Music In Africa: BET Hip Hop Awards Best International Flow (5 Oct 2019)
- Ghana News Agency, Hot 97, OkayAfrica and Music In Africa: "Stir It Up" with Sarkodie (20 Jan 2023)
- Reuters, Graphic and BellaNaija: death of Goldie Harvey in Lagos (14 Feb 2013)
- Graphic Showbiz and MyJoyOnline: Hammer on vernacular rap, Joy FM Showbiz A-Z (June 2024)
- Grammy.com and CBS News: Best African Music Performance category (2023 to 2024)
- YEN and Modern Ghana: Sarkodie on wanting a Grammy
Every factual line in this story is checked against at least two independent sources, unless the text says it comes from one report.