What connects these four pictures of musicians, with Ghanaian heritage, to Croydon in London, UK?
We all know that award-winning grime artist Stormzy (aka Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr), his cousin and rapper Nadia Rose, and award-winning singer-songwriter Raye (Rachel Agatha Keen) lived in Croydon – right?
But did you know that Ghanaian Afro-rock band Osibisa performed in Croydon in the late 1970s?
According to Croydon Museum’s ‘Rewind’ exhibition, Osibisa played at the Greyhound Pub.
The pub was situated on Park Lane, opposite Fairfield Halls.
The venue attracted singers, who at the time were carving a career for themselves but have since become household names, including David Bowie, Supertramp, Elton John, and Status Quo.
Incidentally, Nadia Rose’s ‘Skwod’ video was shot at Surrey Street Market in Croydon.
Nadia, who was born in June 1993, released her debut EP Highly Flammable in January 2017 following the successful singles 'Station', 'BOOM', and 'D.F.W.T'.
Stormzy’s Merky FC HQ and football centre, a partnership with Adidas, is also based in Croydon. Stormzy, who was born in July 1993, launched a new publishing imprint with the Penguin Random House division William Heinemann in 2018. It is called #MerkyBooks.
And Raye, whose mum is Ghanaian-Swiss and her dad English, was born in Tooting but later moved to Croydon and attended performing arts school BRIT School.
If you are in Croydon this Black History Month, do check out events they’ll be putting on to honour Black names from the area.
And do check out the Croydon Museum ‘Rewind’ museum which features more about these British Ghanaians.
We’ve been regularly sharing posts about Ghanaians and their impact on the UK during Black History Month-UK.
This is our fifth post in our Black History Month Countdown.
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