“I think that great art comes out when you have freedom especially mentally, to be able to create an organic sound and organic music, with no boundaries,” Ghanaian rap legend Sarkodie tells Apple Music. “No Pressure is just me saying, trust me; I’ve been doing this for over 10 years; I need the space to crate the organic music that i’ve alway been doing. Just trust the process; I know what i’m doing—but obviously we’re still going to elevate.” While living under lockdown helped, creating a seventh album from a place of creative freedom has been on Sarkodie’s mind for a while. “I felt this way for about three years, maybe even more,” he explains. “It’s just that it’s a great time to speak about it. In Africa there’s a lot of pressure on artists to do things that people would call success. I’m an artist’s artist. I really believe in good music.” Sarkodie (real name Micahel Owusu Addo) attributes his longevity to his singular focus on great artistry, and No Pressure interweaves his own organic, bilingual delivery and West African hip-hop moods—including assists from Ghana’s DarkoVibes, Kwesi Arthur, and Medikal—with global collabs with Chicago rapper Vic Mensa, the UK’s Giggs, South Africa’s Cassper Nyovest and Tanzania’s Harmonize. Here, Sarkodie talks us through the album, track by track. Rollies and Cigars “I posted pictures of me with a cigar, and an organisation in Ghana that thought I should take it down and apologise. I don’t smoke 24/7—I’ll barely do one in a whole month. It’s just me celebrating the success of the album, the success of my career in general, my family, everything. At this point, I want to have a rollie or just have a cigar with some wine, instead of just mingling with a lot of people. I don’t need no fake friends.” Vibration (feat. Vic Mensa) “Shout-outs to Vic Mensa; it was super organic. We met up in Ghana. I like anthems; I like beats that make you feel on top of the world, that feel huge when you’re on stage performing. This beat represents the brand Sarkodie – that’s the tone, that’s the sound. The producer AltraNova has this one word he’ll say, ‘vibration’. Everything is about vibrations—and then Vic heard it, that was the hook.” Round 2 (feat. Giggs) “I judge delivery and flow. I rap in my native tongue, so the power that I possess is in my flow—people can love it even without understanding it. That’s what Giggs possesses as well. We actually have two records; [when we met] we were in the studio, so we recorded. But I think that day was just for us to meet and check our energies out and connect. ‘Round 2’ was the perfect [follow-up], and things really flowed the second time around.” Coachella (feat. Kwesi Arthur) “It just makes you feel those good vibes, like when you go to a festival—and the first thought was Coachella. I’ve never been to Coachella, but the mood of the music for some reason just brings that Coachella vibe.” Jaara (feat. Medikal) “‘Jaara’ is just vibes—a hip-hop, street kind of record. It’s very funny, and one person who has humour in his rap is Medikal—anything that has to do with humour, and Medikal comes to mind.” Married to the Game (feat. Cassper Nyovest) “I’ve always wanted to do something with Cassper; we just needed the right record. Cassper actually recorded two verses, but the song became very long, and I didn’t know which one to keep. The verse I took out has some bars that people would go crazy for. That verse cannot go to waste; I’ll probably drop that long version [later].” Anything “Definitely my favourite on the project. ‘Anything’ is talking about people who would do anything for the clout. People just want to look cool on the internet. It’s people just showing off and lying; girls taking off their dresses and just doing anything just to trend. People cannot lie [online]—you’re going to be exposed, so make sure you’re being real to yourself. Don’t put pressure on yourself; stay real.” Fireworks (feat. Wale) “[This collab was] super organic. The record is about feeling being unsure about a relationship; you’re ready but you’re waiting for her to commit. Sometimes people go through stuff that makes it very difficult for them to open up; they’re into it, but they’re scared at the same time. It’s about, when are we going to get over that phase where I can have you to myself?” Whipped (feat. DarkoVibes) “It’s about being captured by a girl who you’re so into, that you do stuff you normally wouldn’t do. But it’s a twist on the idea; it’s celebratory. It becomes easier with age; didn’t realise how changed I am as a person; you build, you grow, you become mature, you see things differently. Deserve My Love “As a rapper, sometimes it’s a bit funny when you try to sing, because I don’t really have a good voice. So normally I just lay down a guide vocal. I did the verse, and then I did the hook, and I was going to call somebody to do it, but the producer [MOG] was like 'Boss, I think you sound perfect.' And it takes a lot for me to leave my vocals [in]. I don’t tell people it’s me singing, but I watch the reaction, so when people go ‘Who’s that singing?’, I say ‘Okay, that’s me!’ I love it because it’s new to me. I can see [more of it ] happening; but I’m not going to force it; it has to happen organically.” Don’y Cry (feat. Benerl) “Subconsciously, on most of my love songs, it’s never [about] the girl being [present] with me—it’s always with her being away. My wife and I had a long-distance relationship for the longest time. This is the first time we’ve lived together; she’s been in Germany and I was in Ghana. My idea of relationships has always been like that. ‘Don’t Cry’ is one of those records – I’m leaving, but don’t cry, I’m coming back. Benerl’s a new artist. I did a writing camp and when I heard his voice, it’s the same feeling I had when I heard King Promise, because as soon as he opened his mouth I was blown away. I always keep everything organic; it has to be about the music. You could be the biggest artist, and if we do a record and I don’t like it, I’m not going to put it on the project just because you have numbers. Benerl has such an incredible voice. I just see a superstar.” I Wanna Love You Feat. Harmonize “I try to touch East Africa, because I’ve never done anything out there. I did a verse for Harmonize a coulple of years ago [TRACK NAME]; I think it was around the same time I was doing the writing camp in Ghana, and he came through as well. Shout-out to my producer MOG; It’s a catchy melody. If I’m getting it right, it’s the national anthem for South Africa. We have a bit of South Africa in there, I have myself repping Ghana, and we have the east with Tanzania.” No Fugazy “I’ve always been into fashion, and recently it’s become a thing even day-to-day. It’s like a hobby now. There’s an agenda back home in Ghana, talking about people trying to wear stuff they can’t afford, so they end up wearing the fake. I’m saying you don’t have to wear Louis Vuitton—you could do Puma. Puma is still authentic; it’s real. There’s more respect in that, than trying to wear Louis V that’s fake. That’s what the song is talking about: no fakes. If you can’t get it, get what you can afford.” Non Living Thing (feat. Oxlade) “Before I met my wife, there was a girl I was so much into; I thought she was the love of my life. You know what that feeling is like: your first girlfriend. Then something happened; she had something to do with someone else, who was close to me. That whole story stuck with me. Men have been tagged as cheats, and ‘no good’—but I think that all men, if we can be very truthful, as young kids, when we fall in love, we just love the person we’re into. We’re blind–we can’t see anyone else other than the person we’re dating. And I know women will not believe that, but I know that every man will have that phase; we’ll go out, we’ll see all kinds of girls—but you still love your girl. Then, when [women] change, it makes you insecure and you want to validate yourself. You try to be all over the place. And now you’re thinking, ’I thought we were going to do this forever, and the fact that you don’t even have the time to wait for me to get on my feet. Because you think I don’t have money.’ So it’s just advice to women—not all women, but most women that fall in that trap: if you are with someone who has aspirations, who is driven and who has passion, the most you can do is just support and build that person up. Because everyone that you want was built by somebody.” I’ll Be There (feat. MOGmusic) “I always bring God into whatever I do; every album I put out has a gospel record. The song is so dear to my heart; I wrote it eight years ago. I felt the song was so huge that I didn’t have the right person to sing it. Then I chose a choir to sing it; it’s very emotional; it’s worship and brings the church vibe. The incredible MOGmusic is a good friend. ‘Whatever you need, whatever you want, I’ll be there for you’—that’s God talking. People think I’m weird because I’m never sad. I feel like I have a lot to be grateful for. People should just take trips to the hospital once a week to remind themselves what they have. People are in a dark place because of how others made them feel. When I go to church and hear people preaching prosperity and judging people because you don’t have a car, for example I don’t believe in that. ‘I’ll Be There’ literally depicts my faith and what I stand for in religion. God is telling you ‘I’ve got you. If you know what I have planned for you, you’ll never worry yourself with these little things you’re asking me to do.’ Have faith; believe in God know that you are blessed; appreciate what you have so you can add on more.”