On his third album, BET Best International Act: Africa winner Sarkodie (born Michael Owusu Addo) cemented his role as Ghana’s foremost hip-hop export. In keeping with his Afrocentric ethos, he delivered his raps primarily in Twi, with English sprinkled across the project’s 30 tracks. “Sarkology was an era where I had to place myself as an African artist, [not] just a Ghanaian artist,” he tells Apple Music. “From the records to the visuals, I gave my all; this album got me to step up my game.” Fusing hip-hop, hiplife, dancehall, and Afrobeats, the feature-laden album housed guests such as 2Face Idibia, Stonebwoy, Fuse ODG, Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, Davido, Joey B, Efya, and more. Impressing the streets as well as the charts—across productions by Masterkraft, King of Accra, Lil Shaker, Magnom, Silvastone, Killbeatz, and Fortune Dane—Sarkodie oscillated between rapid-fire bars (“Preach,” “Rap Attack”), motivational lyricism (“Halleluyah,” “Small Small”), and amorous melodies (“Special Sumone,” “Ordinary Love”).