Samini

Born December 22, 1981 in Dansoman, Accra, Ghana, known as Samini (formerly Batman Samini), is a Dancehall artist from Ghana, and his name means Rain God in his native language. Samini hails from the town of Wa in the northern part of Ghana. His genre of music is a melodious mixture of highlife, dancehall, reggae and hip-hop. He terms his brand of music as the “African dancehall”. He started singing in a church choir at the age of 14 and became a professional musician after a musical collaboration with another musician in 1999. His debut album, Dankwasere released in 2004, topped the local music charts for weeks and won two awards at the Ghana Music Awards. The track Linda from the album was a popular hit. He has shared the stage alongside Sean Paul, Akon, Kevin Lyttle, Shaggy, Wayne Wonder, Damian Marley, Bennie Man, Jay-Z, Chaka Demus & Pliers, Culture and Steel Pulse. He collaborated with Steel Pulse and Etana from Jamaica. He has received international recognition and toured the UK, Germany, Italy, Canada, and Holland as well. He received international recognition when he was nominated and won the best African musical act at the MOBO Awards in the United Kingdom in September 2006. His second album was Samini for which he won three awards at the 2007 Ghana Music Awards, and in February 2008, won the Best African Artist Award at the Hip Hop World Awards in Nigeria. His third album, Dagaati, was released in 2008.