The Man Tic Tac: A Biography

Nana Kwaku Okyere Duah aka Tic Tac began the journey in 1997, when he and another boy formed a group named ‘Natty Strangers’. After solo features with Azigiza’s ‘Slim Buster’s and Dassebre Gyamena Tic Tac establish a name for himself in the industry. ‘Philomena’ his debut album hit the streets in 1999 and saw songs like ‘KKBK’ and ‘MMAA 4MULA’ top the charts in Ghana for several weeks. After Philomena, his third Masem that gave him another big hit Menkabio fondly called Shoddies which stayed on the charts for 23 consecutive weeks. This gave him 6 nominations at the Ghana Music Awards of that year and won him best collaboration. After a two-year hiatus, Tic Tac released his fourth album Wope, an album dedicated to Africans at home and those in the Diaspora and became the first hip life artist to collaborate with anyone outside of Ghana with Freddie Meiway of Ivory Coast to drop the Wope sound and Nigerian star Tony Tetuila on the explosive Fefe Na Efe, which received several awards around the world. 2004 saw him pick up the coveted Musician of the Year Award at the Ghana Music Awards and become the face of Kasa a popular phone card in the UK to call Africa. At the GMA awards that took place in April 2005, Tic Tac had nine nominations, including two nominations in the Best Collaboration category a first for any Ghanaian artist, which he won. In late 2005 he took part in the MTV Base Africa launch in Ghana earlier this year and events like the Shoreditch festival as part of Africa 05 is the biggest celebration of African culture ever organised in Britain sees him crossing over into the commercial market. BBC Newsround came to Ghana to film a documentary on him as part of their African Lives season, which was screened in the UK in July 2005. Another highlight of 2005, he headlined a Black history month show in Southwark, performing alongside Ras Kwame (Radio 1), Richard Blackwood,( Choice FM) Kelly le Roc and Shola Ama. He is involved in an ongoing campaign with the United Nations in Sierra Leone and Ghana alongside Ramsey Noah and Oswald Boateng, as part of the WFP raising funds for children. Tic Tac performed at the 2006 RISE Festival 80,000 people gathered to part-take of the annual celebration. He was the headline Act of the African Village stage. RISE has been the prominent showcase of the Mayor of London's commitment to Also in attendance from Ghana were then Tourism Minister Mr. Jake Obetsebi Lamptey and the late Madam Hawa Yakubu. Puma Africa released a compilation album featuring the biggest artists in the world, In aid of the 2006 Fifa World cup the album will feature artists such as Tic Tac, Akon, John legend, Baaba Maal and The Roots. In August 2006 MTV Base, Akon and Gil Green visited Ghana, to embark on a project to film a video for Akon and one for Ghanaian artists. Tic Tac was chosen. Tic Tac was the 1st Artist in Africa to benefit from this initiative, and also the 1st African artist to have a MTV “Making of the Video” .The video crew included director Gil Green (director of videos for Brandy, Lil’ Jon, Akon, 50 Cent Busta Rhymes). The video for his single “Kangaroo” was shown worldwide on the MTV Network in conjunction with celebrations for Ghana @ 50. May 2007 saw Tic Tac become #1 on the MTV BASE chart!! Staying there for a consecutive 4 weeks. September 2007 saw Tic Tac at the Big Brother Africa eviction show in South Africa to an audience of over 50 million viewers across Africa. He ended 2007 @ #9 on MTV BASE’s top 100 of the year. During CAN 2008 football tournament, Tic Tac’s song Kangaroo was given a boost with the Ghana national team The Blackstars, using it as a celebratory dance other teams soon followed, in what became a national frenzy. Tic Tac spent most of 2008, touring the US and most of UK recording and preparing for his new album, there were major Performances at the Soundcity Music Awards alongside Nas in Nigeria and Not in Your Lifetime concert South Africa in aid of xenophobic attacks last year. Over his 9-year career he has managed to win no less than 11 Music Awards, performed at the Notting Hill Carnival in London, also alongside artists such as 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Kanda Bongoman, Judy Boucher, Mark Morrison, Buju Banton, and Joe. Introducing 10th Day, celebrating ten years of musical journey and Tic Tac’s forthcoming sixth album