Guru NKZ Biography
Maradona Yeboah Adjei (born May 7, 1987) is a Ghanaian rapper known by his stage names Guru/Gurunkz.
Guru was born in Accra on May 7, 1987, and raised in the Brong/Ahafo Region of Ghana in the town of Nkoranza. He attended the Reverend John Teye Memorial Institute and Apam Secondary School as a child. He continued his education at NIIT and IPMC, where he studied computer networking and architecture. Afterwards, he attended Zenith College in Accra, Ghana, where he studied entrepreneurship.
Music Career
His contemporary hiplife rap style incorporates English and Ghanaian indigenous languages, for which he is known.
Guru claims that his interest in music began when he was very young, but he did not pursue it as a career until he found himself performing at large events such as Miss SSS, a national contest in Ghana, while still in school. Additionally, he appeared on national radio programmes. In 2008, Guru was the first artiste to win the WAPPI Talent Discovery Programme, a national competition for underground musicians.
Late in 2009, Guru recorded his first mixtape video with Ghanaian musician Sarkodie. His first significant feature, which brought him to national prominence, was on Obrafour’s song “Kasiebo”, for which he was named best-featured artist by the 4Syte TV Music Video Awards. “Platform” was the title of his debut studio album, which also featured Sarkodie. Platform was nominated for six Vodafone Ghana Music Awards.
He released the single, which debuted on the Ghanaian charts in 2011, titled “Lapaz Toyota.” The Azonto-inspired sounds in the song contributed to its success. Politicians made references to it throughout the elections around that time and during the Big Brother Africa finals. The video for the song was awarded the best male act by the City People Entertainment Awards. He also released the single “Karaoke” in the same year.
Genre
Hiplife
Location
Ghana
Socials
Guru released six singles in 2013, including “Amen”, “Azonoto Boys”, “Abena”, “Nkwada Nkwada”, and “Alkayida (Boys Abre)”. Some government officials stated that “Alkayida (Boys Abre)” “promoted terrorism” due to the similarity between the song’s title and that of the terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda. Guru refuted the ban, arguing that the song was intended to promote hard labour rather than violence, stating, “Ghana is a peaceful country, so why would I write a song to promote violence? I gave serious consideration to the song before releasing it.”
Guru and Sarkodie collaborated on the single “Baggy Jeans” in 2015. His single, “Pooley Swag,” was nominated for hiplife/hip-hop artist of the year and best hiplife song of the year at the 2015 Ghana Music Awards. Jidenna, a hip-hop artist, described him as one of the finest African hip-hop artists alongside WizKid, Don Jazzy, and Akon. In spite of several nominations for music awards, including four major categories in the 2015 4Syte Music Video Awards, Guru has yet to win any, causing some to question if there is some inner industry turmoil.
Guru established NKZ Music record label company and signed the highlife duo Wutah, which was intended to be their reunion after a lengthy separation. After the release of their hit single “Bronya,” in 2018, the group went their separate ways again.
Guru released “Journey of Judah” in 2018, which featured Harrysong, Sarkodie, Lil Shake, and Ofori Amponsah.
