Ghana’s Batman Samini – Nominated for 2006 MOBO Awards

Batman Samini is one of Ghana’s biggest stars. His sound is a hybrid of old school highlife, dancehall and hip hop, which some journalists have tagged raglife, but which the man himself refuses to classify

Like many of Ghana’s current musicians, Samini honed his talents through the church before hitting the stage at 17. After a series of collaborations, in 2002 he got a record deal and made his first album — the chart topping Dankwansere. The song ‘Linda’ is still one of Ghana’s most loved.
In recent years, Samini has performed with, (and sometimes upstaged) Akon, Beenie Man, Wayne Wonder, Kevin Little and Rita Marley. He has toured in the UK, Italy, Germany, Holland, Canada, Nigeria, and was one of the acts at the official Black Stars World Cup concerts in Germany this year.
Hailing from the Northern Ghanaian town of Wa, Samini’s name means Rain God. The name took on a new significance in May 2006 at the launch of his new album. At exactly the moment where the first song was played, in front of thousands at Labadi in Accra, the heavens opened and the rain poured for 2 continuous days.
Hopefully London will be spared the monsoon in September for the awards and the post-show party concert.
‘Samini’ is out now on iTunes and Napster stores worldwide. See www.zongojunction.com for more info.