Derrick Ashong

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Derrick Ashong
Derrick Ashong

Derrick N. Ashong, also known as "DNA", (born 1975 in Accra, Ghana), is a musician, artist, activist, and entrepreneur.

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[edit] Background

Born in Accra, Ghana in 1975, Derrick Ashong was the son of a pediatrician.[1] He attended school in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Voorhees, New Jersey[2] before attending Harvard University in 1997 through a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, where he studied Afro-American studies and was awarded the Hoopes Prize for his senior thesis. He returned to Harvard and is currently studying for a PhD in Ethnomusicology and Afro-American studies.[2] Ashong was a founding member of the Harvard Black Alumni Society.[3]

[edit] Career

[edit] Arts

Ashong's musical career started while at Harvard. He produced a musical entitled Songs We Can't Sing, for which he won awards[4], before forming a band called "Black Rose". The band latter became known as Soulfège. Ashong has worked with such established artists as Debbie Allen, Janet Jackson, & Bobby McFerrin, and is MC and leader of the pan-African band Soulfège, under the name "DNA", producing works that have aired globally via outlets including MTV Africa, MNet Africa and BBC World Service.[2]

In 1997, Ashong had a role in the Steven Spielberg-produced movie Amistad[1], playing the character Buakei, a role he gained through attending an open audition in New York.[5] He also appeared in a 2006 documentary about the Angola 3, entitled 3 Black Panthers and the Last Slave Plantation.[6] Ashong founded a talent agency, ASAFO Productions.[7]

[edit] Public roles

Derrick Ashong has lectured on musicology, the free market, and individualism at over a hundred institutions in the United States, Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and Asia, including the World Music Expo WOMEX in 2003 in Spain[3], and is the author of FREE THIS CD!!! - The FAM Manifesto - a text outlining the philosophy of open source music.[4]

Ashong reached prominent media attention when a YouTube video of him speaking on Barack Obama's campaign to gain the Democratic nomination for the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Surprising the interviewer who expected a short soundbite (perhaps based on Ashong's casual appearance), Ashong gave a measured and protracted analysis of Obama's campaign.[8] The video has been viewed more than a million times.[1]

He sits on the boards of Oasis Entertainment, the Interra Project, the Fannie Lou Hamer Project and Africa Action, the oldest organization in the US, lobbying African issues. He is Director of Business Development at Weapons of Mass Entertainment, a new media company launched by the musician Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics. He has recently founded a media company specialising in niche advertising, called Take Back the Mic.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Carr, David (2008-03-17). More Than a Sound Bite, This Clip Has Some Teeth. New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-03-18.
  2. ^ a b c DNA biography. Soulfege. Retrieved on 2008-03-18.
  3. ^ a b Has this young Ghanaian man won the election for Barrack Obama?. Click Afrique (2008-02-23). Retrieved on 2008-03-18.
  4. ^ a b Derrick Ashong. The Lavin Agency. Retrieved on 2008-03-18.
  5. ^ Speedie, Sam (1997-12-11). Derrick Ashong: Actor, Musician. Harvard Gazette. Retrieved on 2008-03-18.
  6. ^ Angola 3 (2006). Retrieved on 2008-03-18.
  7. ^ Adapting to the Beat: The Music Industry in Flux. Harvard University (2004-11-13). Retrieved on 2008-03-18.
  8. ^ A Declaration on Independents. The Economist (2008-02-14). Retrieved on 2008-03-18.

[edit] External links