Dr Cryme
| Dr Cryme | |
|---|---|
 Performing at the National Theatre, Accra, Ghana | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Darlington Kwasi Agyekum |
| Also known as | Da General |
| Born |
1986 (age 30–31) Tema, Ghana |
| Origin | Tema, Ghana |
| Genres | Afropop, hiplife, Twipop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, singer |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Labels | Twipop Records |
| Associated acts | Sarkodie (rapper), Jesse Jags, Stay Jay, Chase, Fuse ODG, Chemphe, D-Black, etc |
Dr Cryme is the stage name of Darlington Kwasi Agyekum, a Ghanaian rapper and early proponent of the Ghanaian "twipop" genre. Dr Cryme has also performed as a TV presenter, a brand ambassador[1] and is CEO of Twipop Recordz.
Agyekum was born in Tema and began making music in his early school days. He studied at the Datus School and then attended ASUTECH in Cape Coast and Sotech in Somanya before earning a certificate in broadcast journalism from the Ghana Institute of Journalism.
Recognition and musical style
Agyekum began performing as Dr Cryme (Creative Rhymes You Most Enjoy) since high school as a rapper and appeared on a popular rap competition "Kasahare Level" on Adom FM; a radio platform that gave chance to upcoming rappers to heard. Due to his rap style, he was referred to as “Tema Eminem” as it's believe he took inspirations from American Rapper Eminem. In June 2010, where he was officially presented by E-Jam Records at a debut party at the Bacardi Sports Bar in Tema.[2]
His first major hit single was "Kill Me Shy", released off of his Finally Finally album in June 2011.[3] "Kill Me Shy" went on to become a number one hit for two quarters in 2011.[3] Dr Cryme's second major single, "1Step 2Back" was released on August 2012.[4] Dr. Cryme Darlington has shared the stage with Spliff Star, Busta Rhymes, Rick Ross and more[5]
In September 2011 Dr Cryme won the Golden Heart Award in the UK organized by Dzifa Gray who happens to be the founder, Producer and director of the Titi Gray Talk Show on BEN TV, (Sky Channel 184), airing every Saturday at 7PM.[6][7] He was rated the most bankable young artiste for 2011 by the GH Review newspaper.[8]
Subsequently, in 2012, Dr Cryme (also appearing as D-Cryme) won the "Hiplife Song of Year" award, and gained nominations for "Best New Artist of the Year", "Most Popular Song of the Year" "Hiplife/Hip Hop Artiste of the Year" and "Song Writer of the year"[9] at the Ghana Music Awards
Agyekum was highly criticized for his inability to produce a major hit after "kill me shy" in 2013 and 2014. He proved critics wrong in 2015 after releasing "Koko Sakora" which features Sarkodie
Recently, "Koko Sakora" has been on top of the music charts around Ghana.[10]
Business career and endorsements
Dr. Cryme performed as a presenter for 4 syte TV in 2011. He hosted the ‘Top 10 Videos’ which was aired on ETV Ghana. In the same year, Agyekum joined a line up of brand ambassadors for Samsung's consumer devices, that includes Chelsea FC footballers, Didier Drogba and Michael Essien, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan, Indian sports shooter Manavjit Singh Sandhu and singer Beyonce Knowleshe.
He was officially unveiled as the Brand Ambassador for Samsung Ghana.[11] As part of the agreement, Dr. Cryme was to market Samsung 222 mobile phone and will also appear in Samsung's advertising campaigns.
Agyekum has been involved in socially viable projects which included UN Volunteers Day Chokor project which was pegged to the Copenhagen conference. Being an Ambassador for the UN project propelled him to assume a position of changing the society’s mindset on offshore development projects and globalization through enormous self-financed social education and donations.[12]
Awards and nominations
WatsUp TV Africa Music Video Awards
| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Koko Sakora ft Sarkodie | Best Afro Pop Video[13] | Nominated |
Ghana Music Awards UK
| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Himself | Afrobeat Artist Of The Year[14] | Nominated |
| Koko Sakora ft Sarkodie | Best Collaboration Of The Year[14] | Nominated |
Ghana Music Awards
| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Himself | Best New Artist[15] | Nominated |
| Hip hop/Hip Life artist of the year[15] | Nominated | ||
| Songwriter of the year[15] | Nominated | ||
| Kill Me Shy | Most Popular Song Of The Year[15] | Nominated | |
| Kill Me Shy | Hiplife Song Of The Year"[9] | Won |
4syte Music Video Awards
| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Koko Sakora ft Sarkodie | Best Collaboration Video[16] | Nominated |
| Best Hiplife Video [17] | Won | ||
| Most Popular Video[16] | Nominated | ||
| Best Photography Video[16] | Nominated | ||
| Rise | Best Hip Hop Video[16] | Nominated | |
| 2011 | Kill Me Shy | Best Hip Life Video[18] | Nominated |
| Best Male Video[18] | Nominated | ||
| Himself | Discovery of the Year[18] | Nominated |
Golden Heart Awards
| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Himself | Most Influential Artist[6] | Won |
High School Honours
| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Himself | Most Influential Artist[19] | Won |
Discography
- Finally Finally Album (2012)[5]
References
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
- ↑ "Dr Cryme to Shoot "Kill Me Shy" Music Video February 7". Ameyawdebrah.com. Ameyaw Debrah. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
- 1 2 "Dr Cryme management calls Mark Okraku Mantey an ‘educated Illiterate’". GhanaWeb. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
- ↑ "DR CRYME’S NEW SINGLE HITS THE CHARTS IN 2 WEEKS". Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- 1 2 http://www.ghanamusic.com/artistes/d/dr-cryme/index.html
- 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-11-27. Retrieved 2013-08-26.
- ↑ http://houseofmaliq.blogspot.com/2011/06/house-of-maliq-dzifa-abequaye-gray.html
- ↑ http://ameyawdebrah.com/dr-cryme-rated-most-bankable-young-artiste-2011-by-gh-review-newspaper/
- 1 2 http://channelo.dstv.com/2012/03/ghana-music-awards-2012/
- ↑ http://nanayaw18.com/praye-honeho-birthday-photos-the-journey-of-music-duo-praye/index.php?page=233&heading=podcast:_airtel_chart_show_-_july_23rd_as_dr.cryme_tops_with_koko_sakora
- ↑ http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/entertainment/Dr-Cryme-Announced-As-Samsung-Brand-Ambassador-221186
- ↑ http://ameyawdebrah.com/dr-cryme-to-shoot-%E2%80%9Ckill-me-shy%E2%80%9D-music-video-february7/
- ↑ http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/entertainment/Checkout-nominees-for-Watsup-Tv-Africa-Music-Video-Awards-473925
- 1 2 https://www.zionfelix.net/events/full-list-nominees-2016-ghana-music-awards-uk-released/
- 1 2 3 4 http://www.peacefmonline.com/pages/showbiz/news/201202/97600.php
- 1 2 3 4 http://www.peacefmonline.com/pages/showbiz/music/201610/296763.php
- ↑ https://yen.com.gh/86629-here-winners-2016-4syte-music-video-awards.html
- 1 2 3 http://www.ghanacelebrities.com/2011/10/15/vodafone-4syte-music-video-awards-2011-nominations-out/
- ↑ http://www.ghanamotion.com/news/d-cryme-voted-most-influential-personality-by-high-school-honours