User:SELFADDI/sandbox/Addi Self

Jafaro Mohammed, popularly known as ADDI SELF was born on the 19th of September, 1992 in Mamobi, Nima, a suburb of Accra, Ghana. The name ADDI SELF, literally means Addicted to Myself, as he learned very early on that Self Determination, reliance and belief was the keys to life. He attended 37 Military Hospital Basic school where he began his formal education. Life in the Zongo as he describes his upbringing, wasn't an easy one. Whiles in school, he found he had a passion for playing football, and ultimately joined the Gye Nyame football club, now called Strong Tower FC. He held the position of a goal keeper, and to date, still loves the game. However, he also realized his passion for music and dancing, taking inspiration from the likes of Michael Jackson, Tupac, Bob Marley and Anthony B.

He found himself writing down real life experiences that he had been seeing around him, on the streets, in school, and in his neighborhood, and turned those thoughts into freestyle songs, which then led him to write his first song. From there, he started sampling various beats online, and creating his own music. He realized his talent in that area, and it was from there that he began to dedicate most of his time to music.

Whiles still in school, and making music, he began hustling to earn an upkeep by hawking on the streets of Accra; selling pure water, plantain chips, pens, and even cleaning glass windshields.

SELF NATION was created as an independent record label, signifying his brand, and his fanbase, which was beginning to grow rapidly. However, competition in his neighborhood created some hostility, even resulting in the burning of his Self Nation T-shirts, physical altercations with some of his friends, and a wall painting of his image, being removed. Nonetheless, the experiences didn't slow him down, it rather gave him more determination to pursue his passion.

He recorded "Life Nuh Easy" with producer "Funky Beats", who was one of the first producers he worked with. The video was shot in Abelenkpe by 2CP, and he began to gain more attention of the public, based on his heavy promotion of the song in various ghettos.

In 2014, his song "Mamobi" started to gain notoriety, when he used the beat from an artist he admired greatly, named Shatta Wale. The song caught Shatta Wale's attention on Facebook, and Shatta Wale shared Addi Self's song with his followers. It was at this point, that he began to notice Addi Self's talent, and ultimately in 2015, a chance meeting at the Accra Mall, where Addi Self went to purchase a ticket to see Shatta Wale perform at an awards show, led them to meet in person. From that point on, they created a couple of songs together, notably "Love Mi Suh" and "Ghetto Star". It was at this point, that an alliance was formed, being SM & SN.

In 2017, Addi Self recorded a song with Shatta Wale, which featured 2 other artists. Taking Over ended up having over 14 million views on YouTube, won Best Collaboration at the Ghana Music Awards, and really gave him much broader exposure to the international market. Based on the massive success of the song and video, he officially was signed to Shatta Movement, under the group SM Militants. During this time, they dropped hits such as "Thunder Fire", "Forgetti", "Control Ghana" and many more. Individual hit songs were also dropped by Addi Self, such as Today Too, Born Bad, Diana, Future Picture and Trust your Love.

In November 2018, Addi Self had the opportunity to accompany Shatta Wale on his Reign Album tour in London, United Kingdom. They performed all of their mega hit songs at the iconic O2 arena to a sold-out audience. It was during this trip that Addi Self realized how far he had come on his music journey. From watching BBC 1Xtra online in his spare time, he now was physically present in the same booth were so many great artists that he admired also once stood. He had a change to drop a freestyle with DJ Edu, together with Shatta Wale and Joint 77. This significant experience, was the basis for his debut album titled "The Journey - Zongo to BBC". In early 2020, a misunderstanding ensued, causing his contract with Shatta Movement to end abruptly. Although it wasn't an easy pill to swallow, Addi Self picked up the pieces, held his head high, and decided to live by the words of his name, which is; to believe in himself, and to keep going. While he will forever by grateful to Shatta Wale for the several opportunities given, the lessons learned, and the international exposure, he feels it is important to now find his own way, and to re-focus on his individual brand, SELF NATION.

Individually, he released singles like; Where di money, My daughter (freestyle), How many times, Grateful Letter to Shatta Wale and Eddi Worhor. He dropped the first single off the album "The Journey - Zongo to BBC, being, Gyal dem daddy, which features Kelvyn Boy, and the second single "Mi Hype", which have both been received with great reception, and continue to do well on all media platforms.

"The Journey - Zongo to BBC Album was the debut album released by on April 9, 2021. The album has achieved great success since it debuted across the world, as demonstrated by reaching the Ghana i-Tunes Top Albums Chart, holding onto the #1 spot for six weeks straight, as well as on the World i-Tunes Albums Chart, at #4.

Since his debut album was released, he has since released the singles; We go make am, No Apology (featuring Liberian artist, self acclaimed King of HipCo Takun J). The most recent single dropped, titled We Did It, features Xzone, Gariba and Don Cash which is a Hausa Drill vibe, which has been added to the mainstream music platforms Spotify and Apple Music.

He is Focused current working on his new mixtape tagged SlumToTheHills Mixtape to motivate his fans and tell his story through his lyrics.