Mohammed Ismail Sherif (born 9 January 2002) is a Ghanaian singer and rapper better known by his stage name Black Sherif.

Sherif frequently competed in his home region talent shows and was a familiar sight at his high school events, when he would dazzle the crowd with a musical performance. He first came to prominence with his October 2020 single, “Money,” a song that represented Sherif’s roots in the streets as well as his desire to achieve a higher status. He kept putting pressure on his work with two additional songs, “First Sermon” and “Second Sermon,” which brought him to a far larger audience.

He later on then got recognized for his hit 2022 track, “Kwaku The Traveller,” which has received an incredible number of listens since its release. “Kwaku The Traveller” helped propel his debut album, The Villain I Never Was, to stardom:

The whole idea behind the execution of the album was to create a safe space for me to vent. To be free, a place of freedom for me to talk about everything, to be real and roar, and my message is what runs through it.

Sherif’s music is profoundly rooted in an endearing conscience, and his words represent his experience in the ghetto region. He’s a brilliant and energetic performer who is one of the new voices invigorating Ghana’s music landscape.