On Monday, March 27, 2023, as part of her trip to Ghana, Vice President of the United States of America Kamala Harris visited with a few members of the country’s creative sector.
A list of the artists present at the meeting, which was held in the Vibrate Space studios in East Legon, included Black Sherif, Amaarae, M3nsah, Joey B, Ria Boss, Baaba J, and Poetra Asantewa.
Idris Elba from the UK and award-winning American actress Sheryl Lee Ralph were also there.
In her speech, Kamala Harris praised the works created by Ghanaian artists and discussed the strong ties between Ghana and America.
She continued by saying that the world is being profoundly influenced by culture and the creative sectors.
“The creative work that is happening on this continent as represented by the work that is happening right here, is extraordinary in terms of the international global impact. And this is not a new phenomenon. But it is something we’ve done with all the current excitement about the evolution of culture and music,” she said.
Sheryl Lee Ralph emphasized the necessity for artists to make personal investments.
“You must invest in yourself, in your art first and then you burst it out to the world. We’ve all done it. And it’s been hard for us, just as it will be hard for you. But as artists we never let the difficulties stop us,” he advised.
Idris Elba reaffirmed the necessity of promoting the entertainment sector and exhorted the industry’s creatives to strive even more to advance their profession.
“This trip is significant in the right direction but don’t forget it starts with you, it starts with hard work, it starts with places like this so we can see more talents roll out from this
Later, Kamala Harris announced in a tweet she had created a playlist that features Ghanaian artists Black Sherif, Amaarae, and others on the music streaming platform Spotify.
I am releasing a playlist featuring the artists from my travels across Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia, including many of the Ghanaian and Ghanaian-American artists I met today like @blacksherif_ and @amaarae.https://t.co/B057ZDcpv8
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) March 27, 2023
