NewsSarkodie's thank-you song to Kumasi ends with a promise he keeps on Saturday
Asante Y3 Oman came out days after a rain-hit Rapperholic at Baba Yara in 2025. Rapperholic returns to the same stadium on 24 October.
Sarkodie takes Rapperholic back to Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi on Saturday, 24 October 2026. It is the second year running the show has gone to Kumasi, and the rapper told the city it was coming in the last words of a song.
"Asante Y3 Oman", which means Asante is a nation, came out on 2 October 2025. It was his thank-you to Asanteman and Otumfuo after the first Rapperholic Homecoming, held at Baba Yara on Saturday, 27 September 2025. After verses in Twi, the song closes in English, with "I'll be back" said three times.
The rain
Rapperholic was usually an Accra show held in December. The Kumasi night was hit by heavy rain, and fans ran for shelter. The show carried on until Sunday morning. Sarkodie later told YFM Kumasi: "I am not going to lie, I was nervous, very scared, especially for the fans." YEN.com.gh reported that his father, Augustine Owusu Addo, stayed in his VIP seat under an umbrella while others ran.
The palace
In July 2025, Sarkodie visited Manhyia Palace to ask Otumfuo for permission to bring the show to Kumasi. Otumfuo gave his blessing and said he would like to attend, and Sarkodie signed the palace's VIP visitors' book.
The song seems to point back to that visit. He sings about meeting Opemsoo, a title first given to Osei Tutu I, the first Asante king, which speaks of a king who is fearless and keeps going with his plans. He also calls Kumasi Oseikrom, its other name, meaning Osei's town.
Pictures and protocol
The breakdown picks out two images: tying a head pad with joy, and an old woman coming to the show with her walking stick. Sarkodie names four areas of Kumasi in a row. In one line he says a few things fell short, then that light comes after darkness. In his thanks he names Otumfuo, the ancestors and God, and thanks Asanteman.
On the night itself, he promised Kumasi another show the next year. Saturday's Rapperholic at Baba Yara keeps that promise.
In Accra you book a stadium. In Kumasi you knock at the palace first, and Sarkodie learnt that. Big artists rarely admit a few things fell short inside a thank-you song. He did, and I respect it.
- Amplify Ghana and GhanaMusic.com: Asante Y3 Oman release (2 to 3 Oct 2025)
- GhanaWeb and Ghana Weekend: Rapperholic Homecoming at Baba Yara Sports Stadium (Jul 2025)
- Graphic Online, The Ghana Report and OnuaOnline: rain disrupts Rapperholic in Kumasi (Sep 2025)
- The Spectator / GhanaWeb: Sarkodie on YFM Kumasi
- YEN.com.gh: his father under an umbrella in the VIP section
- YEN.com.gh, Ghana Weekend and GhanaWebbers: Sarkodie at Manhyia Palace (Jul 2025)
- Wikipedia and ghanaremembers.com: the Opemso title and Oseikrom
- Atinka Online, Graphic Online, Adom Online and Ghanamma: Rapperholic 2026 at Baba Yara (Sat 24 Oct 2026)
Every factual line in this story is checked against at least two independent sources, unless the text says it comes from one report.