Abubakar Ahmed, aka Blakk Rasta was born on September 2, 1974 in Tamale to devout Ahmadi-Moslem parents. Growing in the slums of Moshie-Zongo and Aboabo, he went through and witnessed a lot of injustice, favoritism and other social ills; therefore his music and art reflects his experiences and his desire to fight injustice.
Education was a necessity for him since his parents were both educationists. He ended up at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Land Economy. He also hopes to have a degree or diploma in Law. His studiousness made him a role model for many ghetto youths the slums. He topped his class several times. Everyone in the slum saw Blakk Rasta as an extraordinary chap with over-endowed academic talent.
Music was the last thing to Blakk Rasta though he enjoyed listening to very popular slow music. The ghetto chap wrote several plays, directed and acted in some of them. He writes novels too and won several writing competitions. Music started to become an option for him when in 1990, Osman Habib Dollar, a ghetto youth told him about Nigerian Reggae superstar-Ras Kimono. He was immediately captured by the lyrical presentation of the singer; he was even moved to tears over some of the lyrics. He became interested in Rastafarianism and started researching on the movement. The results opened him to several mind-blowing experiences, which led him to embrace Rasta, though still a Moslem.
In 1993, he got to opportunity to meet and watch Ras Kimono perform live. He later formed a conscious youth club called The Ras Theatre Group in Tamale, which acted plays, made movies and performed Ras Kimono’s music. Blakk Rasta started trying to write his own lyrics. His first album, Rasta Shrine came out in April 2000, spotting smash hit singles like Afreeka Swit, and Keep on Rockin / I & I Rastas
In 2003 July, More Fyah was released and the single ‘Congo Bongo’ was voted as the Best Reggae Song of 2003 by the Ghana Music Award. He followed up with his third album ‘Ganja Minister’ in 2005.
Blakk Rasta is also a reggae DJ on radio. He was adjudged the best Reggae DJ in Ghana when he was on Happy 98.9 FM. He is currently a DJ on Hitz FM, where he continues to create social awareness through his controversial Taxi Driver program. He recently released ‘Barrack Obama’, a hit single that supports Obama’s bid for the US presidency. He is a vegetarian – no meat, fish, eggs, white sugar, flour, salt and anything animal.