Nana Kwaku Okyere Duah (Tic Tac) is originally from Kwamo a suburb of the Ashanti Region. His musical journey began in 1997, when he and another boy formed a group named Natty Strangers. Young as they were they became the toast of many shows. Tic Tac stood out from the rest of the group, his voice described by most as similar to Busta Rhymes.
Tic Tac went on to feature on Azigiza’s Woye Bia which became a big hit in Ghana. He then went to collaborate with Slim Buster’s Masan Aba and Dassebre’s Ahofe. These collaborations helped Tic Tac to establish a name for himself in the industry. ‘Philomena’ his debut album hit the streets in June 1999 and saw songs like ‘KKBK’ and Mmaa 4mula top the charts in Ghana for several weeks.
The pressure was on after his second album, Masom, to deliver another hit album. He delivered again on his third album, Masem with the massive hit, Menkabio (fondly called Shoddies). This gave him 6 nominations at the Ghana Music Awards of that year and won him best collaboration.
After a two-year hiatus which gave him the opportunity to develop his song writing skills and himself lyrically, Tic Tac released his fourth album Wope, an album dedicated to Africans within and in the Diaspora. He became the first hip life artist to collaborate with anyone outside of Ghana with Freddie Meiway of Ivory Coast Wope and Nigerian star Tony Tetuila on the explosive Fefe Na Efe, which received several awards around the world.
Throughout his career he has managed to win no less than 11 Ghana Music Awards, performed at the Notting Hill Carnival in London, also alongside artists such as 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Kanda Bongoman, Judy Boucher, Mark Morrison, Buju Banton, and Joe. Tic Tac continues to break new grounds, 2004 saw him pick up the coveted Musician of the Year Award at the Ghana Music Awards and became the 1st ever hip life artist to become the face of Kasa a popular phone card in the UK to call Africa.
In late 2005 he took part in the MTV Base Africa launch in Ghana and events like the Shoreditch festival as part of Africa 05 is the biggest celebration of African culture ever organised in Britain sees him crossing over into the commercial market. BBC Newsround came to Ghana to film a documentary on him as part of their African Lives season, which was screened in the UK in July 2005. Another highlight of 2005, he headlined a Black history month show in Southwark, performing alongside Ras Kwame (Radio 1), Richard Blackwood, Kelly le Roc and Shola Ama.
He is currently involved in a campaign with the United Nations in Sierra Leone and Ghana alongside Ramsey Noah and Oswald Boateng, as part of the WFP raising funds for children. Tic Tac performed at the RISE Festival 80,000 people gathered to part-take of the annual celebration. He was the highlight of the African Village stage. RISE has been major music and entertainment festival for all Londoners and for the last 5 years, has been the prominent showcase of the Mayor of London’s commitment to cultivating and developing the capital as a great multi-cultural city with a proactive campaign that denounces racism and works to eradicate it.
Puma Africa released a compilation album featuring the biggest artists in the world; In aid of the 2006 FIFA World cup the album featured artists such as Tic Tac, Akon, John legend, Baaba Maal and The Roots. In August 2006 MTV Base, Akon and Gil Green visited Ghana, to embark on a project to film a video for Akon Tic Tac. They shot the video to his hit song, Kangaroo taken from his Accra Connection album. On May 2007 Tic Tac became the first African to have his song on the MTV BASE chart.