Wanlov the Kubolor: The Most Fearless Voice in Ghanaian Music | E26 | Afro Soul Stories:

Wanlov the Kubolor: The Most Fearless Voice in Ghanaian Music | E26 | Afro Soul Stories:

Wanlov the Kubolor has spent nearly two decades making albums most artists wouldn't touch — one about illegal gold mining years before it became a national crisis, one about Ghana's anti-LGBT politics, an entire catalogue named after different colored "cards," each one a different piece of social commentary.

In this episode of Afro Soul Stories, Sewor Okudzeto sits down with the Ghanaian-Romanian rapper, producer, and filmmaker for a full career retrospective. We trace it from the FOKN Bois origin story with longtime collaborator M3NSA — the duo behind Coz Ov Moni, the world's first pidgin musical film — through his production work with Stevo Atambire and his band Alostmen, and his more recent work with Lamisi on her Real World Records project Let Us Clap. Along the way he's shared stages and studio time with Femi Kuti, Nneka, Sena Dagadu of Irie Maffia, and even opened for Snoop Dogg. We also get into his transition into directing over 100 of his own music videos, and the night FOKN Bois performed one of their most provocative songs to 5,000 people at the Afrika Shrine in Lagos.

We also get into why he's pulled most of his catalogue off Spotify on principle, his early influences from Ghanaian highlife legends, and what it means to build a career on saying the things other artists won't.
This one's for anyone who wants the full arc from one of Ghana's most consistently outspoken voices.

???? Listen to Wanlov's music: https://wanlov.bandcamp.com/
???? Follow on Instagram: @wanlov

Wanlov the Kubolor — Discography
Green Card (2007)
Yellow Card – Stomach Direction (2010)
Brown Card – African Gypsy (2011)
Orange Card – Fruitopian Raps (2017)
Red Card – The Minstrel Cycle (2019)
White Card: The Artivist (2022)
Blue Card – Trumu Love, Vol. 1 (2025)

FOKN Bois:
Coz Ov Moni (2010)
Coz Ov Moni 2 (FOKN Revenge) (2014)
FOKN Wit Ewe (2016)
FOKN Ode to Ghana (2018)
The FOKN DunaQuest in Budapest (2018)
Afrobeats LOL (2019)

????️ About Afro Soul Stories

Afro Soul Stories, hosted by Sewor Okudzeto, explores the roots, rhythms and creative journeys of African and diaspora artists — where music meets memory and culture meets innovation.
???? Subscribe for more stories: @AfroSoulStories
???? Listen to the podcast: The Afro Soul Stories Podcast
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???? Visit: www.afrosoulstories.com | www.seworokudzeto.com
✉️ Contact: admin@afrosoulstories.com | sewor@seworokudzeto.com
#WanlovTheKubolor #FOKNBois #GhanaianMusic #CozOvMoni #DiasporaSound #afrosoulstories

00:00 Introduction
02:15 Production work
04:32 Accra Video W Stevo Atambire
06:00 Lamisi (Let Us Clap)
10:30 ???? Human Being
11:30 Green Card Album
13:35 Yellow Card (Stomach Direction) Album
15:45 Brown Card (African Gy**y) Album
20:35 Orange Card (Fruitopian Raps)
23:55 Red Card (The Minstrel Cycle)
24:06 ???? The Once Ft Sena Dagagdu
25:15 Support for the LGBT Community
33:25 Blue Card (Trumu Love Vol1)
39:23 White Card (The Artivist)
49:00 International touring artist
51:25 Work as a Director
56:00 Coz of Moni (Pidgin Musical)
01:00:38 ???? Thank God we’re not a Nigerians
01:10:00 South Africa
01:18:25 Summer Tour W/ Lamisi
01:20: 56 Being Sister Deborah’s Brother
01:23:35 Inspiration from Gyedu Blay Ambolley
01:25:45 Removing music from Spotify