Ghanaian rapper OJ Blaq passes on

Ghanaian rapper OJ Blaq has sadly passed away at the age of 40. 

While the exact cause of his demise remains undisclosed, the rapper valiantly struggled with a persistent kidney ailment spanning years.

In an interview in February last year OJ Blaq alias The Biggie Boy Lover revealed that binge drinking and smoking caused his double kidney failure a few years ago.

“I totally stopped smoking and drinking, and I started eating more vegetables. Not all vegetables are good for renal patients, it hasn’t been easy switching my diet, but if you really love your life, you have to adapt. It can be life altering for renal patients when they stop taking their BP drugs as well,” OJ Blaq siad on Asaase Radio.

He also advised the youth to prioritise their health and adopt a healthy lifestyle.

“What I want to tell young ones is that they need to check what they eat well,” OJ Blaq said, adding: “Do a lot of check-ups and eat well. Sometimes, due to ignorance we are not aware that certain things aren’t good for us, so we need to research on the right foods to consume.”

Touching on how he found out about his kidney failure, OJ Blaq recalled: “I had an accident on a motor bike. After that I started having swells on my feet and I thought it was from the accident, which some doctors told me they were just infections from my accident.”

“I attributed all the kidney symptoms to the motor accident I had. I was later diagnosed with kidney failure and put on dialysis when I expressed intense fatigue,” OJ Blaq added.

About OJ Blaq

OJ Blaq, born Andy Nii Akrashie in Accra, Ghana, embarked on his musical journey during the early 2000s. 

His inaugural album, “The Blaq Mixtape,” debuted in 2006, catapulting him into the limelight. Over the years, he continued to bless the world with a succession of singles, with his chart-topping track “Chalewote” garnering significant acclaim.

Famed for his distinctive rap technique and incisive social commentary threaded into his verses, OJ Blaq was a multifaceted artist who later switched from rap and hip-hop genre to urban gospel. 

“It’s not easy moving from one path to the other. Now I do Christian urban gospel music. My switch to Christian urban music was from my experience with kidney failure, so I decided to do gospel music with the same old rhythm style but different wording because the now Christians are different Christians.

“The new generation is not interested in the old style of Christianity but they are my target, they are the souls I want to win,” the “I’m Blessed” singer said.

Beyond his musical prowess, he enjoyed popularity, gracing the screens of Ghanaian cinema and television productions notably in popular Ghanaian television series Sun City.

In 2021, the artist was confronted with the diagnosis of a kidney ailment, a battle he courageously confronted. Enduring a regimen of dialysis treatment, he awaited the prospect of a kidney transplant. However, the artist passed away on Thursday, August 17, 2023.