He was born in Accra, the capital city of the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, his parents named him EMMANUEL ANDREWS SAMINI. As a recording and performing artiste, he choose to wear his surname as a badge of African honour, and is known across Africa and beyond, as SAMINI.

Samini is Ghana’s most prolific contemporary musical icon. His smooth mix of musical genres is a melodious interface of the African music form Highlife, with the Jamaican music forms Dancehall and Reggae as well as the American styling of Hip-Hop. He calls the hybrid world music presentation, African Dancehall.

Music in Africa is used as a means of praise and healing. Like many African performers, Samini’s introduction to music was through his church choir. At age 18, Samini was asked to collaborate with Ghanaian singer Mary Agyeapong on a single released in 2001. It was his first professional venture, and brought him into full view of the people of Ghana, who responded enthusiastically to both the content and presentation of his free style lyrics.

In 2004, Samini released his maiden album Dankwasere which remained at the top of the music charts in Ghana for several weeks. Dankwasere won two awards at the prestigious Ghana Music Awards. The hit track from that album, Linda, remains one of those songs that remain readily on the lips of Ghanaians today, years after its release.

His award-winning second album, self-titled SAMINI, continues to enjoy high levels of popularity on the local charts. For his work in SAMINI, the African performer won three Ghana Music Awards in 2007. In the same year, Samini received international recognition as the Best African Act at the 2006 MOBO Awards 2006, in the United Kingdom; the second ever awards programme dedicated to bringing urban Music of Black Origin into mainstream culture. Through MOBO, Samini gained recognition over well established African musical icons. In that year, Samini was also nominee for MTV’s EMA Awards in Germany, Channel O Awards in South Africa and the Radiophonie Prize in France. Samini took the Best African Artiste Award at the Hip Hop World Awards in Nigeria.

Samini was also nominated Best Live Performer for the first ever 2008 MTV AFRICA AWARDS (MAMA). The African performing phenomenon has also been nominated Best Artiste from West Africa by the KORA Awards, also known as Africa’s Grammy Awards. His objective for 2009 is to get his third album which includes collaborations with artistes Etana, Steel Pulse, Sway, Nameless and others toured worldwide.

Samini has shared stages with Sean Paul, Game, Akon, Kelvin Little, Wayne Wonder, Shaggy, Ja-Rule, Damien Marley, Bennie Man, Jay-Z, Chaka Demus and Pliers, Culture (of blessed memory) , Steel Pulse and Rita Marley; in notable performances in countries including the UK, Nigeria, Germany, Italy, Canada and Holland. Commercial enterprises have seen the value in Samini’s popularity and appeal and he was chosen by African telecommunications giant MTN as the wholesome, family friendly, image to be placed on its every phone-cards. Samini’s face can be seen across the streets of Accra on every mobile phone-card MTN it produces, in that country of 23 million people!

In spite of commercial successes in Africa, Samini recognizes the importance of using his talent and popularity to carry messages of African unification, peace, development and hope across the African continent and in his country, Ghana.

The United Nations agency for Children UNICEF, in Ghana, Chose Samini to perform the song ‘Clean Water’ alongside another popular Ghanaian performer, Rocky Dawuni to promote sanitation and hygiene. His most recent developmental activity has been performing the role of Ambassador for Children by the largest philanthropic agency in Ghana called Plan Ghana. In addition, the British Council in Ghana chose Samini to be the national icon for its programme Debate to Action (DTA), a capacity building programme aimed at young leaders of youth organizations, which seeks to train trainers in communities. Samini’s role in that project is to use his strong music personality and profile across Ghana, to assist in projecting the DTA agenda and help in encouraging discussion about issues concerning the youth.

Samini’s insistence that he perform with a live band each time he touches a stage and in recording sessions, is testament to his belief in the richness of the strength sound and spirit of making music.