Rapper D-Black has revealed that he made strategic plans to collaborate with some specific artistes to break into the mainstream during his early years in the music industry.

Speaking on his show ‘Uncut’, D-Black explained that at the time, he paired himself with artistes who did not only have huge following, but also sang in the Twi language and other local dialects.

The 'Vera' hit-maker noted that many music lovers assumed he was not Ghanaian especially since he rapped in English, as such this strategy helped clear the doubts.

In addition, D-Black said he gained more listeners for his songs and had more followers.

“It (Hiphop) didn't exist commercially, people were doing it but the songs were not huge…My strategy was to always do a Hip-hop song with an artiste who was singing in a local dialect. So I will do a song with Kwabena Kwabena so that his fans or the rest of Ghana will listen to it. Just doing those collaborations I think is what broke me into the commercial scene,” D-Black said.

At the time with Hiplife’s dominance, there were not many rappers successfully doing hip-hop and crossing into the mainstream, D-Black said.

“As soon as it happened for me Ghana Music Awards created Hiphop Song of the Year because there was nowhere to fit me in. You couldn't fit me in hiplife, so as soon as that category came I won that and it continued,” D-Black added.