Who We Are · Est. 2007
A name that sings, speaks, and lives.
Eha — song, in Ewe. La — sing, in Ga. Kasa — talk, in Akan. Together they become EHALAKASA, and the room answers back: “It lives in us.”
The Story
From a gathering to a cultural institution.
Ehalakasa is the platform where spoken word poetry meets music. The concept was created in 2007 by Sir Black and musician-poet Nii Lantey, with a simple intent: to bring poetry from the page to the stage — addressing the issues of our time as a people, while projecting Ghanaian values.
It grew out of artists’ and art lovers’ desire for the awakening and recognition of spoken word, live music, and poetry across Accra and Ghana. What began as a gathering became a movement; what became a movement is now a cultural institution.
“It lives in us.”
The Ehalakasa call-and-response · since 2007
The Work
A continuous body of cultural work.
Ehalakasa Slam
Ghana’s flagship spoken-word championship.
Ehalakasa TalkParty
The monthly open stage where it all began.
International Poetry Day
Our annual celebration of the word.
Ehalakasa in Senior High Schools
Workshops carrying the craft to young voices.
Ehalakasa Festival
A gathering of poets, music, and community.
SheShe Slam
The women’s platform amplifying female poets.
What Drives Us
Mission, vision, philosophy.
Mission
To discover, develop, and dignify Africa’s spoken-word artists — building platforms where performance, education, and enterprise meet.
Vision
An Africa whose stories are told in its own voice, on its own stages and the world’s — with Ghana at the heart of the telling.
Philosophy
The word is a living inheritance. Art is not decoration; it is dialogue, memory, and nation-building.
In Good Company
Built with institutions who believe in the word.
Alliance Française · Goethe-Institut · Nubuke Foundation · Writers Project of Ghana · Ghana Association of Writers · Cultural Education Unit, GES · Ghana Culture Forum · Foundation for Contemporary Art — Ghana · National Theatre of Ghana
In Memoriam
Nii Lantey Lamptey
Co-Founder · Since 2007
Musician, poet, and co-founder of Ehalakasa, Nii Lantey Lamptey helped bring poetry from the page to the stage. His rhythm — and his belief that the word is a living thing — shaped everything Ehalakasa is. He is deeply missed, and the movement he built lives on. It lives in us.
Leadership Today
The stewards of the movement.
Theophilus Atuahene Adu
Managing Partner
Benedict Kojo Quaye
Creative Director
Nathaniel Tetteh Ogli
Programs Director
Join the Story