Sarkology

Buildup and release

There were reports that Sarkodie was gearing up to release the album at the end of 2013. Sarkology was also reported to contain 16 tracks. According to a September 2013 report by The Ghanaian Chronicle, Sarkodie told the press that the album will contain 30 songs. Sarkodie also told the press that the album will feature production from 13 producers, including Kilbeatz, Magnom and Nshorna.

Album cover

On August 28, 2013, Sarkodie released the album's cover to the general public via the social networking site Twitter. The cover shows a young boy surrounded by school textbooks and other educational materials. The young boy is seated in a chair reading a magazine about Sarkodie. Sarkodie also used the album's cover to promote Sark, his clothing brand. Sarkodie was in the United Kingdom for a video shoot when he released the album's cover.

Launch concert

"The Sarkology Release Concert" (a concert put together to launch the Ghanaian rapper's third studio album) was held on December 21, 2013, at the Accra Sports Stadium. Numerous Ghanaian musicians (some of whom were featured on the album) performed at the concert, including Stay Jay, Kwaw Kese, Efya, Fuse ODG, Joey B, Raquel, Ephraim, Donzy, Dee Moneey, Buda, Mr. Silver, Phoot Printz and Scizo. At the concert, Sarkodie and Joey B performed the latter's single "Tonga".

Singles

On November 12, 2012, Duncwills Entertainment released "Gunshot" as the album's lead single. The song features vocals from Nigerian singer Davido and was produced by Killbeatz. The music video for "Gunshot" was released on December 11, 2012, and uploaded onto YouTube at a total length of 3 minutes and 32 seconds. It was shot and directed in Ghana by Sesan.

On November 27, 2012, Sarkodie released the album's second single titled "Illuminati". The song was produced by Magnom and recorded in Sarkodie's naitve language, Twi. The music video for the single was shot in Dubai at various locations by Gyogyimah of Phamous Philms. It was uploaded onto YouTube on August 19, 2013, at a total length of 2 minutes and 58 seconds. After releasing "Illuminati", Sarkodie was jokingly rumored to have join the "secret clan".

Sarkodie released the album's third single "Lies" featuring Lil Shaker. The music video for the single was directed by Nana-Asi Hene. According to OkayAfrica, the music video "juggles images of a broken mannequin/past lover to the backdrop of Sarkodie‘s flashy whips, mansions, pools and penthouses."

The album's fourth single, titled "Bounce", was released on September 19, 2013. It was produced by Magnom. The music video, recorded at a total length of 3 minutes and 59 seconds, was directed by Sesan. "Down on One", the album's fifth single, was released on October 10, 2013. It features vocals from Fuse ODG, and was produced by Killbeatz. The music video for "Down on One" was shot and directed in the U.K by Moe Musa. It was uploaded onto YouTube at a total length of 3 minutes and 47 seconds.

"Pon D Ting", the album's sixth single, was released on December 23, 2013. The song was produced by Masterkraft and the music video was directed in South Africa by Sesan. The music video was shot when Sarkodie flew to South Africa for the 2013 edition of the Channel O Music Video Awards. Sarkodie commented on the music video, saying: "I’m very excited about this video shoot and song. It’s a long overdue collaboration between my good friend, Banky W and I."

On December 31, 2013, Sarkodie released the album's seventh single "Ordinary Love" featuring Tiwa Savage. The song was produced by Beat Merchant. Efya was initially intended to be on the track but due to strategic reasons, Sarkodie decided to work with Tiwa Savage. Sarkodie was quoted as saying, "I had this song, and the hook was ready waiting for Efya. You know we've had lots of collaboration back-to-back and I wanted someone different. I'm on Tiwa's album, so it was just right for us to do another song on my album. Tiwa was there, I sent her the song, and she laid good vocals on it which was also perfect."

On January 9, 2014, Sarkodie released the album's eighth single titled "Preach". The song features UK-based recording artist and record producer Silvastone. An accompany music video for "Preach" was released on February 3, 2014. It was uploaded onto YouTube at a total length of 4 minutes and 13 seconds.

Critical reception

Upon its release, Sarkology received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Jacob Roberts-Mensah and Ameyaw Debrah gave the album 9 out of 10 stars, extensively adding: "He does very well on this album to further blur the lines between GH Rap/Hip-life and Hip-hop not necessarily being boxed in or defined by either genre and managing to dip in and out of each one whenever he wants to."

Accolades

Sarkology won the "Album of the Year" category at the 2014 Ghana Music Awards. It was also nominated for "World’s Best Album" at the 2014 World Music Awards.