When popular American streamer IShowSpeed was recently asked his name during a live interaction, his response caught global attention. Instead of giving his stage name, he introduced himself as Barima Kofi Akuffo, a Ghanaian name bestowed on him during a traditional Akan naming ceremony.

The moment was more than casual conversation. It marked a public affirmation of heritage, identity, and reconnection with Africa, played out before millions of viewers across the world.

The digital star arrived in Ghana two weeks ago as part of his Africa tour. During his visit, he travelled to the Eastern Region, where local chiefs and elders formally welcomed him into the community through a culturally significant naming ceremony held on Monday, January 26.

IShowSpeed was asked what his name was, and he mentioned his Ghanaian native name, “Barima Kofi Akuffo.” 🇬🇭🔥

that wasn’t just an answer, it was him honoring his roots on a global platform. 😊#PulseViral pic.twitter.com/JlnViqk3mj

— Pulse Ghana (@PulseGhana) February 15, 2026

Among the Akan people, naming ceremonies are sacred rites that go beyond symbolism. Names reflect lineage, the day of birth, and social responsibility. The name Barima Kofi Akuffo carries meanings associated with leadership, honour, and ancestry.

The ceremony was marked by traditional drumming, colourful royal regalia, and customary rites performed by elders. Community members gathered in large numbers, turning the grounds into a celebration of heritage and hospitality. The atmosphere reflected not spectacle, but reverence—an intentional act of cultural preservation shared with a global audience.

Read Also: “Damn Right, I’m Coming Back to Ghana!”: IShowSpeed Responds to Mahama’s Presidential Shout-Out

For many Black people in the diaspora, the moment resonated deeply. Watching a young, globally influential Black figure acknowledge and embrace an African identity offered a powerful counter-narrative to disconnection often experienced abroad. It underscored the idea that heritage is not lost with distance, and that reconnection can take many forms.

By choosing to introduce himself with his Ghanaian name on an international platform, IShowSpeed transformed a simple question into a statement, one that honoured ancestry, affirmed belonging, and highlighted the enduring ties between Africa and its global descendants.

American internet sensation IShowSpeed (Darren Watkins Jr.) is officially hooked on Ghana — and the feeling appears mutual, even from the highest office in the land.

In a clip that has taken social media by storm, President John Dramani Mahama gave a warm, humorous nod to the streamer’s viral Ghana trip during a recent public address.

Recounting how his own children excitedly showed him footage of Speed at a shea butter museum in the north, the President described the now-iconic moment:

“This young man was lucky. I saw him lying down and about 10 girls all with shea butter were massaging this boy… He opened his mouth as if he couldn’t breathe.”

The audience at the event where Mahama spoke erupted in laughter, but Speed — watching the clip later — couldn’t contain his delight.

“Oh, the president watched my streams, enjoying it,” he exclaimed, before emphatically declaring: “Damn right. I’m coming back.”

The exchange perfectly captures the ongoing love affair between IShowSpeed and Ghana.

Since his high-energy visit in January 2026 — where he toured Accra, tried local food, danced, visited cultural sites, and even received Ghanaian citizenship — the YouTuber has repeatedly expressed affection for the country, its people, and its culture. He has constantly declared his new Ghanaian name, Barima Kofi Akuffo, with pride to his millions of followers.

Fans on X, TikTok, and Instagram have dubbed the shea butter spa scene “the most Ghanaian welcome ever,” with memes, reaction videos, and calls for Speed to return flooding timelines. Many Ghanaians see his genuine enthusiasm as a major tourism win, especially among younger global audiences.

President Mahama’s light-hearted commentary acknowledges the impact of Speed’s visit. It reflects the warmth and hospitality that have made Ghana a growing favourite among diaspora travellers and international content creators alike.

Whether Speed makes good on his promise remains to be seen — but if the President’s massage story is anything to go by, Ghana is ready to roll out the red carpet (and the shea butter) again.

If you’ve ever stood far from home and felt a tug at the sound of a talking drum or the sight of woven colour, Ghana’s art scene will feel like a quiet homecoming.

The art world in Ghana is not usually behind white walls. It lives in courtyards, roadside workshops, coastal galleries and northern warehouses, many of which are rooted in memory, restless with new ideas. For those in the diaspora searching for connection beyond genealogy charts, Ghana’s arts and crafts offer something tactile, human, and deeply familiar.

Where It All Begins: Art as Language, Not Ornament

Long before galleries and residencies, art in Ghana was a way of speaking. Cloth, symbols, beads, wood and clay carried meaning—status, philosophy, faith, resistance. That legacy still shapes the country’s creative pulse today. What makes Ghana compelling is how effortlessly the old and the new share space. Tradition here adapts, questions, and sometimes argues with the present.

Accra: The Capital of Constant Reinvention

Start in Accra, where the art scene mirrors the city itself—layered, loud, reflective.

Near Independence Square, the Art Centre in Accra hums with movement. This isn’t a museum experience; it’s a conversation. Carvers shape masks in real time, traders argue prices with humour, and every stall tells a story of lineage and labour. It’s the first place where art feels less like display and more like family business.

A quieter but no less powerful stop is the Nubuke Foundation.

Set away from the city’s rush, it offers space to think. Exhibitions here are thoughtful, sometimes unsettling, often intimate—perfect for anyone curious about how Ghanaian artists are interrogating identity, migration, and memory.

The Ano Institute of Arts and Knowledge

Just a short drive away, the Ano Institute of Arts and Knowledge deepens the experience. Part archive, part exhibition space, Ano invites visitors to slow down and listen to oral histories, visual essays, and stories that don’t always make it into textbooks.

Gallery 1957

For a polished counterpoint, Gallery 1957, tucked inside the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City, presents African contemporary art with global confidence. Its where Ghanaian creativity meets the international art circuit, without losing its grounding.

Artists Alliance Gallery

Along the coast, the Artists Alliance Gallery feels expansive in every sense. Three floors of paintings, sculpture, and traditional objects unfold like a visual archive of West African creativity—ideal for anyone wanting breadth and depth in one visit.

Art Africa Gallery

And in East Legon, Art Africa Gallery offers an intimate encounter with works that speak across generations, blending the past with present-day realities.

Kumasi and the Ashanti Heartland

Leaving the coast for Kumasi is like stepping into the spiritual engine room of Ghanaian art. The Art Centre in Kumasi showcases mastery in wood, clay and textile traditions that have shaped Ghana’s visual language for centuries.

Bonwire Kente

Just outside the city lies Bonwire, where Kente is not fashion but inheritance. Watching the weavers work is a reminder that skill is memory passed hand to hand—something no factory can replicate.

Northern Ghana: Art as Architecture and Activism

In Tamale, the Red Clay Studio reshapes what an art space can be. Created by Ibrahim Mahama, it fuses installation, architecture, and community life. Here, art doesn’t just comment on society; it builds within it.

Why This Matters

To walk through Ghana’s art spaces is to confront questions many in the diaspora carry quietly: What did we inherit? What was interrupted? What can still be reclaimed? These galleries and craft centres don’t offer neat answers—but they offer something better: dialogue.

Ghana’s art scene isn’t asking to be admired from a distance. It invites touch, debate, memory, and return. And for anyone tracing their way back—culturally, creatively, or emotionally—it offers a map drawn not in ink, but in clay, cloth, wood, and bold new ideas.