This Ability

At the time of this writing, the artist known as KooKusi is no longer an underground artist. He might not be the most commercial, mainstream Ghanaian artist, but with his ever-growing catalog and the themes he’s tackled in his projects, he’s carved out quite a name for himself. After his collaborative effort with RBD, a fellow Ghanaian rapper, KooKusi took to the studio again, this time with a project born out of the true story of an athlete he knew back in Ghana.

This Ability is an interdisciplinary audiovisual mental health project that tells the real-life story of Emmanuel Eckow Amoako, a Ghanaian basketball icon born with anisomelia (limb length discrepancy), for which he earned the nickname “Clock”. Inspired by the lack of awareness of the silent battles disability comes with, the project explores the stigma associated with disability, the accompanying inferiority complex, and the resilience and faith an individual shows to navigate life with the condition.

Developed under the creative movement 5footbreed, the project blends hip-hop, choral music, poetry, documentary journalism, photography, live performance, and digital storytelling. It was created to draw attention to the often overlooked mental health impact of stigma aimed at disabled people, to empower those battling low self-esteem, and to celebrate a heroic survivor who overcame the psychological burden of a physical disability.

• Release the project record by record, each with visuals carrying its song and message as an individual campaign, building into one coherent story. It was the first project in KooKusi’s catalog to use an audiovisual documentary release rather than a single-led album drop.
• Raise major awareness of the project’s themes in music, academic, and health circles.
• Get the project recognized by prestigious organizations.
• Get the songs onto major playlists on streaming platforms.

• Accepted into the Europe-based CARE – Culture for Mental Health project.
• Used in higher education by Professor Alexandria Carrico, who incorporated This Ability into her Music and Disability Studies seminar at the University of South Carolina.