ACCRA — In an industry often obsessed with streaming numbers, viral moments, and fleeting fame, Jojo Turkson has quietly played a different game. For over a decade, the man famously known as Crackerslab has not just watched Ghana’s creative industry evolve—he has actively molded it, one artist, one platform, and one breakthrough moment at a time.
As the co-founder of the beloved music discovery hub DC Leakers, the founder of tourism and event promotion company Chilling In Ghana, and the trusted manager of two-time Best DJ in Ghana, DJ Lord OTB, Jojo’s résumé reads like a blueprint for how to build a sustainable creative ecosystem. But his latest brainchild, the street-themed activation ON THE STREET, may just be his most audacious—and most effective—talent-support mechanism yet.
Ask Jojo what drives him, and you won’t hear about personal accolades. You’ll hear about the artists.
“I’ve seen too many gifted young Ghanaians fall through the cracks because they didn’t have the right connections or the right platform,” Jojo shares. “That’s why I started DC Leakers years ago—to give unknown voices a digital home. And that’s why I started ON THE STREET—to give them a physical stage where the industry cannot ignore them.”
That philosophy has been the thread stitching together every venture he has touched. Whether it was amplifying underground sounds through DC Leakers, curating cultural experiences through Chillinginghana to showcase local artistry to tourists, or managing DJ Lord OTB to national acclaim, Jojo has consistently positioned himself as a bridge—not a gatekeeper.
When Jojo teamed up with his long-time talent, DJ Lord OTB, to launch ON THE STREET in September 2025, the goal was deceptively simple: create a high-energy, open-air environment where emerging artists could share the same bill—and the same oxygen—as established heavyweights.
And that is exactly what happened.
Over three unforgettable pop-ups at Accra’s iconic Republic Bar, the event hosted over 30 Ghanaian acts. The lineup was a deliberate, powerful statement of Jojo’s support philosophy. Rising stars like Xlimkid, Kojo Blak, Lalid, 99Phaces, Twitch 4eva, and the BLR Boys stood shoulder-to-shoulder with some notable A-list titans. There were no VIP backstage silos. There was no “you’re too small to play here.” There was only the music, the crowd, and an open invitation for executives to witness the depth of Ghana’s talent pool.
Perhaps the most remarkable outcome of Jojo’s talent-first approach is the way ON THE STREET has flipped the traditional power dynamic. Instead of artists begging for a seat at the executives’ table, Jojo brought the executives to the artists’ playground. Thursday nights at Republic Bar quickly became an unofficial industry roll call. Label owners, A&Rs, producers, and media personalities packed the venue—not because they were paid to be there, but because Jojo had created a space where the next big thing was guaranteed to perform.
“That’s the goal,” Jojo explains. “I don’t want artists to chase executives. I want the talent to be so undeniable that the industry has no choice but to show up. My job is to create that environment—and I’ve been doing that for ten years.”
Jojo’s commitment isn’t seasonal. While ON THE STREET is set to return this September with even grander plans, his support for the creative industry has been relentless for a full decade. Through DC Leakers, he gave early exposure to artists who might otherwise have remained in obscurity. Through Chillinginghana, he tied Ghanaian talent to tourism, proving that the country’s creative output is a global export worth investing in. And through his management of DJ Lord OTB, he demonstrated that with the right guidance, Ghanaian talent can achieve the highest honors.
This September, as ON THE STREET returns “bigger and better,” Jojo Turkson remains characteristically grounded.
“We’ve built the foundation,” he says. “Now we expand it—not for the fame, not for the hype, but for every young artist out there who just needs one person to believe in them. That’s what I’ve done for ten years, and that’s what I’ll keep doing.”
As the countdown to September begins, one thing is clear: Jojo Turkson isn’t just throwing events. He’s building careers. He’s fostering a culture where talent is the only currency that matters. And in a creative industry that often favors the already-famous, his unwavering, decade-long commitment to the underdog is nothing short of revolutionary.
The streets are listening. The executives are watching. And thanks to Jojo Turkson, Ghana’s next generation of stars finally has a stage big enough to shine.
Follow Jojo Turkson’s work: Keep up with DC Leakers and Chilling In Ghana for updates on the September return of ON THE STREET and the next wave of Ghanaian talent ready to break through.