people come back. Prior to the Year of Return and even prior to Afrochella we were bringing people back to the continent.
BDO: How did you and your partners come together to create this event?
AA: I was born in the US. My dad shipped us to Ghana (laughing). He wanted us to feel the vibrations of the country. He wanted us to see how he grew up and make sure we had the African influence in our character and the way we carried ourselves. At the time, we couldn’t appreciate it. We just wanted to be in America, but we stayed there for 7 years.
That’s actually how I met one of my partners. We went to school together in Ghana. My other partner is Ghanian as well. We both are from The Bronx. I told him my idea and he was 100% down. He suggested we go ahead and put the deposit down. In April 2017, we did just that and have been planning ever since.
BDO: Did you guys think it was going to be this big? Did you imagine all of these celebrities?
AA: No, I can’t say that I did. We believed in what we were doing and we knew there was a need for a space to celebrate Ghana and the creatives from the continent in its authenticity. We wanted to do something where there was no