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 The crowd in the Ghanaian capital watch as he mixes beats and
dances around his stand - complete with old iron - during the
show.
As well as the music, it is his quirky outfit - shirt and tie
tucked into shorts and under a waistcoat, thigh-high socks,
brogues and a bonnet - that has also attracts attention.
Kissi, also known as Steloo, is part of a group of artists,
musicians and designers in Ghana's capital whose unconventional
outfits are turning heads on streets where most men wear
conservative Western suits or shirts in traditional prints.
"People say 'What is this that you are wearing?' People have a
funny way of looking at (my clothes)," the 30-year old said.
"But then I like the fact that it is creating drama in the minds
of the people."
The men and women in the group say they want to challenge the
traditional notions of African fashion and they take to social
media platforms to share their creative outfits.
Aged 19 to 38, they mix tailored jackets, printed T-shirts,
vintage dresses, flares, and foulards in quirky, sometimes
eccentric, ensembles more often seen in London than Accra.
Kissi can be regularly seen posing for photo shoots across the
city in colorful clothes usually accessorized with sunglasses
and a form-fitting cloth bonnet.
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Those styled portraits and selfies, regularly uploaded online, have
turned him into a local celebrity with his clothes as well as music
drawing crowds to his parties.
"I have found myself as an artist," he said.
Kissi and his friends regularly meet in an art studio to exchange
ideas. They say they do not have role models but look up to the "Sapeurs
of Kinshasa", who turned fashion into a polished art form during the
times of Mobutu Sese Seko's Zaire.
But their unique style has also drawn criticism from the more
conservative locals.
"I was told I wasn't going to get a husband. I would be called names
on the bus," artist Sena Ahadji, who used to have a mohawk, said.
But support from others in the group helped her overcome the
negative comments.
"A lot of pressure left me," she said. "I am me. I am African. The
fabric doesn't make me African. My hair doesn't make me African, but
I know who I am."
(Reporting By Francis Kokoroko in Accra; Editing by Marie-Louise
Gumuchian/Jeremy Gaunt)
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