When Vic Mensa called Ugly Dray “the best upcoming rapper I have heard in Ghana recently,” most people outside the country barely registered it. Meek Mill just made the same argument to a far larger room.
The Philadelphia rapper co-signed Ugly Dray during a live session, giving the Ghanaian artist one of the most direct public endorsements any Ghanaian rapper has received from a US hip-hop name at that level. For Ugly Dray, it is the kind of moment that can move a career from regional conversation to international pipeline overnight.
Who Is Ugly Dray
Ugly Dray, born Cyril Dally, is a rapper and songwriter out of Ghana who sits at the crossroads of hip-hop, trap, and Afrobeats. He does not fit cleanly into any single genre bracket, which is part of what makes him distinct. His delivery is melodic enough to pull in R&B listeners and lyrically dense enough to hold weight with rap audiences. That range is rare in any market.
In September 2023, he released “HOODLIFE” featuring Lakeithrashad, a track that circulated through rap circles with enough momentum to land on Deezer, Apple Music, and Shazam. The production sits closer to US rap than to a typical Ghanaian street record, and that crossover intention is audible throughout.
Vic Mensa, who has deep Ghanaian roots through his father and has invested time and money into the country’s music scene, specifically named Ugly Dray as the standout upcoming rapper he had heard in Ghana. Mensa is not given to empty praise. That endorsement, now followed by Meek Mill’s, starts to form a pattern.
Meek Mill and Ghana
Meek Mill’s relationship with Ghana started visibly in December 2022 when he headlined AfroNation Accra, his first major performance on the continent. The day after the show, he went on social media and wrote directly that he wanted an artist from Ghana on Dream Chasers, his record label. The tweet generated thousands of replies. Names thrown into the conversation included Kwesi Arthur, Black Sherif, M.anifest, and Lyrical Joe. Nobody was formally signed as a result of that search, at least not publicly.
That context matters. Meek Mill was not arriving at a passing interest in Ghana’s music when he co-signed Ugly Dray. He had been watching the market and looking for the right artist for years. The fact that Ugly Dray is the name he landed on in a live session suggests he had been listening, not just scrolling.
Dream Chasers Records, which Meek Mill launched as a joint venture with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation in 2019, is no longer formally distributed through Roc Nation following the dissolution of that deal in July 2022. Meek Mill, born Robert Rihmeek Williams on May 6, 1987, in Philadelphia, built his career through street mixtapes starting in 2008, signed with Rick Ross’s Maybach Music Group in 2011, and released his debut album “Dreams & Nightmares” in 2012. The album peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. He remains one of the more globally-connected figures in US hip-hop, particularly across Africa.
What the Co-Sign Actually Means
A co-sign from an artist at Meek Mill’s level does specific things. It puts Ugly Dray’s name in front of audiences who were not looking at Ghana’s rap scene. It signals to American labels and A&Rs that the music passes the ear test of someone they already trust. And in Ghana itself, it raises the floor of how the industry talks about the artist.
Ugly Dray is not the first Ghanaian rapper to receive praise from American artists passing through or commenting on the scene. But the combination of Vic Mensa’s 2023 endorsement and Meek Mill’s live co-sign in the same year is the kind of double-stamp that tends to move things faster than either would alone.
Whether a formal deal follows is a different question. What is already confirmed is that Meek Mill listened, and said so publicly.
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