A viral TikTok dance, a loyal fanbase and a far-reaching intercontinental campaign sent the twins to stardom
AT A GLANCE
- DopeNation, Ghana’s twin-brother duo, joined ONErpm in 2021 and has since grown from a regional act to an international name. They now have an estimated 120 million total streams.
- Their Ghanaian Hit “Kakalika” dropped in December and went viral on TikTok. The duo’s own choreography and organic content sparked it, and ONErpm spotted the signals early and amplified them.
- ONErpm ran a transcontinental campaign across Africa, the Americas and Europe. It combined influencer partnerships, Spotify Showcase placements, and DSP editorial repitching, supported by radio, TV, DJ, and digital ad campaigns.
- “Christmas” hit 38 million streams in five months, peaking at roughly 500,000 daily streams and 3 million monthly Spotify listeners. It also earned editorial support across platforms, including Pandora.
DopeNation is Ghanaian identical twin brothers Michael “B2” Boafo and Tony “Twist” Boafo. Before becoming one of Ghana’s most recognizable acts, they put in years alongside some of Africa’s biggest names, including Shatta Wale, Joey B, Olamide, and Technology.
Grounded in a strong DIY approach, B2 and Twist joined ONErpm in 2021. They have built their career independently while tapping into the company’s music business technology and services. That partnership has powered their steady rise from regional success story to international name.
The duo is one of the leading voices of Ghanapiano, a fusion of Afrobeats, Hiplife, hip-hop, and Amapiano. They pair that infectious sound with a bold visual identity and contagious storytelling across music videos and social media. The result is a winning formula that has pulled in a legion of fans and sent their numbers into the stratosphere.
THE CASE: “Kakalika,” the Journey of the Cockroach
“Kakalika” — which means “cockroach” in Twi language —hit DSPs in December 2025, backed by a playful music video and a dance routine that would soon take over TikTok. ONErpm quickly spotted the trend’s potential for exponential growth and began building a campaign to amplify it based on real-time digital signals. “Kakalika”. The track blends humor, choreography, and an unforgettable visual identity with DopeNation‘s signature Ghanapiano sound.
After release, the record built momentum through DopeNation’s consistent organic content and hands-on involvement in the campaign. The duo posted regularly on TikTok, jumped into the dance challenge themselves, and engaged directly with fans. They also reacted fast to emerging trends and encouraged creators to put their own spin on the sound.
That consistency let the choreography travel organically, while DopeNation’s existing creator relationships and loyal community sped up participation. The artists created the demand. ONErpm’s role was to read the audience signals and turn up the volume.
Listen to “Kakalika” now
AN INTERCONTINENTAL STRATEGY
Behind the scenes, ONErpm built a targeted amplification strategy that turned every creator push into a real audience opportunity. The team invested in a global influencer and ad campaign across Europe, Africa, and Latin America. The goal was to reach highly engaged audiences already moving to the beats and melodies at the heart of Ghanapiano.
The social strategy was diverse, fun, and relentless, built on high-frequency organic content posted consistently. Bit by bit, ONErpm’s international micro-influencer push spilled beyond TikTok, and the numbers followed, climbing across streaming platforms and global charts.
In Brazil, the campaign drew institutional support across ONErpm’s media channels and Diverge, our global playlist unit. With the duo landing key covers across multiple DSPs, our editorial team launched a repitch campaign targeting YouTube Music, Apple Music, Deezer, and Amazon Music.
The creative push carried into key Latin American markets. In Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina, our D2F & Ads team added an aggressive campaign with premium lifestyle influencers on top of repitching and institutional promotion across ONErpm channels. The campaign also placed “Kakalika” on Spotify Showcase, a mobile homepage banner that lets artists and labels promote music directly to potential listeners.
As the multi-front campaign grew, DopeNation landed in New York City on a Times Square billboard announcing their sold-out U.S. tour. Across the Atlantic, in Europe, ONErpm combined editorial, ads, and content creators. Our D2F & Ads team expanded Spotify Showcase campaigns into France, Germany, and the UK. Editorial repitching to DSPs in the UK and France reinforced the push, setting the stage for even wider reach during the European spring.
Back home in Africa, the record’s already unprecedented success got another lift from radio, TV, and DJ promotion campaigns. Meanwhile, our Lagos-based D2F & Ads branch ran a digital campaign focused on YouTube and Meta platforms (Instagram and Facebook). Throughout the project, a strong visual identity and a lighthearted sense of humor sealed the impact. Both became the duo’s trademark, felt in every media moment.
RESULTS AND HIGHLIGHTS
By May 2026, the cockroach had reached the pitch, with professional footballers adopting the “Kakalika” dance as their goal celebration of choice in the Spanish La Liga, but also in France, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand main . The cross media content strategy helped "Christmas" break beyond its core West African audience. The single reached 38 million streams in just five months, peaking at roughly half a million daily streams and 3 million monthly listeners on Spotify. ONErpm’s creator strategy turned DopeNation’s social momentum into DSP consumption.
The campaign’s editorial strength, built first on Spotify, YouTube and TikTok, spilled over to other platforms, including Pandora, one of the toughest editorial environments thanks to its human curation. Nearly ten months after “Kakalika” first dropped, the cockroach shows no sign of going anywhere.
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