Abrewa Nana

Dorcas Opoku Dakwa (born 3 December 1980), known professionally as Abrewa Nana, is a Ghanaian singer, songwriter, dancer and former Idol series judge.

Early life and education Nana's parents are Isaac Dakwa and Juliana Blankson. The name "Abrewa" literally means "old woman" in the Akan language, her mother tongue. She adopted this as her stage name partly because she had been named after her grandmother. Raised mostly by her single mother, Nana attended primary school in Accra and Aggrey Memorial Senior High School, before studying Business Accounting at the Takoradi Polytechnic. As a teenager, she idolized Mariah Carey and Aaliyah, but was introduced to hiplife – a combination of hip hop and African highlife – as a student in polytechnic, and began to compose her own lyrics.

Musical career Following the recording of her demo, Nana became a favorite among radio DJs, and her collaboration with Sass Squad Tuma received huge airplay. Nana has shared a stage with artists such as Akon, 2Face and Tony Tetuila

Idols West Africa In 2007, it was announced that Nana would be a judge on Idols West Africa, alongside the Nigerian Dede Mabiaku and the American Dan Foster; at twenty-seven, she was one of the youngest judges in Idols' history. She advised contestants during the event to remember "to have a style of their own". Nana also said contestants to "remember it is a competition, and you can win or lose but whether you winner or not, follow your dream".