# Kpanto

Franklin Edward Harris, who is known professionally as Kpanto (previously Skinnyboi Kpanto), is a Liberian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He started his music career in 2014 and gained recognition in 2015 after releasing a cover of Desiigner's single "Panda". His eponymous debut studio album, Skinny Boy Kpanto, was released on August 22, 2020. It comprises nine tracks and contains the songs "Take off Trouser", which was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2020 Liberia Music Awards, and "Flukor", which won Song of the Year at the 2021 Tunes Liberia Music Awards.
His second studio album Sound from the Xtreetz, which was supported by the singles "Dey Say" and "Community Thing", won Album of the Year at the 2021 Liberia Music Awards. Kpanto released his third studio album, Son of the Soil, in 2022.

## Career

Kpanto, who previously went by the stage name Skinnyboi Kpanto, released his debut single "Dope Boy" in 2014. He gained recognition after releasing a cover of Desiigner's 2015 single "Panda". He was previously signed to Holy Records. In 2018, Kpanto was featured on "Bring our Containers Back", a protest song produced and released by AFo4Doe. Recorded entirely in Liberian Kolokwa English, the song addresses Liberia's bank notes that went missing in a shipping container. Bettie Johnson-Mbayo of FrontPage Africa said the singers recorded the song to put an "emphasis on the authority bringing the containers back".
Kpanto's eponymous debut studio album, Skinny Boy Kpanto, was released on August 22, 2020. The album has nine tracks and contains the songs "Take off Trouser", which was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2020 Liberia Music Awards, and "Flukor", which won Song of the Year at the 2021 Tunes Liberia Music Awards. In September 2020, the Music Union of Liberia banned Kpanto's music due to explicit lyrics. Prior to making the announcement, the organization held several meetings to discuss whether his music was suitable for airplay. After the organization's president made the announcement, several artists in the Liberian music industry showed Kpanto support and said they had his back.
Kpanto released his second studio album, Sound from the Xtreetz, on May 16, 2021. It comprises sixteen tracks and features guest appearances from Takun J, PCK, Badman H, Paradise Queen, Primeboy, AFo4doe, Revelation, and Mandingo Priest. The album won Album of the Year at the 2021 Liberia Music Awards. The PCK-assisted track "Dey Say" was released on March 24, 2021, as the album's lead single. The song was produced by Kpanto and has been described as a "party and street banger". It won Collaboration of the Year and was nominated for Song of the Year and Afropop Song of the Year at the 2021 Liberia Music Awards. The Badman H-assisted track "Community Thing" was released on May 9, 2021, as the album's second single. The song won Hipco/Trapco Song of the Year and was nominated for Collaboration of the Year at the 2021 Liberia Music Awards.
In May 2022, Kpanto performed at four musical concerts held across Nimba, Margibi, Grand Bassa, and Montserrado counties. The concerts commemorated the fifth anniversary of Orange S.A.'s arrival in Liberia, and featured additional performances from MC Caro, Stunna, and Kobazzie, among others. Kpanto's third studio album, Son of the Soil, was released on May 14, 2022. The album comprises sixteen tracks and garnered over 390,000 streams on Audiomack as of August 2022.

## Discography

Studio albums
* Skinny Boy Kpanto (2020)
* Sound from the Xtreetz (2021)
* Son of the Soil (2022)

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Event | Prize | Recipient | Result |
| 2017 | Liberia Music Awards | New Artist of the Year | Himself | Nominated |
| 2017 | Liberia Music Awards | Hipco Artist Year of the Year | Himself | Nominated |
| 2017 | Liberia Music Awards | Hipco Song of the Year | "Heavy Weight" | Nominated |
| 2018 | Liberia Music Awards | Hipco Artist of the Year | Himself | Nominated |
| 2019 | Tunes Liberia Music Awards | Hipco Artist of the Year | Himself | Nominated |
| 2019 | Tunes Liberia Music Awards | Collaboration of the Year | "Bring our Containers Back" (with AFo4doe) | Nominated |
| 2020 | Liberia Music Awards | Male Artist of the Year | Himself | Won |
| 2020 | Liberia Music Awards | Hipco/Trapco Artist of the Year | Himself | Won |
| 2020 | Liberia Music Awards | Artist of the Year | Himself | Nominated |
| 2020 | Liberia Music Awards | Hipco/Trapco Song of the Year | "I Eat Your Jue" | Nominated |
| 2020 | Liberia Music Awards | Song of the Year | "Take off Trouser" | Nominated |
| 2021 | Tunes Liberia Music Awards | Artist of the Year | Himself | Nominated |
| 2021 | Tunes Liberia Music Awards | Best Trapco Artist | Himself | Nominated |
| 2021 | Tunes Liberia Music Awards | Song of the Year | "Flukor" | Won |
| 2021 | Liberia Music Awards | Artist of the Year | Himself | Won |
| 2021 | Liberia Music Awards | Male Artist of the Year | Himself | Won |
| 2021 | Liberia Music Awards | Hipco/Trapco Artist of the Year | Himself | Won |
| 2021 | Liberia Music Awards | Album of the Year | Sound from the Xtreetz | Won |
| 2021 | Liberia Music Awards | Afropop Song of the Year | "Dey Say" (featuring PCK) | Nominated |
| 2021 | Liberia Music Awards | Song of the Year | "Dey Say" (featuring PCK) | Nominated |
| 2021 | Liberia Music Awards | Hipco/Trapco Song of the Year | "Infront Them" | Nominated |
| 2021 | Liberia Music Awards | Hipco/Trapco Song of the Year | "Community Thing" (featuring Badman H) | Won |
| 2021 | Liberia Music Awards | Collaboration of the Year | "Community Thing" (featuring Badman H) | Nominated |
| 2021 | Liberia Music Awards | Collaboration of the Year | "Dey Say" (featuring PCK) | Won |
| 2022 | Liberia Music Awards | Artist of the Year | Himself | Nominated |
| 2022 | Liberia Music Awards | Male Artist of the Year | Himself | Won |
| 2022 | Liberia Music Awards | Album of the Year | Son of the Soil | Nominated |
| 2022 | Liberia Music Awards | Song of the Year | "Charger" (featuring PCK) | Nominated |
| 2022 | Liberia Music Awards | Collaboration of the Year | "Charger" (featuring PCK) | Nominated |