Ghanaian-American singer Fantana is making waves. Born-and raised in Atlanta, USA, she later relocated to Accra, Ghana, where she focuses on her music career and multiple business ventures. She is one of the continent’s most popular female Afro-beats artists and is known for her breakout hits including So What, Girls Hate On Girls and Rich Gyal Anthem.
Now, she is one of the newest faces on the hit Netflix series, Young, Famous & African, and has wasted no time in cementing herself as a fan favourite amongst the cast. At 25 years old, her fiery and free-spirited personality has brought a new energy to the show and we watch as she navigates friendships, romance, conflict, and dramatic group-dynamics.
In our exclusive Digital Cover story, we chat to Fantana about her experience on Young, Famous & African Season 2.
You are no stranger to the spotlight. What made you want to foray into reality TV?
I'm a big fan of reality TV in general, especially where I come from in Atlanta, there's the Real Housewives of Atlanta and all that. So always watching it, I kind of knew I wanted to go into TV. So when YFA came out, I was just like, well this fits me because I‘m young, famous and African. And here I am now.
What was the first thing that went through your mind when you were approached to be on YFA?
When I was approached to be on YFA, I was really happy, because I went from watching season one to being approached to be on season two. So I was just like oh you know, this is really great.
How did you prepare yourself for the experience?
I didn't really prepare for anything, I kind of just went in thinking ‘this is reality TV and I have a bubbly personality, so I'm just gonna be myself.’ And also, I feel like each season you get better. You start sharing more, because you're used to the cameras. So I feel like from season two, to the ongoing, people will be able to see more of who I am.
When we meet you in the intro, you say you have a quick temper. Coming into the show, did you have a plan for how you would approach conflict and disagreements?
I feel like when I came onto the show, I kind of did work on my temper. There were a lot of things that I didn’t let get to me until it really did get to me, and then I showcased a different side of me with my temper, but I think I did well with, you know, handling things normally.
What inspires you when it comes to your music?
My music is Afro-dancehall so my inspiration comes from the Caribbean, Jamaica, the Bahamas and those places. I speak a lot of like broken English and Patois in my song, and I make party music.
What were some of your favourite outfits that you wore on the show?
I feel like I look cute all the time. But I don't know my favourite, wow. I feel like there was a lot of moments. Swanky’s Egyptian-themed party - I liked that outfit. And then my first outfit for Diamond’s party when he invited everyone together. Yeah, I like shiny, blingy stuff.
What were some of the most enjoyable and toughest parts of filming?
The most enjoyable part was just being able to be around the cast and always having fun and even with the show runners and everything, just making friends with people all the time. And the hard parts were probably waking up early, and filming for 12 hours. That was a lot.
What can viewers expect to see from you on the show? Do you think YFA portrays an accurate representation of who you are?
I feel like YFA does give people a good perception about who I am. And it's also up to me to share the things that I want the world to know and put myself out there in the way that I would want people to view me, so I think this is an amazing platform, especially for young Africans.
What did you learn or gain from being part of Young, Famous & Africa?
I gained friends and I gained an amazing platform and I also got to learn a lot about myself. Things I was previously afraid for people to know, I felt like I was sharing it with the world. So I learned a lot of things, I learned a lot of lessons as well.
