Derrick N. Ashong, also known as "DNA", (born 1975 in Accra, Ghana), is a musician, artist, activist, and entrepreneur.
Born in Accra, Ghana in 1975, Derrick Ashong is the son of a pediatrician. He attended school in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Voorhees, New Jersey before attending Harvard University in 1997 through a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, where he studied Afro-American studies and was awarded the Hoopes Prize for his sen...
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Derrick N. Ashong, also known as "DNA", (born 1975 in Accra, Ghana), is a musician, artist, activist, and entrepreneur.
Born in Accra, Ghana in 1975, Derrick Ashong is the son of a pediatrician. He attended school in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Voorhees, New Jersey before attending Harvard University in 1997 through a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, where he studied Afro-American studies and was awarded the Hoopes Prize for his senior thesis. He returned to Harvard and is currently studying for a PhD in Ethnomusicology and Afro-American studies. Ashong was a founding member of the Harvard Black Alumni Society.
Ashong's musical career started while at Harvard. He produced a musical entitled Songs We Can't Sing, for which he won awards, before forming a band called "Black Rose". The band latter became known as Soulfège. Ashong has worked with such established artists as Debbie Allen, Janet Jackson, & Bobby McFerrin, and is MC and leader of the pan-African band Soulfège,...
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