Abdul Karim Issah is a 26-year-old creative entrepreneur from Ghana’s Ashanti Region whose life story is woven from resilience, rejection, and an unshakable belief in self-expression. Born and raised in Ghana, Abdul Karim’s journey did not follow a straight or comfortable path. Instead, it unfolded through many households, extended family systems, and environments that shaped him early with lessons most people only learn much later in life.
Growing up, stability was rare. Moving between homes meant constantly adapting learning how to survive emotionally in spaces where he often felt unseen, unheard, and excluded. Decision-making was not a privilege he knew; autonomy was limited, and conformity was expected. Yet, within those constraints, something powerful was forming: a deep inner world, quiet observation, and an instinct to create.
Art was Abdul Karim’s first language. As a child, he found refuge in drawing cartoons, cars, and imagined worlds that gave him freedom when reality did not. But creativity, in his environment, was not seen as a future. His dreams were dismissed, discouraged, and at times directly blocked. When the time came to choose a path in high school, his father refused to let him pursue creative arts. That moment became a defining wound but also a defining fire. It taught him early that vision is often lonely, and that choosing yourself sometimes means standing alone.
The most pivotal decision of his life came years later. Enrolled at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Abdul Karim made the bold and frightening choice to drop out. It was the first major decision he made entirely on his own and it changed everything. He relocated to Greater Accra with no guarantees, no safety net, and no clear roadmap. What he had was hunger: to hustle, to survive, and to build a future on his own terms.
In Accra, life tested him relentlessly. Resources were limited. Support was scarce. But even in survival mode, Abdul Karim Issah remained committed to his craft. He poured what little he had into building his clothing brand, nurturing an idea that had been growing quietly alongside him for years. This wasn’t just fashion, it was therapy, protest, and purpose stitched into fabric.
That purpose became The Black Sheep
The Black Sheep clothing line is not a trend-driven brand; it is a lived philosophy. Inspired directly by Abdul Karim’s Issah upbringing, the brand reclaims a label often used to shame and isolate. In Twi, “Efie mu Mensa” refers to the one in the family who does not fit in the odd one out. Yet, in reality, those labeled as the black sheep often become the backbone of the family: the risk-takers, the providers, the ones brave enough to live differently.
For Abdul Karim Issah, being the black sheep was not metaphorical it was personal. It took him eight years to see his parents for the first time. Among his siblings, he was always the odd one out. He was not in the midst of the flock. He was often alone in his room not out of choice, not for privacy, but because he was pushed away. Always the black among the whites. Always different. Always misunderstood.
That isolation followed him beyond home. He felt ignored by peers, misunderstood because he struggled to express himself outwardly. But silence does not mean emptiness. Inside, his ideas were loud. His pain was articulate. His vision was clear.
Every rejection, every sacrifice, every quiet night spent questioning his worth became material for growth. Abdul Karim Issah stands today as proof that purpose can grow from struggle, and passion can survive resistance. His story challenges the idea that success must come from approval or permission. Sometimes, greatness is born when you walk away, when you choose discomfort over compliance, when you decide that your life belongs to you.
The Black Sheep is for those who have been labeled, sidelined, or misunderstood. It is for the ones who move differently, think differently, and live outside the margins. It is a reminder that being different is not a flaw, it is a calling.
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