HIPLIFE MUSIC: A MONOGRAPH

A Thesis Presented to The Graduate Faculty of The University of Akron

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts

Emmanuel Anim-Koranteng August, 2018

HIPLIFE MUSIC: A MONOGRAPH

EMMANUEL ANIM-KORANTENG

THESIS

Approved: Accepted:

______Advisor School Director Mr. James Slowiak Mr. Neil Sapienza

______Committee Member Dean of the College Dr. Christopher Hariasz Dr. Linda Subich

______Committee Member Dean of the Graduate School Mr. Adel. A. Migid Dr. Chand Midha

______Date

ii ABSTRACT

This thesis examined the hiplife genre in Ghana and explored the various genres that led to the discovery of hiplife. The purpose of this research was to offer an analysis of the hiplife movement in Ghana as a contributor to youth empowerment applying new forms of entertainment strategies, artist management, and technology enhancement that could broaden the awareness of hiplife and create economic opportunities for artists. This thesis also discussed the event management company, The Afro Giants

(tAG), which was created to groom, manage, record musicians, and produce shows around the world.

Information for this thesis was gathered from personal contact with industry insiders from most of the entertainment houses, entertainment magazines, and record labels in Ghana.

iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A special thanks to God for giving me life and my ancestors who passed the touch to me.

I would like to express my special appreciation to my thesis committee members, Christopher Hariasz, Adel Migid and, especially, my thesis supervisor, James

Slowiak, for his excellent guidance, care, patience, and for providing a good atmosphere for doing this research.

I would also like to thank my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Anim-Koranteng, Enoch

(Black Arrow), and my two sisters Comfort and Stella for their encouragement.

To my friends who believed and trusted my ability and encouraged me to complete my thesis, I am very thankful. I would like to thank my readers, Chelsey,

Barima, and Enoch.

Finally, I would like to thank my little daughter, Asabea Anim-Koranteng, whose cry always wakes me up to work on my thesis at night.

iv TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

LIST OF TABLES ...... vii

CHAPTER

I. INTRODUCTION ...... 1

A Brief History of Ghana ...... 4

Folk/Traditional Music ...... 7

Adowa Dance ...... 8

Highlife Music ...... 9

Guitar Band ...... 10

Dance Highlife ...... 10

Electric Guitar ...... 11

Hamburger Highlife ...... 12

Gospel Music ...... 12

Reggae /Dancehall Music ...... 13

II. HIPLIFE COMES TO GHANA ...... 15

Reggie Rockstone: The Originator of the Hiplife Genre ...... 18

The Origin of Hiplife ...... 21

Kiddafest and Fun World Ghana ...... 24

v Marketing Hiplife Genre through Language ...... 25

III. INSTITUTIONS CONTRIBUTNG TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIPLIFE ...... 31

Problems Connected to the Hiplife Genre...... 35

Personal Experience with Hiplife: THE AFRO GIANT ...... 38

IV. CURRENT STATE OF HIPLIFE ...... 41

Recommendations for Further Research ...... 46

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 48

vi

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1.1 The Ten Regions, Regional Capitals and Dialects ……………………………..……………………6

vii

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

The entertainment scene in Ghana was in hibernation mode before the discovery of hiplife music in 1994. Highlife was the most popular music up to that time. The content of the highlife genre was highly accepted and enjoyed by the grown-ups in

Ghana and across West Africa. The majority of young people born in the early 1990s wanted to listen and associate themselves with something funky which could match their exuberant lifestyle. Highlife could not fulfill this need. Hip-hop music became the spark. Young Ghanaians in the late 1980s and early 1990s were attracted to hip-hop music. They enjoyed the beats and rhythms, and these youths also imitated the lifestyles they saw in the hip-hop videos. However, most of them were unable to understand the English slang.

The introduction of the hiplife genre by Reggie Rockstone in 1994 came as a surprise to Ghanaian culture. This new style of music was well received among the youth, but most of the elderly people and religious leaders in Ghana first described it as

“Black Noise.” They feared losing their beloved highlife music. Often hiplife musicians would remix some of the highlife songs and put a rap verse on them just to attract some of the older generation to listen. This move proved to be a persuasive approach in trying to sell hiplife music to the elders. The usual norm of playing hip-hop music at parties,

1 night clubs, pubs, and bars changed quickly to hiplife music. Ghanaian youths now have associated themselves with hiplife, because they understood the language being used in the songs and related to the new music very well.

Hiplife has become an important tool in shifting the power structure in Ghana and offering the youth some independence in shaping their personal lives (Osumare 84).

Hiplife musicians are creating their own culture and writing their own history. In order to understand how they are writing the history of hiplife music, one must be familiar with the global cultural influence of hip-hop music.

In Ghana today, hiplife musicians have assumed an unprecedented level of influence in the public sphere; corporate executives and politicians all vie for the endorsement of the most popular hiplife musicians (Osumare 84). The power that young

Ghanaian hiplife artists have garnered results only partially from global hip-hop. The numerous economic benefits of introducing the hiplife movement has created a lot of business opportunities in the music industry in Ghana (Osumare 84). Hiplife has also boosted the tourism industry. A lot of tourists now visit Ghana to witness its festivals, carnivals, and musical shows; this has been a huge plus to Ghana’s gross domestic product growth (GDP).

This monograph focused on hiplife music by providing a brief history of the West

African country, Ghana, as well as a description of Ghanaian folk/traditional music, highlife music, and its various types; Ghanaian gospel music and its various styles; and

Ghanaian reggae/dancehall music.

2

Ghanaian youth are inspired by hiplife music, and their fervor has transformed the culture's soundscape. Chapter II of this study takes a look at how hiplife came to

Ghana and provides a thorough examination of Reggie Rockstone’s background in order to understand the development of hiplife in Ghana. This chapter includes a look at the origins of hiplife and some programs, like Kiddafest and Fun World, which have helped develop most of the hiplife musicians in the early stages of the movement.

Ghana has more than fifty local languages which make vernacular lyrics a popular component of hiplife music. The Twi language is the most dominant language in

Ghana and, as a result, most of the hiplife musicians are forced to compose the majority of their songs in the Twi language. This study looks at how hiplife music has been marketed through language so that every Ghanaian and African can understand and enjoy its products.

The expansion of the hiplife genre’s fan base was a result of the involvement of some strong institutions in Ghana. Chapter III describes how these institutions helped to develop hiplife music and its musicians and create popular awareness of the genre. The author’s personal experience with the hiplife scene in Ghana has led to the formation of an event management company and record label, The Afro Giant, to help facilitate the growth of the hiplife entertainment industry, both in and outside Ghana. Chapter III concludes with the company’s mission, objectives, and plans for the future.

Chapter IV explores the current state of hiplife music. New event houses, young professional sound engineers, corporate branding, political influence, and increased use

3 of technology and social media have brought hiplife music into the new century. The monograph ends with recommendations for further research involving hiplife music and its significance as a cultural phenomenon.

A Brief History of Ghana

Ghana is a small country (2,470 sq. mi.) in West Africa, a little smaller than the state of Oregon (Osumare 6). Ghana has a population of about 24 million and a growth rate of 8.1 percent. Ghana is comprised of over 46 different ethnic groups. Each ethnic group has its own distant language; some of the major ones are: Twi, Ewe, Hausa,

Dagari, Dagbani, Nzema, Ga, and Fanti. Administratively, the country is divided into ten regions and 254 districts. The capital city of Ghana is Accra, which is located in the

Greater Accra Region (Younge 9).

As a West African coast country, Ghana borders the Gulf of Guinea between

Ivory Coast and Togo, with Burkina Faso to the north. As a nation, Ghana was forged from the former British colony, The Gold Coast, and the Togoland Trust Territory in

1957, as the first Sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. It did so through nonviolent protests and boycotts, led by its first prime minister, the eminent pan-Africanist, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, under his Convention People’s Party (Osumare 6).

Ghana experiences two seasons: the wet or the rainy season from April or May to October and the dry or harmattan season from November to March. Cocoa, the main cash crop, accounts for over 50 percent of the gross domestic product. Other than farming, the principal economic activities include pottery, handicraft, metal work,

4 beadwork, basketry, leatherwork, tie-dye, and textiles. Fishing is common along the coastal belt and the inland rivers (Younge 10).

Although European, American, and Arabic cultures have altered the lives of the

Ghanaian people, the majority still retain their traditional customs. Festivals, which are celebrated to recognize landmarks in history, religious beliefs, and reflections of life are essential aspects of Ghanaian culture. Some of the popular festivals include:

Hogbetsotso (Ewe), Adae (Akan), Damba (Dagbamba), and Homowo (Ga) ((Younge 10).

Formal education has undergone several changes since Ghana’s independence.

However, schools, from preschool to university levels, continue to thrive. Acquisition of knowledge is seen as a tool to safeguard the continuous growth and development of the country, and there is a tremendous amount of importance placed on the education of young people through traditional methods as well as the western formal system. In

Ghana’s traditional method, education is seen as a socialization process through which the individual acquires the necessary tools for a successful life. (Younge 10).

Ghana is divided into ten regions, with each region having its regional capital. Each region has its own distinct dialect (see table 1.1).

Ghana is a democratic nation with more than four political parties. Ghana conducts elections every four years to select a new president and members of parliament. President Obama chose Ghana as his first country to visit in Africa because of its stable political and economic climate. Even though most Ghanaians live below the poverty line by U.S. standards (the average Ghanaian makes less than US$4 a day), the

5 country has a GDP of US$48.14 billion, ranking below most Asian countries, yet above the majority of most African countries (Osumare 11). In 2006, the World Bank named

Ghana the friendliest country in West Africa in which to do business (Osumare 11). This

Table 1.1

The Ten Regions, Regional Capitals and Dialects

REGION REGIONAL CAPITAL Dialect

Great Accra Region Accra (capital) Ga/Dangbe

Ashanti Region Kumasi Twi

Western Region Sekondi-Takoradi Nzema

Eastern Region Koforidua Akuapim Twi

Brong-Ahafo Sunyani Bono

Northern Region Tamale Gonja

Upper East Region Bolgatanga Kasem

Upper West Region Wa Dagaare/Waale

Volta Region Ho Ewe Central Region Cape Coast Fanti

listing distinguishes Ghana within a continent fraught with political violence, famine, and poor technological infrastructure. Ghana’s current economic and political status and long-time leadership position on the African continent and for the African diaspora

6 create the context for the ongoing, rich, cultural, and artistic exchange in which the hiplife movement can be seen as one link in a long historical chain.

Ghana has a multitude of festivities and celebrations where traditional songs and dances are very important. Ghana has many different ethnic groups, tribes, and communities, each with its own distinct style and characteristic instruments. Drumming is a key element of much Ghanaian music; however, string and wind instruments are also important, particularly in the southern regions. There were various forms of music that became popular before and after independence. These various genres were: folk/traditional, highlife, gospel, and hiplife.

Folk/Traditional Music

Folk/Traditional music is a community-centered art form that reflects social and political issues facing a community, particularly the working conditions of the people.

The continuity of the tradition of folk music in all Ghanaian society depends on the musical demands of the event, how the event is organized, and the reason for the event. The participants may meet for recreation or for specific rites and ceremonies. The men and women who gather together in such contexts share common interests, ideas, and beliefs which form the basis of their community life (Nketia 15).

Folk/Traditional music has been defined in several ways: 1) music transmitted by mouth; 2) music of the lower classes; and 3) music with unknown composers.

Folk/Traditional music has been contrasted with commercial and classical styles of music. Traditional music education is taught through the process of socialization. In most Ghanaian languages, there are no words to represent music, rhythm, or singing as

7 separate activities; music-making is a broad, encompassing activity that is part and parcel of daily life. Newborns inherit a keen sense of rhythm and musicality as they are carried around on the backs of their mothers, sisters, or aunts. Most children learn to dance and play musical instruments through observation, imitation, and participation at frequent social occasions (Younge 10).

Folk/Traditional music is appreciated more for the specific function it serves and its symbolism for a particular event. Each ethnic group has its own unique form of music that permeates the culture at all levels, especially life-cycle events such as birth, initiation, adulthood, death, and marriage (Younge 11).

Adowa Dance

The Adowa dance is by far the most widespread and frequently performed social dance-drumming among the Akan-speaking people, especially the Asantes/Ashantis of

Ghana. This classic dance-drumming is featured mostly at funerals because of its unique historical origin (Younge 180).

Adowa started with the observance of a funeral celebration by chimpanzees drumming and dancing in the forest during which an antelope was sacrificed to appease the spirit of the dead. The story is that during a hunting expedition, a hunter sighted some chimpanzees drumming and dancing in the forest. Upon getting closer, the hunter realized that the chimpanzees were celebrating the death of one of their own. The hunter recounted that the animals were playing on dried wooden logs with straight sticks to accompany their dance and laments. From the hunter’s hideout, he saw an antelope, which was being chased by another hunter, suddenly run into the midst of the

8 chimpanzees’ celebration. The antelope did not feel threatened by the chimpanzees, but instead it joined the celebration with its own dance movements and gestures. The chimpanzees, however, saw the appearance of the antelope as a good omen from their ancestors. The chimpanzees killed the antelope and poured its blood over their dead colleague as a parting ritual before the final internment in a nearby forest. The hunter, upon his return home from the hunting expedition, recounted this experience to the queen mother and other hunters who were members of the asafo (warrior organization).

In order to remember this remarkable experience, young asafo warriors are enlisted to learn the movement of the antelope. The warriors reenact the whole experience in a dance/drama at funerals and other social events. The symbolic movement associated with the dance are believed to be derived from the gestures and movements made by the antelope during the dance with the chimpanzees. Therefore, the dance-drumming is called Adowa, which means antelope. (Younge 180).

Highlife Genre

Highlife, the worldwide-acknowledged Ghanaian pop music, is central to the birth of hiplife (Osumare 39). Ghanaians assimilated western music through a hundred years of highlife music and its precursors. Highlife music brought along with it certain artistic elements, such as the highlife dance, live band and dance band performances, concert party (comedy and drama), fashion, and lifestyle. The British brought their pompous upper-class “high life” style displayed in waltzes, foxtrots, ragtime, and ballroom dance music, but it was the adopted African diaspora rhythms of Caribbean

9 calypso and U.S. jazz that ultimately intrigued Ghanaians to evolve the rhythmic emphasis, along with lyrics of social commentary, that would eventually become known as “highlife music” (Osumare 39). During World War II, the indigenization of Ghanaian music was occurring through the incorporation of earlier guitar-inflected pam-wine bands popular in the rural areas, coupled with the calypso sounds of the diaspora that filtered through London. Highlife’s own indigenization process created the musical mix that resonated with early twentieth century Ghanaians and became the popular music circulating throughout West Africa (Osumare 39).

There were various forms of highlife musical mix that were discovered before and after independence. These various genres include: guitar band highlife, dance highlife, Electric Guitar Band, Hamburger highlife, as well as Gospel, Reggae, and Hiplife.

Guitar Band

In the 1930s, Sam's Trio, led by Jacob Sam, was the most influential of the high- life guitar-bands. Their "Yaa Amponsah," three versions of which were recorded in 1928 for Zonophone, was a major hit that remains a popular staple of numerous high-life bands. The next major guitar-band leader was E. K. Nyame, who led the Akan Trio and sang in Twi. Nyame also added the double bass and other Western elements, including jazz and Cuban music. In the 1960s, dance high-life was more popular than guitar-band high-life; most of the guitar bands began using the electric guitar until a roots revival in the mid-1970s.

Dance Highlife

10 Dance highlife evolved during World War II, when American jazz and swing became popular with the arrival of servicemen from the United States and United

Kingdom. After Ghana’s independence in 1957, the socialist government began encouraging folk music, but highlife remained popular, especially with influences from

Trinidadian and Congolese music.

E. T. Mensah was the most influential musician of this period and his band, The

Tempos, frequently accompanied the president at public appearances. “It was during the 1950s that E.T. Mensah was acclaimed the king of highlife throughout West Africa, for although the palm-wine variety of highlife was popular in the rural areas of West

Africa, ballroom music and colonial-type orchestras still dominated the urban dance scene” (Osumare 39). Hence, Ghana was the first African country to promote a regional acculturated pop music that blended European, African, and Caribbean musical techniques (Osumare 40).

Electric Guitar Band

In the beginning of the 1970s, traditionally styled highlife was overtaken by electric guitar bands and pop-dance music. Since 1966 and the fall of President Kwame

Nkrumah, many Ghanaian musicians moved abroad, settling in the U.S., UK, and Nigeria.

Highlife bands like Sammy Kofi's (also known as Kofi Sammy), Okukuseku, recorded in

Lagos or Nigeria's eastern Igbo region.

In 1971, the Soul to Soul music festival was held in Accra. Several legendary

American musicians played, including Wilson Pickett, Ike and Tina Turner, and Carlos

Santana. With the exception of Mexican-American Santana, these American superstars

11 were all black, and their presence in Accra was seen as legitimizing Ghanaian music.

Though the concert is now mostly remembered for its role as a catalyst in the subsequent Ghanaian roots revival, it also led to increased popularity for American rock and soul music. Inspired by the American musicians, new guitar bands arose in Ghana, including the Ashanti Brothers, Nana Ampadu & the African Brothers, The City Boys, and others. Musicians such as CK Mann, Daniel Amponsah, and Eddie Donkor incorporated new elements into the music, especially from Jamaican reggae. A group called Wulomei also arose in the 1970s, leading a Ga cultural revival to encourage Ghanaian youths to support their own country’s music. The main campaigner of the electric guitar band highlife style was Osibisa.

Hamburger Highlife

Revolutions and coups d’état were common in Ghana during the 1960s and

1970s. Frequent and long curfews, killings, and beatings perpetrated by the various military rules forced many musicians and bands or performers into exile and entertainment centers closed down. In late 1980, some highlife musicians who had moved to Europe started recording highlife songs with techno-pop elements. Daddy

Lumba (Charles Kwadwo Fosuh), along with Nana Acheampong and guitarist George

Darko, helped to usher in a new highlife sound known as “Burger Highlife” (Osumare

43).

Gospel Music

Gospel music is written to express either personal, spiritual, or communal belief regarding Christian life. Gospel music is intended to provide a Christian alternative to

12 mainstream secular music. It is composed and performed for religious or ceremonial purposes and as an entertainment product for the market place. For the purpose of this study, two styles of gospel music in Ghana have been identified: Pentecostal and

Charismatic Afro Pop.

Pentecostal style, which is the oldest type of Gospel music in Ghana, is usually not composed by professionals. The chorus of these songs is sung spontaneously and the congregation of the church keeps practicing until everyone learns the song. These songs are in the Ghanaian local dialects and the chorus is repeated many times.

Charismatic Afro Pop is Gospel music written and composed by experts for commercial purposes. The composers do not belong to any particular church.

Charismatic Afro Pop showcases the talent of the songwriters. Charismatic Afro Pop

Gospel music has become a refuge for both Hamburger highlife and hiplife artists who have decided to give themselves to Christ but still want to do music. Examples of musicians who have converted from hiplife and highlife genre to Charismatic Afro Pop music are DJ Azigizaa, Lord Kenya, and Ofori Amponsah. At the moment, many younger students in Ghana enjoy this style of music. A clear example is Soul winner’s

“Walabolo.”

Reggae/Dancehall Music

Ghanaian reggae and dancehall music is mostly influenced by Bob Marley,

Culture, Lucky Dube, Sizzla Kalonji, King Yellowman, Bounty Killer, Beenie Man and

Shaba Ranks. Most Ghanaians consider reggae and dancehall to be music from Africa.

The top reggae and dancehall artists in Africa are Alpha Blondy, Majek, Lucky Dube,

13 General Marcus, Shatta Wale and Samini. These artists have performed all over the world, including Jamaica. The genre has produced a lot of artists like Ras Kuku, Stone

Boy, Jupiter, Sonni Balli.

Ghanaians weren’t ready for reggae/dancehall music. Promoters didn’t want to invest their money putting up reggae and dancehall shows because they thought it was too big of a risk. Local reggae musicians, like Rocky Dawuni, had to travel abroad to save their music career. Rocky Dawuni first appeared on the music scene in 1996 with The

Movement, which was released on Aquarian Records. Rocky Dawuni is known in Ghana for his lively performances and is regarded as Ghana's top reggae artist. His first single and video titled, “In Ghana,” became an international success on both radio and television. Dawuni described the song as a celebration of forty years of political stability in Ghana. With the emergence of hip-hop and Ghanaians emulation of the hip-hop culture and the popularity of reggae/dance hall music throughout the country, the way was paved for hiplife, Ghana’s local rap genre, to appear on the scene.

14 CHAPTER II

HIPLIFE COMES TO GHANA

After a series of coups in Ghana, Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings became, not only the nation’s political leader, but a populist icon. In its early years, his youthful revolutionary government emphasized generational change, rejecting older military leaders under colonial rule. He orchestrated spectacular, charismatic speeches from atop military tanks or after descending by rope from a hovering helicopter. On Ghana television (GTV), most people recalled that he looked like a soul singer in his fighter pilot jumpsuit, unbuttoned and opened at the chest, short Afro hairstyle, and aviator sunglasses. His soul-inspired style reflected Ghana’s collective Pan-African aspirations.

Ghana, in 1979, was trying to maintain the image of a strong centralized state, while simultaneously privatizing its institutions and opening its markets to foreign investments and commodities. Culturally, the interests of the youth were shifting towards the latest rap and break dancing trends coming out of New York. The early importation of U.S. street culture, as in most international locations before the ubiquity of the internet, was through the broadcast of rap music on international radio stations and the dance and cultural style of Hollywood movies such as Beat Street (1984) and

Breakin’2: Electric Boogaloo (Osumare 12). These movies were shown in cinemas and eventually on videotapes that were sold on the streets throughout Ghana. A popular

15 shaven hairstyle known as sakura was sported among a group of Ghanaian youth living in Accra’s upper-middle class neighborhood, Cantonment. These particular youth also wore baggy pants and boots and were known for their foreign look. There was a strong divide between Ghanaian youth and the older generations who were more accustomed to listening to the highlife genre. Initial hip-hop inroads into Ghana created a generational divide, as well as a class divide (Osumare 12).

“Rappers, such as Run DMC and Public Enemy, first became popular with DJs and at schools and universities among elite Ghanaians with access to travel, technology, and the English language idiom” (Osumare 12). Therefore, many of the first recorded

Ghanaian raps were composed in and around university campuses. The middle class origins of Ghanaian hip-hop is different than the source of this musical form in the

United States, where it originated in more lower class environments.

Early Ghanaian hip-hop was aesthetically an imitation of American raps, with

Accra youth “spitting” Eric B & Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, and Public Enemy lyrics over recorded tracks. (Osumare 12). According to John Collins, noted pop music historian who also teaches at the University of Ghana, this kind of imitation of English language rap over recorded hip-hop beat tracks was definitely the beginning of hip-hop in Ghana in the late 1980s and 1990s (Anim-Koranteng’s Personal Notes, Music in African Cultures

II, University of Ghana, First Semester, 2007). However these early middle-class instances of hip-hop eventually were taken up by the poorer youth in Accra and Kumasi.

Most of these youths started imitating the way hip-hop musicians in the U.S. dressed; they wore baggy jeans, athletic shoes, Converse All Stars, and Timberland boots. These

16 items were often purchased second-hand from Nigeria. Friends normally borrowed clothes and boots from each other when there was a hip-hop event. This lending and borrowing among friends was termed “la borrow.” In the early days of hip-hop in

Ghana, young people needed to at least know how to rap or sing one line from a hip- hop song. Those who couldn’t speak English quickly studied the breaking, popping, and locking dance forms. Some local entrepreneurs created a money-making opportunity, opening up “video centers,” like Freedom Video Center in Accra, where customers would pay to watch music videos of the latest dances and discover the most recent clothes and trends from the hip-hop world. Today, hiplife music videos have become the most popular programming for youth on Ghanaian television. The occasional 2Chainz,

Future, Lil Wayne, and Young Thug videos can be viewed on MTV Africa or Channel O from South Africa for those with a satellite dish. Hip-hop culture in Ghana originally imported all of its elements, including rap, break dancing, deejaying, and even graffiti arts from U.S. culture. However, hip-hop’s physical language (dance and behavioral expression) was the easiest element to import and develop locally, particularly because many moves and gestures could easily be recognized in traditional Ghanaian dances.

It was during this early imitative period that skilled dance personalities, such as

Slim Buster and Reggie Rockstone eventually graduated into the more lucrative rap business. Through Reggie Rockstone’s use of indigenous language, he helped Ghana out of the imitation phase into the adaptation and indigenization phase. He later earned the title of Godfather or “Grandpapa,” of hiplife (Osumae 15).

17 Reggie Rockstone: The Originator of the Hiplife Genre

A thorough examination of Reggie Rockstone’s background is necessary to understand fully the development of hiplife in Ghana (Osumare 15). Reggie was born

Reginald Asante Ossei to Ghanaian parents. His father was from the Akyem tribe and mother from Ashanti, both a part of the Akan clan. Reggie Rockstone was born in

London and taken back to Ghana at the age of one. He remained in Ghana through the mid-1980s. As a young adult, he moved to the United States with his father, living in the hip-hop centers of New York and Los Angeles and settling in London by the late 1980s.

His father was an internationally recognized fashion designer, exposing Reggie to many high-powered celebrities in the emerging hip-hop scene between the United States and

London. After Reggie’s parents divorced, his father married an African American woman who was a fashion model. Reggie then carried the “authentic” credentials to be both local Ghanaian and have direct American hip-hop roots. Reggie’s first foray into hip-hop was actually through fashion, buying “authentic” gear in New York from the famous

Dapper Dan in Harlem and then selling the items in London. “These were the fly days, with the rope chains and the four finger rings. Yeah man, it was a great time in hip-hop, and I was there.”(Osumare 15) Indeed, Reggie Rockstone’s London, New York, and LA

Crenshaw district experience places him in the middle of some of the seminal events and personalities that have shaped hip-hop in the United States and the United

Kingdom. As a youth living in Great Britain, he started a London-New York hip-hop clothing “corridor.” His hustle really worked for him.

18 Reggie’s early transatlantic life put him at the center of the hip-hop music and dance world, as well as at the forefront of the culture and its “floss” that he was helping to facilitate (Osumare 16). In fact, the Dapper Dan –Reggie Rockstone connection is a testament to the Ghanaian-African American connection that underscores the histories of both cultures. When Reggie Rockstone returned to Ghana in 1994, his direct hip-hop experience abroad gave him the credentials to position himself as a cultural broker for

Ghanaian youth precisely because he knew Ghana and the Twi language. Reggie was marked by his experience of hip-hop, both in its U.S. origins and in its diaspora. This experience continues to inform his persona, as well as how he is perceived in Ghana to this day.

Language has always been at the heart of the authenticity debate within hip- hop. As a Ghanaian musical precursor to hiplife, highlife developed out of early U.S. jazz and Caribbean calypso, with Ghanaian rhythm and melodies, usually sung in the Pidgin

English of Accra, but interspersed with Ghana’s indigenous languages. Early Ghanaian hip-hoppers, trying to follow the “keeping it real” tenet, rapped in English. They needed

“permission” to find their own voice by using their own languages and pidgin slang.

Reggie Rockstone became the “permission giver” for local Ghanaian youth with his first attempts to rap in Twi, initiating the central place of language in the institutionalization of new forms of pop music in Africa (Osumare 16).

In a personal interview with Halifu Osumare, Reggie Rockstone describes his first stage appearance:

19 My father was making clothes for all the famous highlife stars. He was making

clothes for one of the biggest artists by the name Kojo Antwi. He came over to

my father’s to get his new outfit for his show that night at the new National

Theatre (about 1994), and he said that my father had told him that I was a

rapper. He told me if I came to his show that night, he would give me a shot. I

remember turning up late with some short pants and Timberland boots... K.K.D

was the emcee, and he announced me as “The Son of St. Ossei” which is what

they called my father. I did the first sixteen bars of a Twi rap, and everyone was

silent, and then I repeated it verbatim, and they went crazy applauding. I guess

they couldn’t believe their ears the first time. Kojo Antwi invited me for three

more shows after that (cited in Osumare 17).

Reggie Rockstone was influenced by James Brown, Blow Fly, Grandmaster Flash,

Cold Crush Crew, Funky-Four+One, and, in Ghana, Gyedu-Blay Ambolley. Reggie’s transition from fashion to performance also happened in London where he became an emcee before he returned to Ghana in the early 1990s. He met a Sierra Leonean rapper,

Freddie Funkstone, and they teamed up with a well-known London deejay, DJ Pogo, to form a hip-hop group, Party a la Maison, or PLZ (Parable, Linguistics, and Zlang).

Initially, he lacked rhyming skills. However, his London period served as training for what was to become his true calling. His first Twi rap was in London at Panji Anoff’s first wife’s house. “I created two verses, but I didn’t do anything with them at that time”

(Osumare 19). Everything was leading to Rockstone’s return to Ghana for his fateful meeting with a new form of Ghanaian music. Rockstone won the Kora Award for Best

20 African Video and he performed in front of a 50,000-person crowd in Ghana, together with Shaggy. In 2006, he recorded a track with the Jamaican dancehall singer Beenie

Man called “Chukku Chakka” (in reference to Rockstone's 1999 hit, “Eye Mo De Anaa,” which sampled Fela Kuti).

In 2004, Reggie Rockstone retired from being an active musician. He later joined the hiplife trio known as VIP (Vision n Progress). The group, with Reggie Rockstone, is now known as VVIP, and they have recently released singles like “Selfie” and “Book of

Hiplife.” Reggie Rockstone is currently operating a pub in Accra and a restaurant known as Rockstone’s Office.

The Origin of Hiplife

Hip, in the Oxford English Dictionary, is defined as the latest idea, style, or development. The word “life” can be defined as putting the latest ideas, styles, and developments into one’s daily activities to achieve a significant goal. Highlife, Gospel, and Reggae/Dancehall genres never put Ghana on the international music scene, but rather paved the way for hiplife. Hiplife or Kasahare is the creative blend of highlife, hip- hop, electronica, rhythmic traditions, and lyrical styles. Hiplife is the most popular style among youth in Ghana today. Hiplife artists sing and rap in multiple languages. The music can be political, humorous, direct, and personal.

In the early 1990s, the struggle for democracy and democratic consolidation grew vehemently with serious activities. Ghana adopted democracy in 1992, which also brought about constitutional review, freedom of choice, freedom of speech, and new government agencies such as the National Media Commission, Commission for Human

21 Rights and Administrative Justice, Ghana News Agency, Ghana Journalists Associations, and others. The media grew with the increase in private radio and television stations and exposed Ghanaians to western culture, especially music and fashion. Hip-hop created a sensation among the youth, along with R’n’B, as opposed to highlife music which was attributed to the older generations. During the coup d’etat of Jerry John

Rawlings’ first regime (1979-1981), a curfew was imposed, making live performances rare, and extreme pressure was put on the media (TV and radio) to showcase all

Ghanaian music, especially highlife. It wasn’t until the 1990s that GTV (Ghana Television

(the state-run TV channel) occasionally took a chance with the new hiplife sound.

Emcees and producers, percolating in the cauldron of Ghanaian imitative hip- hop, also helped develop the new sound of hiplife music. Pioneers such as Panji Anoff,

Abraham Ohene Djan, and Michael Cook, all of whom started in London with Rockstone, along with Rab Bakari, Zapp Mallet, Talking Drum, NFL, and Adinkra Clan, contributed different aspects to hardcore hip-hop beats and local highlife rhythms that developed into hiplife. Anoff started Talking Drum (consisting of Kwaku-T and Abeeku, the witch doctor) and produced a song called “Aden.” At the same time, Michael Cook wrote

“Tsoo Boi” (Heave Ho) for Rockstone, using the term “hiplife” in the second verse, becoming the first recorded rap in Twi. When Reggie Rockstone’s first album Maaka

Maka (If I said so, I said it) was released in 1997, there was little hiplife music playing on the radio and certainly few music videos on television, but his fearless bravado caught the youths’ and the media’s attention. Metro TV (originally called Media 1) was the first independent television station in Ghana to welcome freelance producers like Panji Anoff

22 and Abraham Ohene Djan to produce hiplife videos on their new “Smash TV” program, inherited from GTV. It was through “Smash TV’s” broadcasts of hiplife videos that the new local style began to penetrate into contemporary Ghanaian culture.

Two more generations of emcees emerged as hiplife progressed, representing the “adaptation phase” of hiplife, eventually evolving into the “indigenous phase.”

Joining immediately with Reggie Rockstone in the early days of hiplife were emcees such as VIP and BUK BAK. VIP or Vision in Progress (Lazzy-Abdul Hamidu Ibrahim, Prodical-

Joseph Nana Ofori, and Promzy- Emmanuel Promzy Ababio). This group is a perfect example of young rappers emerging out of Nima, one of the poorest and dirtiest districts of Accra, and forming their own record company, Boogie Down Nima (after KRS-

One’s Boogie Down Productions in Bronx, NY). They implicitly challenged the upper middle-class dimension of hiplife that produced young emcees emerging from the small, educated middle-class of Accra. VIP demonstrated to the majority of poor youth in Accra that hiplife was actually an economic way out of poverty, as well as an exposure to a larger world. Buk Bak released songs which talk about social issues. They used local beats and had a funny way of arranging their songs and rap. One example is their song titled, “Kom k3 Kenaa” (Kenkey and fish). This song was an instant hit. Most young

Ghanaians in the late 1990s memorized lines from the song.

In the early days of hiplife, another two of Ghana’s most promising artists, Ex-

Doe and Chicago, who first emerged on the scene as a group, later went their separate ways. They started a furious rap battle among themselves. Ghanaians had never experienced or witnessed such a thing before. Most traditional folk songs and highlife

23 music carried messages like love, death, work ethics, etc. In my opinion, this was the turning point for hiplife music. The rap battle crossed boundaries and borders, sweeping across the entire country and even outside of Ghana. Ex-Doe and Chicago repeated the

Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G saga. Their battle created a strong division among

Ghanaians. The radio, television, and newspapers took advantage of the sensationalism to sell more of their own product. These two hiplife artists received the platform they needed to make more music. The debate within the country created a sense of joy and new self-esteem among Ghanaian youth.

Rich individuals at that time who didn’t even understand the game started investing in hiplife promotions. They organized shows every weekend and on national holidays at Labadi Beach, National Theatre, and Children’s Park in Accra and venues in other regions of Ghana. The government took advantage of the situation in the capitol and other parts of the country. The Ministry of Education, Ministry of Women and

Children Affairs, and the Ministry of Chieftaincy Affairs and Culture were all asked by the government to present event proposals that would help Ghanaian children develop their talents. Programs like Kiddafest and Fun World were started at this time.

Kiddafest and Fun World Ghana

The purpose of Kiddafest and Fun World were to develop children’s talents through rap, dance, music, poetry recitals, drama, and fashion. Kiddafest and Fun World helped nurture a new generation of artists. Both programs occurred at the Ghana

National Theatre, with Fun World being organized every Sunday. Most of the kids who engaged in these programs continued to collaborate with each other after the

24 programs. They often formed groups and recorded musical demos. Kiddafest and Fun

World came to an end due to the lack of funding for the programs when the government changed in December 2000.

Marketing Hiplife Genre Through Language

Ghana is a multilingual country in which more than fifty local languages are spoken. For a message to be well delivered through music, it should be spoken in a language known to the people. Hiplife was mainly an Akan phenomenon. Most hiplife artists wrote and arranged their songs in the Twi language, which is the dialect for the

Akan ethnic group in Ghana. However, other ethnic groups who cannot speak and understand the Twi language, shy away from listening to hiplife music, which resulted in inadequate record sales throughout the rest of Ghana. Most Ghanaians are proud and supportive of their ethnic background and rally for any artist who comes from their specific ethnic group and raps in their dialect. Two sound engineers quickly took advantage of this situation: Hammer of the Last Two and Panji Anoff.

Edward Nana Poku Osei, founder and CEO of The Last Two Music Group and the national hiplife director of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), started grooming some of the best underground artists in Ghana. Hammer began his career in music accidentally when a friend of his (Yaw Opare Anoff, aka Way Deep), a gifted keyboardist at the time, encouraged him to take up sound engineering because he realized Hammer had the ability to dissect and analyze music in the most unusual ways. Hammer also had the habit of finding fault with world class professional music. Yaw Opare Anoff and

Hammer formed a production unit called The Last Two, meaning the only two left to put

25 Ghana on the world map musically. Together they produced an album for a young artist called Obrafour which became the highest selling hiplife album in Ghana. This album was called Pae Mu Ka. Hammer has been very successful at finding new talent and recognizing how to use changing technologies in order to market hiplife artists. After successfully producing most of the Twi hiplife artists, Hammer realized the time had come for hiplife to spread all over Ghana. He started scouting new artists and persuading those who could rap in different local dialects to do so.

Obrafour is another early pioneer of the first generation hiplife, developing out of Reggie Rockstone’s commercialization of the music. He was born into an Akan family in the Kwawu Eastern Region of Ghana in 1976 (Osumare 49). Obrafour's first album,

Pae Mu Ka, was an acclaimed success and a breath of fresh air on the Ghanaian music scene. Obrafour was awarded Best Rapper of the Year, New Artist of the Year, and Best

Hiplife Song at the 2000 Ghana Music Awards (Osumare 49). Obrafour has a good command of the Twi language, which represents only three regions in Ghana: the

Ashanti region, Eastern region, and the Brong Ahafo region.

Nii Addo Quaynor (Tinny) hails from Osu, in the Greater Accra region. In 1994 he started performing at Fun World. Tinny’s first album, in Twi, was not successful because the engineering of the work was inferior. He later went to see Hammer who advised him to rap and sing in the Ga language since he was fluent in this local dialect. Tinny was not happy with this advice. However, Hammer was able to point out the opportunities that lay ahead if Tinny switched languages. Tinny’s first album in the Ga language, Makola

Kwakwe, became a number one hit in Ghana. Tinny will forever be remembered as the

26 artist who broke into the predominantly Twi dominated hiplife music with his fast rhyming raps and punch lines in Ga. Tinny’s work represented the Ga-Adangbe people in the Greater Accra region of Ghana.

Emmanuel Botchwey (aka Kwaw Kesse) was born in Agona Swedru and started singing in school, where he sang and rapped every now and then to beats provided by his friends thumping on tables. Kwawa Kese’s major break came when he was featured on Obrafour's compilation album, Executioner's Diary, with his track “Oye Nonsense” in the Fanti language of Ghana (Osumare 54). In 2005 Kwaw Kese’s debut album, Na Ya

Tale, was a big hit (Osumare 56). The success of the album and his amazing performances throughout the year earned him five Ghana Music Awards in 2008. Kwaw

Kese represents the Fanti ethnic group, who are mainly situated in the central region and western region of Ghana.

Edem was born in Dzodze in the Volta Region of Ghana. He started his primary education at the Amazing Love School and then continued there for junior high school.

As a product of the secondary school system in Ghana, he proceeded to Bishop Herman

College for his senior high school education. Edem rose to fame with the release of his maiden album, The Volta Regime, in the Ewes language of Ghana. This album was produced by Edward Nana Poku Osei, aka Hammer of The Last Two. Edem’s music represents the Ewes ethnic group who are mainly found in the Volta region of Ghana and some parts of Togo in West Africa.

27 With each of the artists described above, Hammer’s dream to spread hiplife in

Ghana through all of the country’s dialects instead of only Twi (which is the most popular language in the country) was beginning to be realized.

Pidgin is a language spoken by millions throughout the English-speaking West

African countries. West African Pidgin English has its roots in the Atlantic slave trade when British sailors and African traders developed a common language to facilitate commerce in the coastal areas. Since most of the hiplife artists started rapping and singing in the local dialects of Ghana, the genre began to face a language barrier.

Music producer and CEO of Pidgin Music, Panji Anoff, took it upon himself to start a crusade to sell hiplife throughout Africa and around the world. Panji started his enterprise by recruiting musicians to write and rap in the Pidgin language. Panji Anoff started his career with Reggie Rockstone in London when he produced “Tsoo Boi” in his own recording studio. Panji’s main idea of hiplife was to translate Africa in to something global. Panji also produced the group Native Funk Lords (NFL) in the early days of hiplife.

He has signed and produced other artists like King Ayisoba, Kubolo, Mensa, and Kweku

T.

King Ayisoba (Albert Apozori) was one of fourteen children born to a Frafra father who had three wives (Osumare 99). He is a young musician from Kalaga, in

Bolgatanga, in the Upper East Region of Ghana. He learned how to play the kologo (a traditional two stringed guitar) from his grandfather, a traditional healer. Ayisoba started playing music at pito bars and festivals and became well known throughout the three northern regions in Ghana. King Ayisoba felt that he had accomplished everything

28 he could at home, and he moved to Accra. Once there, he met the late Terry Bon Chaka and began a partnership. The pair soon became the main event for every performance across Ghana as they stunned audiences with their unique blend of flawless traditional instrumentations and rhythms. Their reign ended abruptly with the tragic death of Terry in a car accident in 2003.

Left by himself, King Ayisoba contemplated his return home to Bolgatanga.

However, Panji convinced King Ayisoba to stay in Accra, and he began to collaborate with other artists while developing new material for a new album. King Ayisoba often chants in his own personalized mysterious dialect between his verses in traditional

Frafra, his language of the Upper Eastern Region of Bolgatanga, Ghana (Osumare 98).

Wanlov the Kubolor was born in Ploiesti, Romania and grew up in Accra, Ghana.

Both his parents were collectors of world music and art, influencing him to have a diverse perspective on the world, which is evident in his music and style through his insightful consciousness and his presentation of the human experience. Wanlov's unique sound, the fusion of hip-hop and West African music, created what he calls

"Kubolor" music. Rather than modifying his style to fit the mold of pre-existing genres,

Kubolor’s music reaches out across West Africa and the world because of the use of

Pidgin and the English language in delivering his message.

Mensa Ansah is a Ghanaian hip-hop/hiplife artist born in Accra, Ghana. Mensa was raised in Accra, Los Angeles, California, and London. Mensa is the third son of his parents. His father, Tumi Ebo Ansah, rocked stages as a guitarist of British Afro-pop sensation Osibisa, and also starred in Heritage Africa (winner of the outstanding film

29 award at the 1989 London Film Festival). Mensa’s mother, the biggest influence on his music, taught him to play the piano when he was just eight years old. Mensa grew up celebrating his roots and made his first foray into music by forming the Lifeline Family, a short-lived hiplife band, which released one album. Following the demise of the band,

Mensa displayed a flair for producing great music that was soon recognized by Reggie

Rockstone, founder of hiplife. Mensa produced two hit tracks for Rockstone’s album Me

Ka. Impressed by the young man’s incredible talent, Rockstone quickly enlisted Mensa to produce his fourth album, Last Show, which received both critical and commercial acclaim. Mensa has toured Europe with hip-hop legends like the Wu-Tang Clan and The

Roots and worked with some of Africa’s most popular musicians, such as Sway, Asa, and

Nneka. With the use of the English and Pidgin language Mensa’s music demonstrates the best of what Africa has to offer to the world.

Panji Anoff, with the help of Hammer, has added many different ingredients to the hiplife genre, creating an array of diverse choices for listeners. With the innovation of rapping in the Pidgin language (and other dialects) and modernizing traditional ideas of performance, marketing the hiplife genre has become easier and the music has become recognized throughout the world.

30 CHAPTER III

INSTITUTIONS CONTRIBUTING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIPLIFE

Hiplife was met with a lot of bashing and scrutiny at its very early stages by the older generation of Ghanaians. Often described as black noise and a nuisance, many thought that hiplife wouldn’t last. Most corporate businesses in Ghana didn’t want to associate their brands with hiplife for fear of losing some of their existing and potential customers. Some courageous individuals and institutions helped to create awareness and persuade Ghanaians to get involved in the new music. Such institutions as Ashfoam,

Nescafé Ghana, education institutions, television, radio and the print media, Musicians

Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), Ghana Music Awards, and Zylofon Media were all important in the rise of hiplife in Ghana.

Ashfoam was the first mattress company to feature two hiplife artists in its advertising. Obrafour and Tic Tac rapped in the Ashfoam television commercial, which caught the attention of the rest of corporate Ghana. Other companies copied the trend and featured some of the best known hiplife musicians in their advertising, yielding huge profits as a result. Hiplife started becoming popular among the elite populations and penetrated throughout every corner of Ghana. Nescafé copied the trend by organizing Nescafé African Revelation, a talent competition comprised of up and coming artists from all the African countries. Praye, a hiplife group from Ghana, won the first

31 prize at the first competition in 2005. Nescafé awarded Praye with a record deal and then recorded a commercial with the group. Ashfoam and Nescafé really showed courage by using hiplife artists to promote their products throughout Africa.

Educational institutions, such as colleges and senior high schools, started inviting some of the hiplife artists to perform during university hall weeks and senior high school entertainment nights. The hiplife genre expanded its fan base as a result of introducing it to even younger populations. The School of Performing Arts in the University of Ghana quickly added hiplife to its curriculum. Domestic and international students at the

University of Ghana got the opportunity to register for Music in African Studies II, a course in which hiplife was featured. The hiplife genre was sweeping the country and even being studied by scholars.

In the 1990s, television, radio, and the print media were the means for the general public in Ghana to enjoy and learn about music. A radio station in Accra, known as Vibe FM 91.9, was established in April 1996 by Mike Cooke, one of the pioneers of hiplife. Cooke realized that Ghanaians were starting to relate more to the hiplife genre because it was in their own language and dealt with issues closer to them. Vibe FM became a medium for free, unlimited air-play of hiplife music during the early days.

Most of the youth in Ghana tuned in every afternoon to listen to new releases of hiplife songs. Vibe FM made it possible for listeners across Ghana to call in during the afternoon show to request songs from their favorite hiplife artist. When Vibe FM left the airwaves, other radio stations, like Radio Gold, introduced shows like “Night Train” hosted by B.B Menson. Adom FM, a privately owned radio station in Accra, quickly

32 introduced a program called Kasahare, a rap competition show which involved most of the hiplife artists of that time. This rap program solidified the hiplife genre and created much awareness of the art form throughout Ghana. Currently, it is hosted by Pope

Skinny, who is also a hiplife artist. Most music producers and entertainment investors in

Ghana rely heavily on the Kasahare show to discover the best new talent.

Metro TV, a privately owned, free-to-air television station in Ghana which provides entertainment, sports, and international news, introduced the program Smash

TV. The program helped Ghanaians to enjoy the music which was being played on some of the radio stations in a visual format. Smash TV also included interviews with artists and sound engineers who the public was yearning to get to know. In this era, there was limited access to the internet in Ghana. Abraham Ohene Djan and Panji Anoff produced hiplife videos for Smash TV. Hiplife received major exposure through Smash TV and became even more accessible to a majority of Ghanaians.

Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) was incorporated on 9th December 1975.

MUSIGA has regional offices in all the ten regions of Ghana. Bice Osei Kuffour is the current president of the Musicians Union of Ghana. He is also a hiplife musician who releases albums yearly. He is known in the entertainment world as “Obour,”meaning stone in Twi. The Musicians Union of Ghana’s mission is to promote and preserve

Ghanaian culture through education and equipping the Ghanaian musician to be self- reliant, creative, and industrious. MUSIGA represents all categories of musicians and performers, except amateurs, and supports members with musical activities, job opportunities, union rights and freedom, education, intellectual property rights, working

33 conditions, and gender equality. Registered hiplife musicians who pay their dues get to enjoy tax-free importing of musical instruments, legal advice on copyrights and intellectual property rights, discounts on musical facilities, educational programs, and workshops. MUSIGA serves as a foundation and base for all registered musicians in

Ghana and helps to spread the hiplife message.

The Ghana Music Awards promotes Ghanaian musicians and music of Ghanaian origin. It is the biggest and most significant annual entertainment event in Ghana. In the span of successive years, the Ghana Music Awards has grown into a festival of music and entertainment that has gone beyond national boundaries to the whole continent of

Africa and beyond. It is organized under the auspices of the Musicians Union of Ghana

(MUSIGA) and the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Arts. The Ghana Music Award is watched throughout the world annually, and it has attracted big sponsorships from some of Ghana’s telecom companies. As a result of this, the Ghana Music Awards has become both a facilitator and a threat to the hiplife movement in Ghana (Osumare 157).

Zylofon Media is a multimedia entertainment company established to supply audio and visual entertainment to diverse domestic and international consumers. The company is committed to produce professional, creative art works that would be domestically desirable and also transcend national boundaries. Zylofon’s vision is to create an avenue where all creative artists would have the platform, tools, knowledge, and requisite technology that would enable them to develop their talents in the ever- changing world of digital art works. The company has established ties with various artists in the industry and plans to search for new artists to produce and market. They

34 have signed hiplife musicians like Obibini, Becca, Shatta Wale, Stonebwoy, and Kumi

Guitar. The presence of Zylofon Media in Ghana has created jobs for the entertainment industry. Zylofon Media is putting Ghanaian artists on the world music map.

Problems Connected to the Hiplife Genre

Since the hiplife genre has come to stay in Ghana, there are many challenges associated with its future. Most of these problems concern royalties, piracy, limited recording possibilities, unskilled sound engineers, and few event promoters.

The collection and distribution of royalties are the main problems discussed by most of the musicians in Ghana. The Ghana Music Rights Organization (GHAMRO) is the only music royalty collection agency in Ghana. GHAMRO collects royalties from restaurants, vehicles, event organizers, radio and TV stations, night clubs, bars, etc. that use music commercially. Some musicians have appeared on TV or radio to complain about how royalties are distributed, saying the collection system in the country is either biased or not effective at all. The sources for royalty payment are enormous, including hotels, banks, DJs, restaurants, drinking spots, and clubs. However, most of these venues are in the informal sector. Therefore, collecting royalties from them comes with many challenges. The more formal and reliable sources from which GHAMRO can collect royalties for musicians are television and radio stations. But the majority of these television and radio stations in Ghana don’t pay royalties. Artists, in turn, need to rely on live events and shows to make any money.

Piracy is the copying and the distribution of work by artists without their consent or that of the copyright-holding record label. The music industry in Ghana loses millions

35 of cedis (Ghana’s official currency) every year due to illegal activities such as illegal downloading of music, ring tones, and black market CD distribution. Piracy in Ghana affects all of those in the creative industry as well as the country’s entire economy.

Hiplife musicians lose their rightfully earned royalties, jobs are lost, and the government loses money in tax revenue. Over the years, piracy has increased significantly. It is reported that piracy in Accra and Kumasi is up by 25% since 2009. In addition, the number of CDs and cassettes sold annually has decreased from 50 million to 30 million due to the illegal distribution of musical works (Me firi Ghana 35) Musicians’ associations such as MUSIGA (Musicians Union of Ghana) and NASGAMP (Society of

Ghana Music Producers) have tried their best to address piracy. However, all attempts to solve the problem have proven ineffective and futile.

The lack of professional recording possibilities in Ghana is a continuing problem that slows down the work and growth of artists. Record label companies are the force behind most successful music artists all over the world. The question, however, is: are the Ghanaian record labels, such as Zylofon Media, Bandex, and Lynx Entertainment measuring up to international standards in their dealings with artists? Because of the lack of professional recording possibilities, some local artists are forced to self-finance their music production, while others have their family offer financial assistance.

Sometimes wealthy individuals, with purely commercial interests, but little technical know-how, try to produce an artist’s work. The result of this lack of professional recording possibilities is poor quality recordings. A record label should play the role of financier or investor, providing money for projects and giving direction to the artists on

36 what needs to be done and how to do it. The artist is then able to concentrate on creating quality songs ready to make a profit. In due time, if the problem of lack of professional recording possibilities is not addressed, Ghanaian artists will have fewer chances to record music that can compete in the international marketplace.

Unskilled sound engineers in the music industry charge a lot less money to produce an album or a song for an artist than professional sound engineers associated with a record label or recording studio. Hiplife music has produced many more

“beatmakers” than sound engineers. In the beginning, Zapp Mallet, Panji Anoff,

Hammer of the Last Two, and a few others were trained sound engineers, and they each produced a distinct sound that could be easily identified with them. Recently, many of the youths who have joined the hiplife game can only use computers or other cheap electronics to produce the most generic techno-pop sounds. Many of these wannabe musicians can’t even play at least one musical instrument. They only improvise over some hip-pop or hiplife produced sounds. The flood of unskilled sound engineers is harming the music business in Ghana.

The inadequate number of event promoters has been a problem in the Ghana music industry since its beginning. No matter how much work an artist puts in towards the craft, if opportunities to perform and make money are not forthcoming, the artist will suffer financially. In Ghana, there has always been only one big event company at any one time. It used to be Media Whizkids in the 1990s and now it is Charter House, which organizes all the national and major events in the country such as Miss Ghana,

Miss Malaika, the Ghana Music Awards, and many more. Because of this monopoly,

37 corporate institutions, businesses, and religious organizations have all turned into event promoters, organizing and funding their events themselves. Television and radio stations and telecommunication companies now have their own event departments. All of these organizers, including Charter House, do not always compensate artists fairly when they engage their services for their events. Event organizers complain that the artists do not produce quality, outstanding live performances, but only lip synch while a

DJ spins a disc. Artists, in turn, feel trapped and forced to sign on to events that are poorly produced and underpaid. All of this conflict creates an unhealthy environment in

Ghana’s music industry. Given the difficulties of performing hiplife and hip-hop live, artists and promoters need to work together so that no one feels cheated, short changed, or defrauded, especially the fans.

Personal Experience with Hiplife: THE AFRO GIANT

The Afro Giant (tAG) is an emerging event management firm and a record label registered in Ghana. The Afro Giant was started by the author of this study in January

2011. Starting a business in Ghana comes with a lot of difficulties. The setup procedures are all available on the Ghana Registrar General website and clearly printed in their handouts but, in reality, it’s important to know someone in the registry office and even be prepared “to give out a token” for the forms to be processed. A physical administrative space is also necessary for the Ghana Registrar General’s office to inspect. The author’s parents allowed the use of their house to serve that purpose.

Engagement with hiplife musicians gave the author of this study a lot of insight into how the music business works in Ghana. Friends who later became hiplife musicians

38 relied on his personal support for their financial needs. He often provided clothes and transportation for these artists when they had shows to perform or a recording session scheduled. Operating as an unpaid artist manager meant that efforts were not benefitting anyone financially. The decision was then made to use all the connections, exposure, and insights accumulated over the years to start a company. However, things didn’t really go the way anyone expected. The already established big event firms won most of the event contracts and sponsorships. This model kept the smaller event firms, like tAG, from running a profitable business.

In August 2012, the pursuit of a master’s degree in Arts Administration at The

University of Akron broadened the author’s knowledge of how to conduct business in the entertainment world. While in the United States, tAG has continued to function as an event management company. Presently, The Afro Giant is involved in organizing musical events in Akron, Kent, Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati. Most of these shows are targeted to people in the Afro-Caribbean diaspora. The Afro Giant has grown with the inclusion of multicultural formats and the company now sees itself as a mobile event firm and record label, travelling to different cities to organize events with local musicians. The Afro Giant plans to organize shows in Europe and other parts of the world. tAG will also begin producing live theatre productions based on African themes.

The Afro Giant’s operations in Ghana have been suspended for the meantime.

tAG has several projects in the pipeline, including signing, recording, and promoting Paa Dogo’s new single track. Paa Dogo used to be one of the hottest hiplife artists in Ghana, who was discovered by Hammer of the Last Two in the early 2000s.

39 After releasing “odompo,” he was featured on various hiplife songs and compilations but failed to continue his music career due to financial difficulties. The Afro Giant prides itself on rediscovering forgotten artists who still have something to offer. Paa Dogo’s new single will be released before the end of fall 2018.

The current strategic plan of tAG includes:

1. To determine whether to incorporate as a nonprofit or a for profit

corporation in the United States of America;

2. To create a network of African-American and Afro Caribbean artists who are

active in the Midwest entertainment scene; and

3. To identify talented artists to sign as clients, venues where the shows can be

economically produced, and sponsorships for funding the projects.

40 CHAPTER IV

THE CURRENT STATE OF HIPLIFE

It was often said in Ghana that hiplife didn’t have a future in its early stages due to the fear of the power shift from the highlife population to the younger listeners.

Lovers and followers of hiplife music kept trusting in the process, and the result now is a blossoming musical experience which has empowered Ghanaian youth to create training and employment opportunities. Some of these opportunities include the creation of event houses, training of young professional sound engineers, corporate branding, political advocacy, and the establishment of professional record labels.

Event houses have begun to spring up around the country, creating an avenue for artists to perform and make money. Empire Entertainment is a leading production and event management company in Ghana which was established in 2007. Over the years, Empire Entertainment has been actively involved in the business of creating and producing entertaining and interactive outdoor events and corporate events. Empire

Entertainment offers a spectrum of high quality professional creative and graphic services, as well as company and product launches, product promotions and activations, script writing, media buying, printing of souvenirs, and digital signage. Throughout the years, Empire Entertainment has staged shows such as Ghana Meets Nigeria, a music concert that pits top-notch Ghanaian acts against their Nigerian counterparts. The 2018

41 Ghana Meets Nigeria was held in both Ghana and London. Empire Entertainment paid

Shatta Wale, a dancehall/hiplife artist, $20,960 to perform at the Ghana Meets Nigeria event. This amount of money clearly indicates how much event companies now are willing to pay artists to put on their shows. Some years ago, most of the top-notch artists in Ghana would charge as little as $200 for a show.

The hiplife genre has created young professional sound engineers such as King of

Accra, Uncle Beat, Rhythm Boss, Magnum, Dr. Ray, Killbeatz, Kaywa, and Willis Beatz.

These young sound engineers are making a huge impact when it comes to programming and recording artists. The old way of contracting a select few sound engineers to record is finished. At one time in the hiplife genre most artists wanted to be recorded by the best-known sound engineers because they believed those sound engineers would automatically guarantee them a hit on the music scene. In those days, Hammer, Panji

Anoff, Zapp Mallet, Jaye Quaye, and Appiatus were the only professional quality sound engineers working, and artists would have to wait their turn to be booked and recorded, slowing down the release of songs on to the Ghanaian market. Things have changed now due to the outstanding work of some of the new young professional sound engineers. Numerous songs are being released on to the market weekly, creating an aura of excitement and a sense of competition.

The marriage of hiplife and corporate branding started in the formative stages of the hiplife genre and is currently being taken to another level for the benefit of both parties. Most Ghanaian companies promote their products and services using well- known hiplife artists and also contracting some of them as brand ambassadors. In July

42 2015, the world's pre-eminent manufacturer of sports shoes, clothing, and accessories,

Adidas, introduced Joey B, a hiplife artist, as the brand’s ambassador. Joey B, the first

African musician to become an Adidas brand ambassador, now has joined the likes of

James Harden, Pharrell Williams, David Beckham, Kanye West, Justin Bieber, and Snoop

Dogg. Just recently, Adidas added two other hiplife artists to their brand promotions,

Edem and Kaakie. In 2012, Sarkodia, a multiple hiplife and Black Entertainment (BET) award winner, was officially introduced as the brand ambassador for Samsung

Electronics. Locally, most of the telecommunication companies in Ghana, like MTN, Tigo,

Zain, Glo, and Vodafone, keep on signing hiplife musicians as ambassadors to their respective brands. Both the corporate world and Ghana now commonly use hiplife as a strategy to promote and sell their goods and services.

Politics in Ghana is a sensitive subject. The two main political parties in the fourth republic, New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Party (NDC), always contract the services of hiplife musicians to create campaign songs and travel throughout the ten regions to solicit votes. Artists such as A Plus, Shatta Wale, Barima

Sydney, Wisa, and Kwabina Kwabina found themselves on the political platform during the 2017 elections. All of the above-mentioned artists are still successful and have not been affected by the results of the elections or their affiliations with certain political parties. Hiplife is now a part of the political environment every election year in Ghana.

Some of the most successful hiplife artists have been able to establish their own record labels. They even seek out young talent to be groomed and get them ready for a record deal. Multiple award winning Ghanaian hiplife/hip-pop artist D-Black, in his first

43 five years of being an entertainer, racked up over 50 award nominations worldwide, including being the first Ghanaian hiplife act to receive a nomination at the BET Awards.

He founded the label Black Avenue Muzik, which has signed such young emerging artists as Wisa Greid, S3fa, Nina Richie, Kobla Jnr, Rony, and Dahlin Gage.

Lynx Entertainment is a Ghanaian-based record label founded in 2006 by award- winning producer, singer-songwriter Richie Mensah. The record label has been responsible for successfully launching the solo careers of Ghanaian musicians Richie,

Asem, Irene Logan, OJ Blaq, Eazzy, Zigi, Jayla, and Mzvee. Lynx Entertainment has also produced hit singles for several Ghanaian artists including Tinny, Okyeame Kwame, VIP,

Praye, Bradez, Irene and Jane, Obour, Becca, Reggie Rockstone, Efya, Trigmatic, Sonni

Balli, EL, Jael Wiafe, Ayigbe Edem, and Iwan.

Sarkcess Music is a record label which was formed by Sarkodia, the multiple award winning Ghanaian hiplife artist who won Best International Act: Africa at the 2012

BET Awards and was nominated in the same category at the 2014 BET Awards. Sarkcess

Music has signed Strongman and Akwaboah on to its label. Hiplife has been a savior for numerous youth in Ghana, helping to boost the economy and empowering youth to become engaged in all facets of its industry.

Technology has made it easy for everyone to access and enjoy hiplife music in

Ghana and around the world. During the early 1990s, Ghanaians depended on radio and television for entertainment and information. There were no mobile phones and the internet was very rare. It was extremely difficult for Ghana television, which was the only television station in the country, and the few radio stations at that time to play

44 music consistently due to the government-mandated program line up. Some Ghanaians would buy cassette tapes of their favorite musicians instead of relying on the conventional means of accessing music. Now things have changed. Hiplife musicians have numerous creative platforms to display and sell their products. Some of these modern platforms are GhanaMotion.com, YouTube, iTunes, and social media, such as

Facebook, Twitter, etc.

GhanaMotion.com is Ghana's premiere music site for streaming and downloading Ghanaian and African music. This platform allows Ghanaians to download hiplife music as soon as it’s been released. DJ’s who play in restaurants and nightclubs rely heavily on GhanaMotion.com for their songs. YouTube is an American video-sharing website that helps Ghanaians, especially in the diaspora, to enjoy and share hiplife music and videos among themselves. Most Ghanaians in the diaspora play hiplife music from YouTube whenever there is a party or a holiday gathering. ITunes is a media player, media library, Internet radio broadcaster, and mobile device management application which gives Ghanaians with iPhones easy access to listen to their favorite hiplife music.

Social Media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have a big following. Most hiplife artists now share their newly released music or videos so that their fans have immediate access to the music on their smartphones.

The current state of hiplife is a youth revolution, which has successfully swept all over Ghana and most parts of Africa (Osumare 93). Hiplife music and its culture have been criticized a lot but, throughout the years, hiplife’s economic benefits have saved many Ghanaians from unemployment and poverty. The utilization of social media and

45 technology in hiplife has definitely brought the music closer to the ears of its listeners.

Hiplife is now the most listened to music in Ghana. Hiplife’s economic potential is now becoming a prime profit motive for American pop culture giants as Viacom’s MTV Base

Africa and South Africa’s Channel O (Osumare 26). Hiplife music is now situated in the global free enterprise market that is casting both opportunities and threats for hiplife music artists (Osumare 26). It’s often said that hiplife has become linked with Ghana’s identity and has helped put Ghana on the world map.

Hiplife has clearly distinguished itself within African popular music by way of indigenizing a received American pop music form and in the process transforming it into an entirely new world music genre. It has become a youth music revolution that’s fundamentally challenging the African traditional social order, while allowing a new generation of young Ghanaians to find their voice that speaks to the African realities and dreams in the twenty-first century (Osumare 27).

Recommendations for Further Research

Further research on the hiplife genre in Ghana could include personal interviews with Reggie Rockstone, other hiplife musicians, or chief executives of any of the event companies in Ghana. Involving any of the above personalities would create a deeper understanding of how hiplife is contributing to the entertainment industry in Ghana and explore ways to minimize the problems musicians go through to achieve their dreams.

Investors can definitely rely on such recommendations of further studies to draw their individual conclusions.

46 Hiplife is predominantly a male culture, despite occasional female performers like Aberewa Nana, Mizbell, Eazzy, and Tiffany. Girls in Ghana are often labelled as those who run errands, cook in the kitchen, take care of the home, and do not have a voice when it comes to decision making. Things have changed drastically, however, and there have been a lot of underground hiplife female musicians who are fighting hard to come into the mainstream. Further research on how the female artist could be integrated and involved in the entertainment industry would be a nice topic for discussion

Further research on how the government of Ghana could invest some of its resources and time in the music industry would be of great benefit. Seminars and workshops could be of great benefit in broadening the minds of both mainstream and up-and-coming musicians. Government seed money could be set aside every year to record talented emerging musicians who can make an impact on the entertainment scene in Ghana.

The hiplife genre breaking on to the world music market is the biggest concern of all Ghanaians and entertainment investors. There should be more collaborations between hiplife artists and hip hop artists. More attention and resources should be put into the making of hiplife musical videos, so that the music could appeal more to foreign viewers

47 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Collins, John. West African Pop Roots. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1992.

Nketia, J.H. Kwabena. African Music in Ghana. Northwestern University Press, 1963.

Nketia, J.H. Kwabena. Ethnomusicology and African Music: Modes of inquiry and interpretation. Afram Publications, 2005.

Osumare, Halifu. The Hiplife in Ghana: West African Indigenization of Hip-Hop. Accra: Palgrave, Macmillan, 2012.

Shipley, Jesse Weaver. Living the Hiplife: Celebrity and Entrepreneurship in Ghanaian Popular. Duke University Press Books, 2013.

Younge, Paschal Yao. Music and Dance Traditions of Ghana: History, Performance and Teaching. North Carolina: McFarland Publication, 2011.

Websites

Edem. Ghana Base Music. http://music.thinkghana.com/artist/obrafour. Accessed 13 May, 2018.

Hammer of the Last Two. Ghana Base Music. http://music.thinkghana.com/artist/hammerofthelasttwo. Accessed 10 May 2018.

Kwaw Kese. Ghana Base Music. http://music.thinkghana.com/artist/kwawkese. Accessed 20 F 2018.

Pangi. Ghana Base Music. http://music.thinkghana.com/artist/Pangi. Accessed 12 May 2018.

Reggie Rockson. Ghana Base Music. http://music.thinkghana.com/artist/reggierockson. Accessed 25 Jun. 2018.

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Tinny. Ghana Base Music. http://music.thinkghana.com/artist/tinny. Accessed 1 May 2018.

VVIP. Ghana Base Music. http://music.thinkghana.com/artist/VVIP. Accessed 15 May, 2018.

M3nsa.” Ghana Base Music. http://music.thinkghana.com/artist/m3nsa. Accessed 9 Jan. 2018.

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