Gh hip-hop

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Gh hip hop, Gh rap or Ghana hip hop is a hip hop genre, subculture and art movement that developed in Ghana during the late 1990s. The hip-hop genre came into existence in Ghana through Reggie Rockstone, who is known as the hip-life father, [1] and other notable musicians such as Jayso and Ball J. It first came to Ghana as Hiplife, where Reggie Rockstone introduced a fusion of hip-hop beats with African sounds to create a whole new genre.

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Hiplife is different from Western hip hop because it involves local dialects such as Twi, Ga, Ewe, Hausa and Ghanaian Pidgin English. Some hip-hop musicians in the early era were Reggie Rockstone, Kae Sun, Sway DeSafo, Samini, Okyeame Kwame, Bradez, Buk Bak, D-Black, Sarkodie, Tic Tac, Obrafour, 4x4, Kwaw Kese, Ayigbe Edem and upcoming artists such as Lil Shaker, Bra Kevin, Rayoe, [2] Yaa Pono, Loone, Asem, and EL. Some songs from this era of hip hop were Asabone, Eye Mo De Anaa, and you no get money.

Hip hop evolution

Fast forward twenty-four years, and hip hop evolved into a more diverse and trendy culture where festivals like the Chale Wote Street Art Festival [3] were a means by which the culture was made widespread. This brought about groups such as yoyo tinz [4] which promoted Ghanaian hip hop through TV shows and documentaries. This also brought about the induction of "Kasahari" which is a twi word meaning "Fast Talk" and is mostly associated with musicians that rap fast. [5] This was a term given to musicians who rapped very fast while using the local dialect known as twi. Some products of Kasahari include Sarkodie and Obrafour.

Hip hop today

Hip hop in Ghana experienced some tensions between two well-known rappers namely Sarkodie and M.anifest This conflict came into existence when Sarkodie in a song titled Bossy, used a popular phrase of Manifest and this sparked tensions between them. Manifest reacted to this by doing a song titled the godMc and this tension continued. [6]

Hip hop in Ghana has been taken over now by the "new school" with acts such as Patapaa, Pappy Kojo, Joey B, La meme gang, Big Ghun, Amerado, B4bonah, teephlow, Kojo Cue, Lil shaker, R2bees and Kwesi Arthur. [7]

Since 2020, a drill rap scene has emerged in the city of Kumasi. Inspired by American drill music, it is known locally as asakaa, and its prominent artists include rapper Yaw Tog. [8] [9]

Related Research Articles

There are many styles of traditional and modern music of Ghana, due to Ghana's worldwide geographic position on the African continent.

Hiplife is a Ghanaian musical style that fuses Ghanaian culture and hip hop. Recorded predominantly in the Ghanaian Akan language, hiplife is rapidly gaining popularity in the 2010s throughout West Africa and abroad, especially in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Germany.

Reggie Rockstone is a Ghanaian rapper. He was born in the United Kingdom but lived his early years in Kumasi and Accra. He has been living in Ghana continuously since he pioneered the Hip-Life movement in 1994. He is married to Dr. Zilla Limann, Daughter of Hilla Limann, the only president of the third Republic of Ghana. They have three kids together and have been married since 2001.

VVIP, formerly known as VIP is a Ghanaian Hiplife music group made up of Zeal, formerly known as Lazzy, Prodigal and Reggie Rockstone from Nima a suburb in Accra, Ghana

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hammer of The Last Two</span> Ghanaian music producer and entrepreneur (born 1977)

Edward Nana Poku Osei known by the showbiz name Hammer of The Last Two is a Ghanaian record producer. He is the founder and CEO of The Last Two Music Group and known for growing Ghanaian Hip Hop or Hiplife artists, including Obrafour, Tinny, Kwaw Kese, Sarkodie, Ayigbe Edem, among others. He is sometimes credited as one of the people in the popularization of Hiplife or Hip Hop made in Ghana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EL (rapper)</span> Ghanaian rapper

Elom Adablah, better known by his stage name E.L, is a Ghanaian Afrobeats musician, rapper, singer and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tinny (musician)</span> Ghanaian rapper

Nii Addo Quaynor, better known by his stage name Tinny, is a Ghanaian rapper. At age eight, by singing and rapping at parties and funfairs, he got into the music industry. In 1994, he started performing at Fun-World, an entertainment program that was organized every Sunday at the National Theatre (Accra). He has released five studio albums since his debut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarkodie (rapper)</span> Ghanaian rapper, songwriter and entrepreneur

Michael Owusu Addo, known professionally as Sarkodie, is a Ghanaian rapper, songwriter, and entrepreneur from Tema. He started rapping at a young age and has since become a household name in the Ghanaian and Global music industry. His contributions to the Ghanaian music industry have earned him numerous accolades, including TGMA then Vodafone Ghana Music Award (VGMA) for "Artiste of the Decade". He was announced the first winner of BET's Best International Flow Artist at the 2019 BET Hip Hop Awards. He is also considered one of the major proponents of the Azonto genre and dance and as the most successful African rapper of all time. Due to the variety of musical genres. he can perform in, Sarkodie is referred to as a "multifaceted rapper" and frequently raps in his native language, Twi.

<i>Sarkology</i> 2014 studio album by Sarkodie

Sarkology is the third studio album by Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie. It was released by Duncwills Entertainment on January 2, 2014. Primarily recorded in Twi, the album features guest appearances from Fuse ODG, Davido, Tiwa Savage, Banky W., Timaya, 2 Face Idibia, Efya, Mugeez, Obrafour, Burna Boy, Vivian Chidid, Vector, Silvastone, Sk Blinks, Stonebwoy, Joey B, J Town, Lil Shaker, Raquel, Sian, Kofi B and AKA. Its production was handled by Magnom, Hammer, KillBeatz, Masterkraft and Silvastone, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pappy Kojo</span> Ghanaian hiphop artist

Jason Gaisie, popularly known as Pappy Kojo, is a Ghanaian hip hop and hiplife recording artist from Takoradi. He is well known for his hit single "Realer No".

Albert Serebo Ayeh-Hanson, known by his stage name Ball J or Ball J Beat, is a Ghanaian rapper, sound engineer, record producer and entrepreneur from Accra. He spent most of his formative years in the U.S State of California. Ball J is the CEO and founder of Nu Afrika Records. He is currently signed to Platinum Management, an American record label and the brand ambassador to Roca Bella Brands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">God MC (song)</span> 2016 single by M.anifest

"god MC" is a hip hop song by Ghanaian artist M.anifest released on June 30, 2016. The single comes off after the Makaa Maka rapper announced his upcoming album, titled Nowhere cool. The song humorously features popular actor "Kwadwo Nkansah - Liwin"’s comedy skit "I can't think far.."

Maradona Yeboah Adjei, also known by his stage names Guru and Gurunkz, is a Ghanaian rapper and fashion designer. He is known for his contemporary hip-hop rap style that combines English and Ghanaian indigenous languages. Guru's breakthrough was in 2011, when his hit song "Lapaz Toyota" appeared on the Ghanaian music charts.

Michael Elliot Kwabena Okyere Darko popularly known as Obrafour, other names include Rap Executioner and Rap Sofo is a Ghanaian hiplife musician and rapper. Obrafour has a unique style of Twi rapping and storytelling. His popular and hit debut album "Pae mu ka", for which he won 3 awards during the 2000 edition of Ghana Music Awards is arguably one of the best selling albums in Ghana. In May 2019, Obrafour celebrated the 20th anniversary of the "Pae mu ka" album. He is revered as one of the Most Iconic figures in the Ghana Music Industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zapp Mallet</span> Ghanaian sound engineer

Emmanuel Mallet popularly known as Zapp Mallet is a veteran Ghanaian recording engineer and a record producer. He is recognized as one of the pioneers of the hiplife genre that started in the early 1990s in Ghana. He is also recognized as the only recording engineer to have won the Ghana Music Awards on three consecutive occasions; 1999, 2000, 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yaw Tog</span> Ghanaian rapper

Thorsten Owusu Gyimah, popularly known as Yaw Tog, is a Ghanaian rapper who majors in drill music, known in Ghana as Asakaa. He is best known for his viral song "Sore" which featured O'Kenneth, City Boy, Reggies & Jay Bahd and also Kwesi Arthur and Stormzy on the remix produced by Chris Rich.

Emmanuel Ralph Kotei Nikoi, known by the stage name Okra Tom Dawidi or Da Kasaharilist, is a Ghanaian hiplife musician, best known for his debut hit single “Ayekoo”, which features Obrafour and Tinny.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kweku Flick</span> Musical artist

Andy Osei Sarfo, professionally known as Kweku Flick is a Ghanaian musician and songwriter from Abrepo. His path to stardom was paved by the release of his track titled "Money" in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham Ohene-Djan</span> Ghanaian cinematographer (born 1974)

Abraham Ohene-Djan, is a British/Ghanaian producer, director and media professional. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Ohenemedia, OM Studios and Si-Fex Digital, where he produces and directs hiplife music videos, commercials, television programmes and documentaries and is recognized for shooting the first hiplife music videos.

References

  1. ↑ Banda, Rajaa (15 August 2017). "Meet Reggie Rockstone, Pioneer of Ghana's Hip-Life Movement".
  2. ↑ "Rayoe, Ready To Take Over The World". DailyGuide Network. 2022-03-28. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  3. ↑ "Independent Art Africa Ghana. Innovative art programming". 26 August 2023.
  4. ↑ "Yoyo Tinz: Documenting Ghanaian Hip-Hop Culture". 31 July 2015.
  5. ↑ Addo, Charles (7 December 2017). "Obrafour speaks on how mischievous people are creating a Sarkodie 'beef' to distract him" . Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  6. ↑ "The Sarkodie Manifest beef, how it started". www.ghanaweb.com. 5 July 2016.
  7. ↑ Mawuli, David (13 April 2018). "VGMA 2018 full list of winners".
  8. ↑ Noisey (2021-08-26). The Ghanaian Teen Rappers Obsessed with Chicago Drill | Gangsta Rap International - Ghana . Retrieved 2024-12-08– via YouTube.
  9. ↑ "Ghanaian drill MC Yaw Tog recruits Stormzy for "Sore" remix". The FADER. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
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