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Hiplife is Ghana’s most popular genre of music. It sounds like a mix of hip hop, reggae and dancehall, all infused with an infectious highlife feel. Considering that all of Africa is dancing to, it has received very little exposure in Europe. In the summer of 2006 Georg Milz of out|here records in Munich went to Ghana to put together a compilation of hiplife music. This is his story…
After months of sitting in our Munich office, organising, making connections, getting a feel for who’s who in the Ghanaian hiplife scene, I’m finally here, in Accra, standing in front of Kotoka International Airport breathing in the tropical heat on this cool evening. Panji Anoff, one of the main producers and initiators of hiplife is here to pick me up, at last we meet in person. Everything is cool so far. As we are walking to the parking lot two guys suddenly appear out of the dark, one of them carrying a massive club with long nails sticking out. It soon becomes clear that the guy, pretending to be a security guard, is threatening to give our car the special treatment (his way to generate a little income on the side). After a few minutes of negotiating the guy backs down; seemingly impressed by the story Panji told him about his uncle working at the airport security. Panji looks back at me, smiles and says: “It’s all about bluffing and double bluffing”, no reason to worry. I soon find out Ghana is actually a pretty laid back place. The driver of the car who hasn’t spoken much during our journey turns out to be Kwaku-T, responsible for one of the funniest hiplife tunes of all time: Toto Mechanic. The word ‘toto’ translates into pussy and “toto mechanic” has become a common expression for bragging about one’s sexual skills, the phrase has even spread to Lagos.
On the way to the hotel we pass a billboard showing Reggie Rockstone, an old friend of Panji’s and the founding father of hiplife, smiling down at us holding a Guinness in his hand. Panji had already worked with him in the early 90s in the UK. In those days they were trying to create an internationally successful hip hop sound with a heavy Ghanaian flavour. Reggie had had success in the UK but more on the hip hop side. The whole hiplife thing really blew up when they brought this new music back to Ghana: “Suddenly, hiplife was everywhere!” Panji explains, “every wedding, funeral, party, nightclub and radio was playing it and people were dancing”. In 1992 Ghana had just got a new democratic constitution, the economy was picking up and many Ghanaians were returning from the diaspora enthusiastic about building a new nation. Hiplife was to become the soundtrack.
Panji drops me off at the Byblos Hotel in located in Osu, at a cross-road to Cantonments Road, better known here as Oxford Street. The expensive cars parked in front of the fancy fashion stores tell you why. Oxford Street is Accra’s main shopping street and also a good starting point to meet people and to go out clubbing. Some of the most exciting spots are just around the corner, from chop-bars to nightclubs. Get yourself a Star beer and you are ready to dive into Accra’s bubbling nightlife.
The next day Tic Tac, one of Ghana’s most popular artists, stops by at my Hotel. His latest music video to his song ‘Kangaroo’ is currently the most featured video on MTV Base Africa, a channel that can be seen throughout sub-Saharan Africa. It also became the anthem of the Africa Cup of Nations which was held in Ghana earlier that year. The song got the whole Black Star team dancing his Kangaroo dance: “No matter how high I go, I’ll never fall, cause I’m the son of a kangaroo…” the Black Stars almost won the cup, only failing in the semi final against Cameroon. Tic Tac drops me off in Dansoma at the house of the producer and rapper, Nana King. He used to live in the US and had once been part of Tupac’s Thug Life band before he came to Ghana in the early 90s. Now he’s living off his earlier fame and producing many of Ghana’s current big artists. He keeps telling me about his next album which he says will be his international breakthrough “When Akon can do it, I can do it!”. His videos show him with a lot of ‘bling bling’ on a fancy white motorboat surrounded by loads of girls. In the backyard of the house I meet Batman Samini, the Ghanaian Ragga Icon nominated for Best African Act at the MTV European Music Awards 2007. His mix of Twi and Patois English is featured on so many tracks that he has stopped counting. He’s a guy who can easily impress any crowd from Accra to Kingston and has performed with the likes of Damian Marley, Jay–Z, Akon, Sean Paul and many others who have visited Ghana. His former manager, Alex Frimpong is also there. He has backed Samini’s career with his private business income, one of which being a four acre marijuana farm in the Wenchi District. The police closed it down in May 2007, despite his monthly bribe of 25 Million Cedis.
Expectations are high throughout the Ghanaian music scene especially since MTV Base was launched a couple of years ago. So far no Ghanaian hiplife artist has released an album internationally. It is fun to witness the deep impression the American hip hop business leaves on many artists here and it soon becomes clear that putting together this compilation is going to be a challenge. It is hard to find songs with tight production, using good samples, live guitars, and no cheap midi sounds (some of which remind me of old mobile phone ringtones). The problem is that piracy is high and revenue from CD sales low, so only a few artists can afford expensive studio sessions. One of the people who really puts a lot of work and energy into his production, using instruments and taking his time over his recordings, is Panji. Panji knows that imitation will not go far internationally and that Ghana has to rely on its own styles and flavours. The talent is there. Ghanaian hiplife artists are fighters. Performing live, they can cope with the craziest settings; bad lighting, an unreliable soundsystem and still you’ll see them rock the crowd.
Back at the hotel, Panji wants me to meet the star of his new project: King Ayisoba. We drive to the outskirts of Accra. We meet him in a dusty backyard, sitting on a discarded office chair dressed not in Nike sneakers but in his traditional dress, which he apparently hasn’t washed for 18 years. No doubt! He greets us by shouting his catchphrase ‘Fuba!’ strumming on his two stringed Kologo, an ancestor of the guitar. His dreadlocks are sticking out in all directions and swinging to the beat. Ghanaians love him for his hilarious broken English. The guy is unique. And Panji is quite confident, that Ayisoba has a bright future. In his studio he edits the final touches of a duet between Ayisoba and Batman Samini. The chorus of the song says: “Champion no easy, before make training hard!”. Watch out for this guy!
