When I say Hip, you say Life. HIP!...........
In the early 1990s, a new musical trend named Hiplife emerged on the Ghanaian scene and took the whole nation by storm.
Advertisement
Hiplife, a name derived from two words, Hiphop and Highlife is a fusion of African-American Hiphop and Ghanaian Highlife music.
Myriad of youngsters around that time jumped on this bandwagon and helped promote it. It faced vehement opposition from Highlife proponents during its beginning but the Hiplife soldiers were able to weather the storm.
In this piece, we take a look at some of the forerunners of the Hiplife movement.
• Reggie Rockstone: Reggie came down to Ghana for the 1994 PANAFEST and fell in love with the musical vibe in Ghana at the time and decided to prolong his stay.
Prior to his arrival, he was a member of a HipHop group in the UK called Party A La Maison which later became PLZ-Parables, Linguistics and Zlang.
Although some few individuals had been doing rap before his arrival, he was the one who gave it better traction.
Reggie Rockstone is touted in some circles as the originator and the one who coined the word, Hiplife. He is known for popular songs like Keep Your Eyes On The Road, Eye Mo De Anaa, Me De Be Bom and Night Life In Accra.
• Talking Drum: The group was made up of Kwaku T of Big Brother Africa fame, Abeeku Ribeiro aka The Witch Doctor and Jay Ghartey known then as Chief G.
They were known for underground tracks like Akwaaba and Aden. The group broke up when Abeeku and Jay relocated to the USA.
• Native Funk Lords (NFL): The group had Jake Aryee (aka Jake The Snake), Tinnie Quaye (not Tinny Aletse), Cecil Perswa and Eddie Blay as members. Sidney Barima and Ded Buddy (Qweci) were also part of NFL but left the group at its nascent stage.
The group's acronym, NFL initially stood for "Notorious For Life" but later changed to "Native Funk Lords.”
They played a pioneering role when it came to pidgin English rap style in Ghana. They made waves with tunes like Pilolo, Kolomashi, Yen Ka Bom and Vote For Me.
• Nananom: This group, made of Sidney, Omahene Pozo and Jyoti Chandler were also on board the Hiplife train back in the day.
Their debut album, Nana Kasa was a massive hit. However, Omahene Pozo went solo leaving Sidney and Jyoti. Few years later, Jyoti relocated to Germany.
Nananom is remembered for songs such as Wo Kyere Wo Hu, Wone Hwan and Alright.
• Buk Bak: The trio of Buk Bak was among the few acts that sang and rapped in Ga when Twi music dominated the airwaves.
The members were Prince Bright, Ronnie Coaches (deceased) and Isaac Shoetan aka Papa Shotto. The trio erupted into the Ghana music industry with the hit song, Komi Ke Kena in 1998. Shoetan later left the group.
After the release of their hit Gonja Barracks album in 2007, the remaining two members, Bright and Ronnie disbanded to pursue solo careers in music.
They, however, came together again in 2012 to release an album Kolom. In 2013, tragedy hit when Ronnie Coaches died.
• VIP(Vision In Progress): The Nima-based group was one of the forerunners of Hiplife. VIP was discovered in the mid-1990s by Ghanaian TV personality, Blakofe. It was a rap quintet which comprised Friction, Promzy, Lazzy now Zeal, Bone and Prodigal.
In the early 2000s, Friction left to pursue a solo career and so did Bone. Promzy also left a few years ago.
VIP, which has been rebranded as VVIP (Very Very Important Personalities), now has Zeal, Prodigal and Reggie Rockstone as members.
• Sass Squad: This Takoradi-based group had Atsu Koliko, Sane Dog, Shortman and Scooby Selah now called Fiifi Selah as members. Some of their popular tunes were Serwa and Odo Pa featuring Gyedu Blay Ambolley.
They split due to artistic differences but Shortman and Sane Dog later laid claim to the name Sass Squad and released some hit tunes. Atsu Koliko and Scooby Selah moved on to form TH4 Kwages.
• TH4 Kwages: Atsu Koliko and Scooby Selah formed this group. Olasty Bingo (deceased) and Papa Flava were later brought on board as members.
Some of TH4 Kwages' famous songs were Taxi Driver, Wongye, Meye Aware and Nana Esi.
• Lifeline Family: Members of this group were T-Blaze, Ruwl, Ice I, Shepherd, Ray, Leslie, Lorgorzor Junior and Shyne. These young guys were the ones who composed the popular, Wo Sisi Yewo Ya.
They later split into solo artistes. T-Blaze released a couple of tracks which were hits. Lorgorzor Junior delved into Dancehall music and became known musically as Yoggi Doggi.
Shyne also dropped his moniker and reincarnated as M3nsa (Mensa), who's now part of FOKN Bois, with Wanlov Da Kubolor.
• T-Blaze: He came back strongly as a solo rapper after the split of Lifeline Family. He released hits such as Secretary and Feeling Ne Ye Deep.
• Lord Kenya: Also known as Rap Heavyweight Champion had chart-topping songs like Medo, Sikabaa, Driver, to mention a few.
His flow was distinct and was loved by music lovers and connoisseurs alike for his rap prowess and stagecraft. The hyperactive rapper is now an evangelist winning souls for Christ.
• Nana King: The recording studio of the Ashanti International man located at Dansoman, Accra, was like a sanctuary for most up-and-coming artistes those days.
Some of his proteges were Ex-Doe, Abiola Wapet MC, Jay Dee, Sonni Balli, Batman now Samini among others.
Nana King's tune, Champion made waves in the late 1990s. He now resides in the USA with his family and is still into music.
• G-Life: G-Life (Generation Life) formed by Nana King was a four men crew made up of Sonni Balli, Nash Dog, Lil Steve and Abiola Wapet MC.
After the release of their first album, Lil Steve and Nash Dog claimed they were cheated out of the proceeds and left the group.
Abiola Wapet MC and Sonni Balli took over the G-Life group and churned out songs such as Wati Wani Ayira, Kotoho and Koma Menko.
• Obrafour: The Rap Sofo, as he's affectionately called came into the music scene with the help of Hammer of the Last 2. His unique style of rapping made him stand tall among his peers.
He has a wide repertoire of hit tracks like Yaanom, Kwame Nkrumah, Maame, Who Born You By Mistake, Okukuseku, Odo, Oye Hene, et al.
• Akyeame: Okyeame Kwame (Da Rap Docta) and Okyeame Quophi were the duo of Akyeame. The two Kumasi guys were known for incorporating traditional Akan music and Hiphop.
Known songs by Akyeame were Mesan Aba featuring Nana Quame and Yoggi Doggi, Menko Meda, et al. The duo parted ways some years ago.
• Ex Doe & Chicago: The then budding rappers teamed up and came out with a tune, Daavi Mede Kuku. The track became instant hit and skyrocketed them both into the limelight.
However, there were some feuds over the rewards and ownership of the song which resulted in a bad blood. The two became foes for many years but have now called a truce.
• Keteke: This group started out with the name, Royal Neighbours in 1996. The group was made up of three males and an African-American lady who later travelled back to the USA.
The name of the group was changed to Keteke in 1999. Tracks such as Chioo-Chioo and Alele were the group's hit tunes back in the day.
• Tic Tac: Real name Nana Kwaku Duah, Tic Tac started with a group called Natty Strangers in 1998 but went solo after the group became defunct. Tic Tac got his breakthrough vwhen he featured on Mesan Aba by Slim Busterr.
He went on to release his own tune, Philomena which shot his music career a notch higher and made him a household name. Other known songs by Tic Tac are Masom, Wope, Fefe Ne Fe, Kangaroo and Mmaa Formula.
• Akatakyie: This group comprised two siblings, Prince Kwabena Budu Asumaning (Kobby Culture) and Ebenezer Kwasi Okyere Asumaning (King Pharoah).
The group's maiden track, Odo Esisi Me released in 1999 was well-received by music lovers. They also have hits like Ghana Mmaa, Agoo, Sinsima and Sie Sie Obaa No featuring Okyeame Kwame.
• Nkasei: Isaac Mensah alias Naa Kay and Kwame Godlove Yeboah Prah aka Shy met at a rap festival in Nima in 1995 to form Kente Clan which later was changed to Nkasei when they signed on to Abbib Records.
Their first album was Bisa. Eko Ma Mu, played in the indigenous traditional Adowa style was the most popular song on that album. It was the song that brought Nkasei to prominence. Their last album was the controversial, Tuobodom. The duo now live abroad.
• Deeba: He was one of the youngsters under the guidance of Hammer of the Last 2 back in the day. His hit tracks, Deeba and Ahuofe Hemaa were well-received in Ghana.
• Sony Achiba: Emmanuel J.B Danquah is his real name, but Sony Achiba was his claim to fame. He released his Hipdia album (a fusion of Hiplife and Indian music) in the early 2000s. This unique style of music caught up with the whole nation and launched him to stardom.
Sony Achiba will forever be remembered for tunes like Nipa Boniayefour, Damera Wo Yare and Sony M’aba.
Other artistes who played vital roles in the Hiplife movement are Jay Dee, Lord Lust, Bazaar, Cy Lover, Freddie Funkstone among others.