I have been having a series of friendly arguments and discussions with a number of people about music. High Life, Hip Hop, Hip Life, Afro Pop, Afro Beats, Rap, etc.
It is interesting how people assume to be experts on a topic just because they are constantly around it. Listening to music 24/7 and having a copy of all the songs in the world does not make one an expert..... Sorry!
What is even more interesting is the kind of music you hear that is supposedly Hip Life. Like seriously.
I constantly wonder if I am the only one who heard Reggie Rockstone's "Makaa, Maka " album when it was released. Or even any of his subsequent releases. Surely not? At least, I hope not!
Definition of hiplife? "Makaa, Maka"! If you do not know what that is, it simply is Rockstone's debut album.
You listen to a lot of stuff on the radio these days and everyone is tagging themselves as an artiste. It is really sad because, majority of these people do not even know what makes music. To go into a certain field, learn its roots. How many people even remember how hiplife in Ghana started? Yet they jump up and down and call themselves hiplife artistes.
It's not about the stage presence (well, it seems like it is in Ghana now) or how many times it is played in the club. Those kind of songs, people get tired of. Plus that isn't music.... it's entertainment. In the true sense of the word, music refers to those songs you hardly ever hear in the club, the ones you run to the shop to purchase as soon as it hits the shelves. Music refers to those Common, Tupac, Rockstone, Becca, etc. pieces that you just can't dance to in the club, yet, you have them high on the playlist at home.
And everyone jumping on the hiplife.... now hiphop...soon to be afropop bandwagon, KNOW YOUR ROOTS. Not your individualistic roots, silly. The roots of the genre you claim to be representing. It's not about the sales and the payola (you understand right?), it's about the music.
ALWAYS HAS BEEN, ALWAYS WILL BE.
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