The Godfather of Hiplife music in Ghana, Reggie Rockstone has asserted that hiplife or rap was the bedrock for dancehall in Ghana.
He made this assertion in an interview with Doctar Cann on Happy FM’s ‘Showbiz Xtra’ show aired every Saturday.
In making his point, Reggie noted that all the top Ghanaian dancehall musicians like Shatta Wale, Samini and Stonebwoy have roots in the rap music scene.
“All the top stars have rap roots. Shatta comes from hiplife. Stonebwoy comes from Samini’s base and Samini also has roots in hiplife. So dancehall is still urban, it still comes from Rap. You’ve got three of your biggest dancehall artistes coming from hiplife. So rap is what sets the foundation.
Apart from them, you’ve got medical, Kwesi Arthur, Kofi Mole, EL. Come on man, your country is full of rappers! Even Kuami Eugene raps sometimes in his music” he stated.
Hiplife is a Ghanaian genre of music being a perfect combination of Hip-hop and Highlife in the mid-1990s.
While many have held conflicting views on the origin of hiplife in Ghana, the most important thing to note is that Reginald Osei, known in the music circles as Reggie Rockstone is recognized to have pioneered the hiplife movement in 1994.
By: Alberta Dorcas N D Armah
