The Exodus
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| The Godfather of Hiplife wears a shirt that clearly defines him |
'Makaa maka', the first ever hiplife album by Reggie Ossei, was figuratively the trigger that unleashed the hiplife bullet. Everyone--both younger and older generations in Ghana--found this or that track on the album that they could directly or indirectly relate to. The release of this album in Ghana in the year 1997 as talked about in the first series of this three part blog succeeded not only in bridging the gap between the young and old Ghanaian music lover, but also did so in a language that the average Ghanaian could comprehend.
It was very important for Reggie Ossei to rap in the Twi language for the simple fact that it was not just his native tongue but it was one in which he fluently articulated his dreams and aspirations to fellow Ghanaians against the backdrop of American style rhythms and African instruments without necessarily using abusive and foul expressions.
This was not mission accomplished for the young musician, it was rather the birth of a movement and the exodus had officially begun. Prior to the 'Makaa maka' album release, there were other local Ghanaian artistes who were trying to rap in the local dialect but were not doing this according to rap culture as we see it today through the lenses of hip-hop.
In an effort to pay respects to some of these artistes, the godfather of hiplife mentioned names like Mahoney Pee, a Ghanaian based in Europe who sprung up in the early 90's with a bold attempt to rap in the Twi language. Even though Mahoney Pee has been absent from the Ghana music industry for over two decades now, his earlier botched attempts was improved upon by Jedublay Ambolley, a great contemporary Ghanaian highlife musician who today continues to churn good music with his own style of slow rap.
Jedublay Ambulley according to Reggie is the only person who before hiplife represented the truest attempt by a Ghanaian musician to rap in the native Twi language. Referring to Ambulley as a musical uncle who has been a great inspiration, Rockstone says the musician also had a powerful influence on his music. Other musical influences on the creator of hiplife came from listening to the likes of Osibisa; one of the greatest Ghanaian music group ever, The Beatles, the controversial and great Nigerian AfroBeats maker; Fela Anikulapo Kuti and James Brown.
All these influences were evident in Ghana's first ever hiplife album which led to the release of the second hiplife album that Reggie named 'Mena mekaaye', which translates into English to mean 'I said it'. This second album released in the year 2000 under Kassa Records (available on iTunes) was a continuation to the maiden album.
By the time the second album was released, the hiplife virus had begun to spread and noticeable artistes in the eyes of Rockstone were doing justice to this new phenomenon. Some of these artistes were Akyeame, TicTac, and Lord Kenya, all of who were bringing new twists to the growing genre in Ghana.
After the second album, Reggie Osei decided to take a back seat and watch his creation grow from strength to acceptance and popularity in Ghana and Africa. A few years after his break, he felt compelled to return to the game, which made him release his third album—'The last show' in the year 2004 under the Kassa Records label. By this time, hiplife had become popular all over Ghana, Africa and the world with some hip-hop musicians especially in the USA citing Ghana as the spiritual home of hip-hop.
Today, the hiplife grandpapa has finished work on his latest album which is called 'ReggieStration'. In his mother's opinion this is his greatest work ever. The 'ReggieStration' was released in 2010 under the MixerPot record label that features big names like Wyclef Jean of the USA, Sway of the UK and some of the most respected hiplife artistes in Ghana today.
This work is mainly for fans who love the kind of music that Reggie does. Already, some of his over 53,000 followers on Twitter and Facebook are raving about this album, calling it one of his best albums.
