'Stonebwoy’s Afro-Dancehall doesn’t speak to the story of Hiplife’ – Reggie Rockstone

Reggie Rockstone, the originator of the 1990s revolutionary Ghanaian style of music, Hiplife, has noted that Stonebwoy’s Afro-Dancehall is not Hiplife.

He stated that Afro-Dancehall may have been influenced by Hiplife, however it has nothing to do with the genre.

“That has nothing to do with Hiplife,” he stated on ClassFM’s Class Morning Show, on Friday, August 30, 2024.

“That’s another fusion that he created. That’s not my road, I don’t know that [theme]. I know about the style. I’ve heard the style. I know what he did with that. But it doesn’t speak to the story of Hiplife. We’re talking about what he created – Afro-Dancehall,” Reggie added.

Rockstone also acknowledged that genres are not created in a vacuum but are influenced by old ones.

For instance, he recognised Hiphop as “the mother tree” from which came his Hiplife music, which broadly was a blend of Highlife and Hiphop.

He said: “If we want to be truthful, most music styles borrow from everywhere. A little bit here, a little bit there. Calypso… Even Highlife itself. We would have never had Highlife without the diasporic influence. They all borrow.”

Although he argued that Afro-Dancehall is not Hiplife music, the rap icon respected and commended the use of Dancehall elements in Hiplife history especially in the 2000s.

“You see, rap in itself and Dancehall – what the Jamaicans deem chatting, you know, the whole style is non-conforming. You can translate Hiphop in so many forms. You can do Gospel rap… Rap is so flexible. You can [use it] to address issues… Nothing surprises me, thus," Reggie Rockstone said.

The serial entrepreneur added: “So Yoggi Doggi and them, they might have been doing the Jamaican-style, Patois-driven vibration over a Highlife-type beat or Ghanaian-friendly beat. This was what Samini was very popular for. So when he’d do Linda – Linda is a perfect example – he was still doing his Jamaica theme [or] vibe on there but the music really relates to Ghanaians. So, yes, it can fall into the Hiplife category, easily.”

Stonebwoy has had issues with a Grammy article about 10 artistes essential to Hiplife music which did not mention him.