Whistle blower website Wikileaks, did not only leak high profile classified information about Ghanaian politics and politicians, they also released some information about the entertainment industry in Ghana.
Wikileaks, known for releasing confidential diplomatic information from several governments in the world, with its motto: “Help Wikileaks Make Governments Open”, touched on the fastest growing music genre in Ghana, Hiplife and its originator Oseikrom President, Reginald Ossei, popularly known as Reggie Rockstone, in one of its leaked cables.
The Wikileaks cable released on Reggie Rockstone and Hiplife is so far the only positive information released about Ghana in its latest leak.
Wikileaks cable No. 66. Reads r. Shipley’s Film “Living The Hiplife”: Reggie Rockstone and Ghanaian Popular Culture” uses interviews with younger Hiplife musicians, Disc Jockeys and Record Producers, to show how the well-known singer Reggie Rockstone, became known as the “Godfather” of Hiplife music. One Record Producer in the film is Rab Bakari, who grew up in New York and who helped Reggie Rockstone to develop his unique music style. #WIKILEAKS,.
Reggie Rockstone confirmed knowledge of the Wikileaks cable released about him in an interview on Peace FM’s “Entertainment Review”. The Hiplife grandpapa said several people have called him from all over the world to find out how he got on Wikileaks. He said when he first heard the news, he was confused; he thought it was some kind of music or the name of a musician until his mother called him to explain what Wikileads is and all that they do.
“People are just surprised I guess it is called the ‘Jesus syndrome’. Ghanaians did not realize how important I am to the country but its apparent now”.
Unlike the Politicians who are arguing back and forth about who is not corrupt and who is and which presidential candidate smokes wee and who has throat cancer, Reggie Rockstone proudly expressed joy, satisfaction and the fact that the cable about him is the only positive Wikileak on Ghana.
“First of all we thank God that the information is not about me doing anything bad or something really corrupt or something that will shame my country. However, after reading all the other Wikileaks cables it became very apparent that my story was very positive”.
However, the Godfather of Hiplife was not too happy about the fact that it had to take a foreign website to acknowledge the existence of Hiplife in Ghana. He lamented that no government (past and present) has ever acknowledged the Hiplife genre officially, and his contribution to national development as the originator of Hiplife.
“The Ghanaian governments have continuously neglected my input into this country. I am a Pan-African, my father was Nkrumahist, my father believed in Ghana, and he sacrificed for Fashion in Ghana. I have done it for music and continuously, it is like almost to the level of arrogance. They haven’t even officially acknowledged Hiplife and it’s amazing, because Hiplife is the biggest thing in our country. Hiplife is employing the youth, this is what they dance to at the funerals; it is the Hiplife artistes who sing for you when you want to become President of this country”.
Reggie further stated that it is because of Hiplife that Jay Z will come to Ghana; it is because of Hiplife that he got great endorsement deals from Guinness and Glo to use his image for giant billboards to market their brand.
“It’s a new age and a new day, yet still the politicians act like they can’t see it. So when Wikileaks reports such a story and all the other stories are negative you need to see Hiplife and acknowledge it. Hiplife is the order of the day”.
Touching on the documentary “Living The Hiplife” mentioned in the Wikileaks cable, Reggie said it is very rich and a highly engaging documentary on Hiplife that has brought together the various stages of Hiplife, from how and when it was started, to its current state. Reggie stressed that no Ghanaian Television station has ever shown this very informative and historic documentary before, but it is shown on foreign Television stations.
LIVING THE HIPLIFE is a highly-engaging and recommended documentary. Shot in Ghana from 2003 to 2006, the film looks at the Hiplife genre as a youth cultural movement that came about with the intersection of many musical influences, from indigenous music, to African American and afro-Caribbean music.
It goes on to explain that interestingly enough, Hiplife emerged out of elite prep schools, because it was in these schools that the young people had access to hip hop through family members that traveled abroad.
“Living The Hiplife” directed by Jesse Weaver Shipley, was featured at the 2007 FESPACO (Pan African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou) and could be used in classes to discuss topics such as syncretization, popular/youth culture, the globalization of hip hop, Africa’s relationship to the Diaspora, and music history in Ghana.
Rab Bakari happens to be Reggie Rockstone’s close friend and partner who helped immensely in the shaping of Hiplife from the early stages with support from other Producers like; Mike Cooke and Zapp Mallet. DJ Rab as Reggie simply calls him was also interviewed in the documentary as a Record Producer.
Rab started with Reggie in the mid-nineties in Accra shaping & defining Hip Hop & evolving into HipLife in Ghana. They later formed Kassa Records. Rab is credited for the sound Production; compositions & marketing directions of Reggie's 1st three classic albums and his long-standing performance as a DJ.
