'Asibolanga' and all the 2022 beef songs that took the internet by storm

Diss songs have been an essential part of the music industry and the Ghanaian entertainment scene is no exception.

Usually borne out of failed relationships, betrayal, jealousy, disloyalty, or just for fun, these songs are often produced by artistes to either prove a point or for attention.

Like any other year, 2022 witnessed a number of celebrities go head-to-head with each other by flooding the airwaves with diss tracks.

Most of these songs, some of which had back-to-back responses, topped social media trends, music charts and became topical discussions on several media platforms.

In some cases, some of these songs which were perceived to be more incisive and outrightly disrespectful caused heated exchanges with the artistes involved, on social media.

Let’s take a look at a compilation of beef songs that hit the Ghanaian entertainment scene in 2022.

Lyrical Joe (The Response)



Shortly after Lyrical Joe won the Best rapper at the Vodafone Music Awards (VGMAs), some fans felt the rapper did not deserve the award and this was up for discussion on social media.

Amerado who was tipped as the winner of that particular award took to social media to release Obiaa Boa, a song that was used to establish his dominance in the rap scene.

Although he indicated that the song wasn’t targeted at anyone, Lyrical Joe felt attacked by that particular song, hence his reply with a song titled ‘Response’.

Amerado (Kyibom)

After Lyrical Joe’s diss song, Amerado later released ‘Kyibom’, a response to the former's.

In the song which was released on Lyrical Joe’s birthday, Amerado threw a series of shots at Lyrical Joe and described him as one who is ‘thirsty for hype’.

In this particular song, Amerado said lyrical Joe doesn’t add up to the numbers and as such, he doesn’t find it necessary to engage in a fierce banter that could destroy his brand endorsement deals.

Lyrical Joe (Baboon)



Tackling Amerado from all angles, Lyrical Joe went ahead to release ‘Baboon’, a response to ‘Kyibom’.

In parts of the song, Lyrical Joe questioned why Amerado will pride himself as the best rapper of the year when he cannot even release four or more rap songs within a year.

In the song, Lyrical Joe dragged TV presenter, Delay with the rap line; “you mess up your blessings until you stop sleeping with your Mums, kissing your mums". This was in reference to reports that Amerado and Delay were in an amorous relationship.

Kwabena Numbers



It didn’t end there as Lyrical Joe released another one titled 'Kwabena Numbers' in response to an earlier claim by Amerado that he doesn't have numbers in the rap game.

This time around, he dragged Delay into the song with her name boldly mentioned.

"It took you two months to respond but as a hard rapper, I don't f**k with Delay that's why I always come faster," Lyrical Joe said in the video below.

Amerado (Ponky Joe)



The beef took an interesting turn when Amerado in a matter of hours responded to Lyrical Joe’s ‘Kwabena Numbers’ song with ‘Poky Joe,’ a diss song that had artwork depicting Lyrical Joe’s signature hairstyle.

In this particular diss song, Amerado did not only make fun of Lyrical Joe’s look, but he also dragged the latter for not being able to ‘clock’ gigs.

In a bid to respond to the verse in Lyrical Joe’s ‘Baboon’ diss song where Delay’s name was mentioned, Amerado also involved Lyrical Joe’s late mother in his ‘Ponky Joe’ song.

“Fake motherf**ker, you say I am sleeping with your mother's size; I am mother f**ker, call mother's ghost to come and f**k a good d**k,” parts of the song read.

Lyrical Joe (Mute)



In response, Lyrical Joe who felt attacked by Amerado’s ‘Ponky Joe’ song came back with ‘Mute’.

Amerado (Sin no more)



Amerado in what was perceived to be an end to his feud with Lyrical Joe released a last diss track titled ‘Sin no more’.

Cabum’s diss song to Strongman (F**k Strongman)

Days after Amerado’s beef with Lyrical Joe ended, Cabum released a diss track to Strongman titled ‘F**k Strongman’.

Unclear what necessitated the diss, Cabum roared at Strongman with the aim of rubbishing the latter ‘s ‘rap beast’ title.

Parts of the song described Strongman as a traitor, nonentity, imposter, and a ‘weak’ rapper who is the direct opposite of his name.

Afia Schwarzenegger (Dada damoase Remix, Mzbel jab)



In this particular song which was meant to chide Coded of 4X4 fame for using her ‘Dada damoase’ tag without consent, Afia Schwarzenegger also lambasted her nemesis, Mzbel.

The song captures Mzbel’s father’s funeral which she described as an ‘Our Day’.

This was captured in a hook which read; ‘Alhaji damoase’

“The song captures a lot of things, Prophet Badu Kobi, government, and even Alhaji. I mean the Gbawe Alhaji who was buried recently. The funeral that went viral on social media, that particular one that Asamoah Gyan was spotted singing Comfort Annor’s song.” Afia Schwarzenegger stated in an earlier interview.

Mzbel (Asibolanga)



Mzbel’s 'Asibolanga' song is believed to be a jab at her old friend and now rival, Afia Schwarzenegger.

The song’s controversial title, 'Asibolanga', is a name often used by Nana Tornado to refer to Afia after they fell out and started beefing with each other on social media.

EB/BB