CNN's music ranking can go to hell if we play more Ghanaian songs – Okyeame Kwame

Award-winning highlife artiste, Okyeame Kwame, has urged Ghanaian DJ's to play more highlife songs even though foreign channels like Cable News Network (CNN) and others have rated Nigeria music as the best in the African continent.

Okyeame Kwame, who disagreed with CNN’s ranking said Ghanaians can prove them wrong by doing exceptionally well with their music. He commended that if Ghanaian DJ’s will treat Highlife music as their baby and play more of Ghanaian songs, statements that highlife Nigerian tops will change.

He told Ibrahim Ben Barko (IB) of Joy Prime in an interview that Ghana, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, others stated highlife at the same time because of colonization by the British and because of certain elements of their music, it appears to be performing much better than Ghanaian music.

Okyeame Kwame stressed that since highlife music has come to stay, Ghanaian DJ’s and musicians should embrace highlife music and not Jamaican or Nigerian songs in order to break the international barriers.

“We the Ghanaian artistes and the DJ’s should play more Ghanaian music, not Jamaican or Nigeria music, because Nigerians do more of your songs so they have the international market, see if we’re able to do this, trust me CNN can go to hell,” Okyeame Kwame added.

However, a couple of Ghanaian musicians including dancehall artiste Shatta last year also fumed at YFM for playing foreign songs which he believes are not sensible enough to be given airtime.