Da Hammer declares he’s not interested in Asakaa

Legendary record producer and music executive Da Hammer has stated categorically that he prefers the Trap variant of Hiphop to Drill, sometimes called Asakaa.

He spoke on Showbiz A to Z on Accra-based Joy FM, Saturday, December 2, 2023.

Host Kwame Dadzie had asked if Da Hammer would maintain Hiphop as his focus or venture into the trendy styles of pop music, now that he has returned to active music production.

“No, I’ll just be me, as usual,” he answered.

Da Hammer argued that one can experiment but still stay true to a genre.

He explained by noting “the evolution of Hiphop”. He said, while the genre mainly “has to do with the groove, it’ll always be Hiphop”.

He recalled some major eras of Hiphop to buttress.

There was “the New York hardcore” rap music which “moved to the Westside bounce, it came to the South Crank,” and later “evolved to Trap, Drill, you know it just keeps going… but it’s still Hiphop”.

To stay relevant and in step “with the times, you just join the bounce but stick to Hiphop,” the serial hitmaker said.

In Ghana, presently, he observed “the bounce is the Drill”.

“I’m not interested in the Drill, I love the Trap,” he declared.

He said “the Trap has something great,” noting that “the Drill is a little bit on the youth[ful] side. The bounce is for the very young boys but the Trap can survive in all ages. So I prefer the Trap”.

Da Hammer, born Edward Nana Poku Osei, absolutely decline dabbling in Highlife music.

“Why should I do that?” he quizzed, asserting it is different strokes for different folks.

“That’s why there are different people, that’s why there’s variety,” he said, adding: “I don’t think that because you’re a musician you must be able to [do] everything. I mean, how many people do Highlife and make Jazz music?

“It’s not a must. There’s enough to go around.”

He urged record producers to “relax” and “do what you can do”.

Da Hammer facilitated the coming to prominence of Hiphop/Hiplife superstars such as Obrafour, Edem, Kwaw Kese, Tinny, and Sarkodie, among others.