FEATURE: Highlife losing focus

It is good that our hiplife artistes are getting nominations and winning international awards,but it's unfortunate that the awards are for the music videos associated with the songs and not necessarily the music itself,maybe with the exception of Praye,which means that ,music video directors such as Abraham Ohene-Djan of Ohms Studio,Ogee of Phamous People,who produced the award- winning 'Ahomka wom' by VIP and 'Ah' by Reggie Rockstone respectively , are those supposed to be awarded for their creativity and ingenuity.

It's been over a decade since hiplife became such a force in the music industry,but it has slumped from sublime to ridiculous. It is evident that most of these hiplife artistes are losing creativity,innovation and focus. With the exception of just a few ones,most of them are lyrically weak,rapping or singing about nothing. They've nothing good to offer, except come in raving and ranting and end up branding it as hiplife. Most of these guys are of out of whack and they know that the only way to sell is to sound obscene,with their music fraught with explicit,profane

lyrics. Many have bemoaned the extent of profanity in the lyrics and one was at least looking forward to some sort of change,but no,these guys are incorrigible and the situation seem to be exarcebating.If you want to listen to real hiplife,go listen to the maiden albums of Reggie's 'makaa maka,' Obrafour's 'pae mu ka,' Buk Bak's 'komi ke kena'and Akyeame's 'brebre'whish are incomparable to what we are hearing today.I won't implicate the artistes alone,but then ,everybody involved in the music industry is culpable of promulgating profanity,from the producer to the DJ,and to the listener or buyer of their CDs. The same writer who writes to condemn such songs is the same person who buy such songs and jam to it. The DJ or presenter who castigates such songs on a platform is the same bloke that hails such songs on a different platform. The producers and sound engineers of the artistes won't query or quell them from making such songs,because they know perfectly well that Ghanaians relish such songs it is the kind of stuff that sells. Alhaji Sidiku Buari who has achieved so much with MUSIGA,should strenghten and make effective the Censorship Board of MUSIGA, who are suppose to oversee that only 'clean' music are allowed for the market,or make sure that only censored mucic is allowed to sell. But then,the onus shouldn't lie only on MUSIGA to curb salacious lyrics in our music.

Attitudinal change by all and sundry is vital,and we ought to stop overegging the pudding. The producer should see to the artiste singing good and influential lyrics,the DJ or presenter should play good songs on air,the ordinary listener or buyer should demurr such songs,and all these will prompt the artistes to make songs with exceptionally good lyrics. ,