Watching a Hiplife music video recently brought to mind the above Hiplife stars missing on the music scene but still regarded as major trendsetters.
I was very impressed with some of the videos because at least I can be proud of seeing Ghanaian artistes in their own musical videos as compared to the usual Hip-pop, R&B, Reggae and Rock musical videos we see on our television screens all the time.
Hearing the voices of Reggie Rockstone and Obrafuor, one could see the difference between those trendsetters and the current Hip-life artistes.
One important factor noticed was that the trendsetters usually are innovative, creative and their styles of delivery are very impressive. I was "blown away" when I saw the music video of "Ah" by Reggie Rockstone featuring K.K. Fosu. The story behind the song is well portrayed and can be related by many of us. K K Fosu's performance is well choreographed. It made me ask the question "damn! Where is Reggie when the music so badly needs him right now??. Reggie is the originator and the innovator of Hiplife and he proves that he does not need a competition because there is none. He needs to build a new fan base because he is a young man and music has no age limit. Lucky Mensah is proving otherwise that music has no boundaries. Being talented is a gift from the creator and Reggie while gifted should always take his music from one level to the next. There are great music producers/engineers like Morris Babyface, Roland, JQ, Goodies and a host of others who are taking Hiplife to a whole new level and I am sure he is working with them to come out with new materials. Your fans would like to hear more music from you.
Usually music videos are graphic forms of the reason behind the music, the story which led to the song and on watching a lot of these videos, one wonders why some of the locations shot in the video seem similar i.e. night clubs or sea side. No costume and just the same, jeans, sneakers and T. shirts and no creativity. Jay Z's videos have a story to them and his performance is always different from his previous videos or any other artistes. One example of his video is "99 problems". Many of his fans relate to the story and he is praised for such a great entertainment.
Obrafour's voice sends chills to lovers of his music and a song called "Ayikoo" demonstrated that he is a trendsetter and he must not be silent for too long but must frequently come with new materials while unearthing talent.
Lord Kenya's name also came up as I enjoyed some of the videos because of his energy and the excitement he exhibits on stage. Many shows he has participated have become memorable for those who love his music. It is about time he proves to his fans that he is working on many new materials and should be on the scene soon.
I urge many of the artistes not to imitate the style, dress, costume of American rap artists but be original and innovative. We have a great culture and we can capitalize on our culture. No American rap star copy the other as one who does it become a laughing stock and can lose credibility for being conceived as "wack". The pride of Atlanta, Georgia, rap star, Ludacris has been praised recently in his video; "Pimping All Over the World" for portraying the good lights about Africa, where he raps about curvy women, caviar and vodka with cranberry while riding elephants and watches dances performed by South African natives. He justified that he had to show the beautiful side of what Africa as a whole is about. Our artistes must show the beautiful side of what Ghana is about and not the same "butt shaking" and half naked women found in many musical videos. Good stories have impacts on society and that is what creativity is all about.
Rockstone, Obrafour and Kenya pick up where you left off and run with it. A bit of Slick Rick goes "There is no competition cause we are the best, yeah." From the song "La-di-da-di".
