Has Rockstone Really Retired?

Godfather of Hiplife Reggie Rockstone

Personal I took the announcement of his retirement in relation to making records as well as performing on shows, but ironically he is now performing on shows more than he used to do before his much publicised retirement.

I?m bewildered as to whether he?s retired from making albums only or from doing tracks but gracing shows with his presence.

Reggie?s career spanned over a decade but was he the biggest selling artiste of this time? Absolutely not.

Lyrically he was and still is one of the best, but as to the question of him making monetary gains. I think he was a failure. He came to alter the face of Ghanaian rap with a genre he branded hiplife at a time when we had the likes of Kwesi Kyei Darkwa, Gyedu-Blay Ambolley and Azigiza Jnr doing their own thing.

He?s released if I?m right five albums since his emergence gaining all the fame and recognition he deserves but his astuteness never matched the capital he accrued from the business.

It can be attributed to his doing because during the blossoming part of his career, he perceived himself to be an artiste too good for the Ghanaian terrain, not performing at shows and then rebuffing all proposals to feature on songs of other artistes (until recently with Nkasei).

He also didn?t take advantage of the Kassa records to espouse and give succour to then youngsters who were so much engulfed with the hiplife craze.

Of all the albums he has produced, none of them has been a chart-topper and many thought his ?Last Show? album would at least compensate for all the flaws in the previous albums but just like the others, it lacked good promotion and quality marketing.

For me and many other fans of Reggie, he failed us and Ghana by not being able to propagate and sell hiplife beyond the boundaries of Africa.

The much talked about collaboration with internationally acclaimed artistes like Snoop Dogg and Wyclef on his latest album was just a scam.

Honestly, the likes of Lord Kenya, Obrafour and VIP, who took inspiration from him, have sold more records than he has. Such a shame.

It is weird that Reggie Rockstone is now desperate to make amends by accepting every proposal to perform regardless of the place or time.

My only qualm with him is that he should clear the air as to whether he?s fully retired from hiplife just like the way Jay Z has retired from hiphop, or he?s still in the game.

Godfather of Hiplife Reggie Rockstone

Personal I took the announcement of his retirement in relation to making records as well as performing on shows, but ironically he is now performing on shows more than he used to do before his much publicised retirement.

I?m bewildered as to whether he?s retired from making albums only or from doing tracks but gracing shows with his presence.

Reggie?s career spanned over a decade but was he the biggest selling artiste of this time? Absolutely not.

Lyrically he was and still is one of the best, but as to the question of him making monetary gains. I think he was a failure. He came to alter the face of Ghanaian rap with a genre he branded hiplife at a time when we had the likes of Kwesi Kyei Darkwa, Gyedu-Blay Ambolley and Azigiza Jnr doing their own thing.

He?s released if I?m right five albums since his emergence gaining all the fame and recognition he deserves but his astuteness never matched the capital he accrued from the business.

It can be attributed to his doing because during the blossoming part of his career, he perceived himself to be an artiste too good for the Ghanaian terrain, not performing at shows and then rebuffing all proposals to feature on songs of other artistes (until recently with Nkasei).

He also didn?t take advantage of the Kassa records to espouse and give succour to then youngsters who were so much engulfed with the hiplife craze.

Of all the albums he has produced, none of them has been a chart-topper and many thought his ?Last Show? album would at least compensate for all the flaws in the previous albums but just like the others, it lacked good promotion and quality marketing.

For me and many other fans of Reggie, he failed us and Ghana by not being able to propagate and sell hiplife beyond the boundaries of Africa.

The much talked about collaboration with internationally acclaimed artistes like Snoop Dogg and Wyclef on his latest album was just a scam.

Honestly, the likes of Lord Kenya, Obrafour and VIP, who took inspiration from him, have sold more records than he has. Such a shame.

It is weird that Reggie Rockstone is now desperate to make amends by accepting every proposal to perform regardless of the place or time.

My only qualm with him is that he should clear the air as to whether he?s fully retired from hiplife just like the way Jay Z has retired from hiphop, or he?s still in the game.