Take study of popular music seriously - M.anifest urges Academia

The Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and other organisations in academia have been urged to support the study of popular music because it has more to offer than just entertainment.

A Popular Rap Musician known as Manifest said this in Accra. According to him, popular music has several potential which can be harnessed to develop the country.

He was speaking at the Ephraim Amu Memorial Lecture series on the topic “Re-imagining us: the role of popular music in self-actualization.

Born Kwame Ametepe Tsikata, Manifest is the youngest person outside academia, selected as the main speaker of the Ephraim Amu Memorial lectures organised by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The choice of Manifest as the speaker for this year’s lecture is to pay tribute to Dr. Ephraim Amu and Prof J.H Nketia, both academics who studied music at the highest level.

The theme for this year’s lecture became necessary with the rise of popular music as one of the most significant influencers in shaping the attitudes of people.

For this reason, Manifest thinks Academia should support the study of Popular music.

“We can use it(popular music) to shape the psyche of people for development….Dr. Ephraim Amu was influenced by popular music, so its a challenge to the Academy and other intellectuals to also take the study of popular music seriously, its beyond entertainment”

The Ephraim Amu Memorial Lecture was instituted by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences through the initiative of Prof J.H. Nketia in 1999.

The annual lecture series has featured prominent scholars most of whom are fellows of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences.