South African rapper, Cassper Nyovest, seem to have unintentionally waded in the popular conversation that has been running for quite a while now on the Ghanaian music scene on who is the biggest rapper in Ghana.
The South African rapper who won the Best Hip Hop act award at the just concluded Soundcity MVPs shared his thoughts on the issues of Hip Hop music on the continent said most African rappers are unable to cross from their territory to conquer the rest of the continent.
Cassper who was speaking during an interview in Nigeria said regardless of how big artistes are in their home country, they are hardly able to make it as big in other countries.
The “Doc Shebaleza” crooner explained that hip hop is not an African sound but obtained from Americans while also expressing optimism that Africans will one day find their own hip hop sound which will be peculiar to them.
Speaking on the domination of the South African music on the continent, Cassper said;
"South African Hip-hop is in the forefront of African Hip-hop in general. It might not be as popular as it is in South Africa in Nigeria. But I know for a fact that the rappers from Nigeria are kinda unknown in SA. If we talk about crossing over, I know that a lot of people in Nigeria know about my music. I know that in Kenya and Ghana it’s the same thing". He stated
He further added that, "I’m not just talking about me, I’m talking about the movement. Sarkodie is big in Ghana, but are there other rappers who are as big as Sarkodie from Ghana? The South African Hip-hop movement is big across, also in London, New York…we are out there performing in different countries.
Me saying that might offend people here. They might feel that I’m taking shots at Nigerian music. But that’s not the deal. If we are to discuss in terms of numbers and appeal across the world, it’s just the way it is". He concluded