Focus on content, not egos

Ghana has a unique musical and dance heritage. Despite that invaluable treasure, the nation remains stagnant in her pursuit of recognition on the global music scene.

When Azonto, that original Ghanaian dance cum accompanying sound caught world attention, we failed to fully ride on it for the potential economic benefits.

While major international acts and entities such as Wyclef Jean, Chris Brown, Wizkid, Fuse ODG and the British Broadcasting Corporation (B.B.C) were making references to it and even going to the extent of recording material on the dance that had the world talking, Ghanaians were busily arguing over who originated the dance and its ownership. Eventually, the Azonto craze faded into oblivion, leaving Ghana to mull over what can now be described as ‘a storm in a tea cup’.

Again, the issue of content as against ego reared its ugly head at the 2019 edition of the Ghana Music Awards (GMA). Two of our most popular musicians, Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale, had a showdown on stage as the two rivals and their entourages clashed over two of the top awards for the night: ‘Most Popular Song of the Year’ and ‘Artiste of the Year’.

This time around too, the music was relegated to the background, leaving the egos of the two musicians to take centre stage. Maybe, there wouldn’t have been any clash of egos if the biggest award for the night had been ‘Album of the Year’ as it would take attention away from the highly- personalised ‘Artiste of the Year’ award and give the recognition to what truly matters: the music. An album is one of the main representations of a musician’s mastery and understanding of the art of music.

Another example of the ego over content issue is the Reggie Rockstone–Hiplife saga. Till today, names like renowned Ghanaian sound engineer/music producer Zapp Mallet, continue to question the assertion that Reggie Rockstone is the founder of Hiplife, a Ghanaian blend of Hip-Hop and Highlife.

Funnily enough, some media outfits which were around during the early days of Hiplife and were witnesses to the huge influence of Reggie Rockstone on Ghanaian youth of that time, were naively paying attention to the irrelevant and obviously false claim that Rockstone is not the originator of Hiplife.

Why should we waste time and emotions on such a debate, when personalities like Zapp Mallet, should be devoting their time, skills and experience to ensuring that the unique Ghanaian genre transcends the boundaries of the nation? Is it because Ghanaians love controversy or the media is simply desperate for catchy headlines to enable them achieve marketing targets?

Maybe, when Ghana begins to focus more on content rather than egos, we will have more timeless songs like Amanzeba’s ‘Wo Gbe Je Ke.’ Also, Accra-based radio stations would generate appetite for songs from other regions other than Greater Accra.

There’s more to pay attention to such as songs from Wiyaala, Sherifa Gunu and other emerging music genres such as the type of Rock championed by Ghanaian band, Dark Suburb.

So, let’s learn to put prime emphasis on content because it will outlive any personality, go beyond generations and carry our story farther into the future.