I Fux with...Hiplife (part 2 of 2 (or maybe 3))

Obrafour Mixtape (download)

Heavy

Ghanaman

Who Born You By Mistake?


Again, Maggie Ahuofe:

Obrafour ("The Executioner") traditionally is the person who beheads people sentenced to death by a chief. He came onto the rap scene in the late 90s. He was one of the fist rappers to spit solely in Twi. (Reggie Rockstone, the self-proclaimed Godfather of hiplife (and I don't disgree :)) rapped in both twi and english). What sets him apart from other Hiplife artistes is his prolific use of traditional proverbs and folklore in his rhymes.

Obrafour's first album was "Pae Mu Ka" which literally means "Split it say it" (It makes much more sense in twi, but an english approximation would be: "Say what's on your mind") . This album is arguable one of the most socially conscious and lyrically masterful Hiplife albums ever made. Notable tracks on this album include "Kwame Nkrumah" - a tribute to the country's first president and "Ghanaman" which is basically an interpretation of the cliched phrase: "Ask not what your country can do for you…." and "Yaanom" which calls on the people to listen!

Other Obrafour classics include "Who Born You By Mistake?" (One of the best insults you can say to a Ghanaian), "Maame" a tribute to mothers, "Ntitie Pa" good upringing.

His most recent album, "Heavy", saw him make a dramatic shift from standard Hiplife to the more traditional highlife style (Think Usher suddenly deciding to do an album full of 70's Stax soul). An average Obrafour fan might not appreciate Heavy but it takes more listens to fully appreciate the intricacies of what he does on that album. The title track is ridiculous!

I Fux with...Hiplife (part 1 of 2 (or maybe 3))

Kwaadee Mixtape (Download)

Abrantie Mabre

Ka Wo Nan To So

P 1


For the longest time I detested Hiplife. I always judged it through a hip-hop lens and found it lacking in all of the things I loved in hip-hop. It was only recently that someone convinced me to give it a secnd chance and opened my eyes to the uniqueness of the genre. So when I decided to do a series of Hiplife posts I had no choice but to outsource it to her. So without further ado, Maggie Ahuofe on Kwaadee:

Okomfoo (Traditional priest) Kwaadee (which according to my mum is an abbreviation of "Kwame Adei" a common Ashanti name) burst onto the Hiplife scene in 2002/2003ish (ish because this is the first time I heard his music). He, like Obrafour, raps exclusively in Twi and what sets him apart from other rappers is his use of very authentic twi and intonations. The average Ghanaian that you'll meet speaks very "westernized" twi interspersed with numerous english word substitutes, but this guy...not so much. (ALEX: He also has by far the best sense of humor of any hiplife artist I know)

His debut album was "Okomfoo Se Koo" (which I cant translate directly because my twi is too westernized). The first single off this album, "Meyere ne Mempena" (My wife vs. My mistress), is a classic in its own right. Granted all men cheat (ahem) but you rarely hear a rapper openly debating the pros and cons between his gf & wife in trying to figure which one to stay with (This is very similar to the Chris Rock skit "Old pussy" vs. New pussy")(ALEX: It's more or less a Ghanaian version of Gregory Isaac's "Cool Down the Pace").

Basically his wife is old school and timid and the mistress is young, vibrant, wears "shiny shoes", parties like its going out of style and is a tantric fox in bed. He makes the "wise" choice in the end and sticks with his wife because he cannot keep up with the "new school". Notable tracks on subsequent albums include "Abrantie Mabre" (the eternally exhausted young man trying to make it the legitimate way) and "Efie Nipa" which laments the problems of society's impoverished population.

The main reason he is being featured on this blog is because of the track "K'a wo n'an to so" from his most recent album "Nsem Pii" (Numerous issues). Translated, it means "Close your legs". This is by far the funniest hiplife song ever (ALEX: I say funniest song ever, no matter the genre. I literally fell off my bed laughing the first time I heard this track). He discusses the anguish older men go through in efforts to remain faithful to their wives whilst younger women entice them. He encourages all women to have a sign on their privates with the labels "No trespassing" & "Private and individual property". This is infinitely funnier if you understand the lyrics. Until then, just take my word for it.

(ALEX: A couple of my other favorite Kwaadee tracks tracks are P 1, A funny track about his elementary school days, and Nkran Kwanso, a song about getting your freak on in public)

"Production at Kantamanto"

Snr Eddie Donkor - Eye Banker
(This post is brought to you courtesy of the great work done over at http://awesometapesfromafrica.blogspot.com)

Over the last 2 months, I've been hanging out with a couple of my uncles and they have opened my eyes to a lot of old Ghanaian music, especially highlife from the 80's and early 90's, that I had been too young to experience at the time. This is one of the guys they've been knocking me to. He has a great sense of humor (which I guess doesn't mean much since most of you won't understand what he's saying) and, more importantly, the music is funky enough to get a paraplegic on the dancefloor. Apparently he was BIG back in the day but I had never heard of him until recently. If you enjoy this, check out more of the stuff over at Awesome Tapes. Most of these sorts of music are only available on cassete so it's great that the guy(s) over there are digitizing them and sharing: I'm just a conduit.