This Is Lovers Rock

Sade - Lovers Rock (courtesy of Nevertraveled)

"Sade is Venus with a record deal" - The Chairman

This is a belated Valentines day post. As anyone who knows me knows, I love Sade. Her voice isn't that great technically, but, damn, does it get you in the mood.

African Bwoy wit an Inglish accent

Sway - Saturday Night Hussle


Sway - This is my Demo

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.

Reppin' Time pt. 2 of pt. 2: Ghana

This is another Ghanaian album that's burning up my speakers. I had a friend of mine (the proverbial "cool ass chick" from the other post) do a mini review for her favorite songs on the album.

Odo - pro: simple, realistic, women love it... con- that song is too long, but it doesnt get boring


Repatriation - Relevant issue, could have done more with it though


African Lady - Which African woman doesnt like being told how great their rear is and the amazingly impossible ways in which they should move it?


Obaa Besia - Very similar to his debut hit Linda, once again a song the ladies will swoon over


Music - My fave song on there. Talks about his 'struggle' and what making music means to him


My only addition is that he Sounded like he was in some deep ass love when he wrote this album. It's more representative of popular Ghanaian music but it is a very sonically diverse album. Again, here's the eMusic link: Batman - Samini

Reppin' Time pt. 2: Ghana

King Ayisoba - I Want To See My Father


King Ayisoba - My Friend, My Friend


King Ayisoba ft. Batman Samini - Champion No Easy



I have rep'd my adopted home town so now it's time to rep my Homeland. Truth is, I was never a huge fan of Ghanaian music until I started chilling with this cool ass chick recently who somehow got me into it. This is by far the best Ghanaian album I've heard so far: It's like a cross between Ali Farka Toure and Fela Kuti (Ok, I'm hyperboling again, but it really is very good). Its sound isn't truly representative of the rest of popular Ghanaian music, but I have a strong feeling that there will be more like this as time goes on. Here's a link to the eMusic page of the album, King Ayisoba - Modern Ghanaians. I strongly suggest that if you are feeling the 3 songs above, you should cop the rest of the album off eMusic (their subscription rates are insanely cheap, considering the number of drm-free tracks you can download for $9.99 (70)). But I will be willing to send it to anyone who hits me up on my email with a funny reason why I should.

African Disco

Mafikizolo
Hey Lia Tunga


Some Str8 funky shit.