Ghana is 57 Years Old and GossipGhanaXtra take a
closer look at the Legends behind the Hiplife Game. Rappers have come and gone
but in terms of Rap Music, these 5 Rappers are the best 5 Legends of the Game.
A special Thanks and Salute to Gyedu Blay Ambulley,Slip Music,Zapp Mallet,Bessa
Simons,Hammer of The Last Two,Akyeame,Kassa Records,Appietus,Jay Q and all the
Stakeholders who made Hiplife a stay in Ghana.Below are the best 5 Hiplife Rappers of all Time...
1.
LORD KENYA
Abraham Philip Akpor Kojo Kenya popularly known on
stage as Lord Kenya a.k.a Mr Kenyakal da Lyrical was born on 19-09-1978.He was
best known in hiplife for his rhymes and aggressiveness in rap and massive exposure
on in terms of performances. Talking about performance, he is the king of the
stage and people’s choice with huge funs everywhere he performed. Lord Kenya
has over 6 Albums to his credit. He is the only musician who came out with 5
Albums within 5years which made him the most consistent Ghanaian Hiplife Musician.
He had the best Rap Albums than any other hiplife musician. In all, he had 5
Rap Albums which include Yeesom Sika, Sika Ba, Born Again and many more. Talking
about Awards, he had the Hiplife Album of the Year at the Ghana
Music Award 2001, Best Ghanaian Rap Music Award at the Anansekrom Festival in
Canada 2000.Thanks to Slip Music who made the dream of the best Rapper of All
time in Ghana a dream come through.
2.
OBRAFOUR
Michael Kwabena Okyere Darko popularly known as
Obrafour which means “The Executioner” in English and the owner of Execution
record labels. The Ghana Rap Sofoo is one of the Legends in Ghana music who
raps with Proverbs and well known for the inclusion of
local Ghanaian tradition in his music. He is one of the first Ghanaian
rappers to release a Compilation Album of other musicians “The Execution Diary”.
He had about 4 Rap Albums to his credit and it include Pae Mu Ka which is rated
as One of the Best Albums if not the Best of All Time,Asem Sebe,Asem Beba Dabi
and Tofa(Time Out For Adhesion).Obrafour won many Awards both Local and
International including the Best Hiplife Album in the Ghana Music Awards. The
success of Obrafour can never be written without acknowledging Hammer of the
Last Two.
3.
REGGIE
ROCKSTONE
Reginald Osei, the Godfather of Hiplife is a rapper
of Ghanaian descent, born in United Kingdom but lived his early years in the
United Kingdom. He has been living in Ghana continuously since he pioneered the
Hip-Life movement in 1994.In 1997, Reggie Rockstone released his first album
“Makaa Maka ”which means “I said it because I said it”. The album featured
members of the PLZ (Parables, Linguistics and Ziang) with Fred Funkstone,Jay
and DJ Pogo. The singles from this album did well on the local market and
received international attention. Some of the Hit singles off his 1st
album Makaa Maka are “Tsoo Boi”, “Agoo”, Nightlife in Accra”, Anigye be fie”, “Sweetie,
Sweetie”, and “My turn to Burn”. Reggie rock stone has 5 Albums to his credit which
include Makaa Maka (I Said It Because I Said It) 1997,Me Na Me Kae (I Was The
One Who Said It) 1999,Me Ka (I Will Say) 2000,Last show 2004,Reggiestration, 2010.No matter what happens,
He is still the Grandfather of Hiplife. Kassa
Records Label and Mixer Pot are the backbones behind the recording of all the
Albums.
4.
OKOMFOUR KWAADEE
Jerry Anaba a.k.a Okomfour Kwaadee is a powerful and
traditional rapper that is very typical of the true Ghanaian. In terms of Kasahare,
he is one of the best rappers who took kasahare to a completely different level.
He is the first rapper in Ghana who went the “story telling (Ananasesem)” way
while rhyming in a way that everyone who listens embraces. The debut album has some 8 very powerful and strikingly
different songs like Kwaadee(Aboro ne Bayie) and Atta Adwoa,Meba
mokyen,Abrantee and the likes.Okomfour Kwadee also does very good raga in
Ghanaian languages. He won the Best Original Song/Lyrics winner the 2007 Ghana
Music Award.
5.
OKYEAME KWAME
Kwame Nsiah Apau, known as Okyeame Kwame the Rap
Doctor of Ghana Music. . He was part of the Akyeame duo who won
the first Hiplife award in Ghana. Okyeame Kwame has built
the ‘Versatile Brand’ by creating a never-before-seen performance which was
judged the best innovative show of the year by myjoyonline.com.His rhyming and
poetry style of rap was what made his unique other rappers. For 16years,
Okyeame Kwame has been consistence in Ghana music. In Okyeame Kwame released
his hit ever album called “M’awensem”.The album was a hit on all the airwaves
in Ghana and the argument was raised when a comparison was made between Pae mu
ka and m’awensem.The album enjoyed massive hits like Medo maa,Mmre,Woso,anaa
and the likes. He won the artist of the year in the Ghana Music Awards in 2009.
By: Nana Amaru
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