Hiplife’s last breath

Those who think hiplife is as vibrant as it used to be are living in a fool’s paradise. The events of the past half a decade have proven clearly that the genre of music that has been touted as evidence of the creative genius of Ghanaian youth is going down a slope. Hiplife grandpapa Reggie Rockstone may not like to read this but it’s true that the scene is today filled with emptiness. Nothing is really happening.

If you think I’m wrong, ask yourself why so many hiplife stars have left the country recently for greener pastures. They’ve realized there’s no great future for them if they are to stay in the Ghanaian system where almost everything is on freeze. Listen to the radio in Accra and you will know what we are dealing with here. People haven’t realized many of their favorite hiplife stars are no more in Ghana and may not be home until there is an improvement in their lives wherever they are at the moment.

Nkasei left Ghana March last year to perform in the UK but has since not returned. I understand one of them is now working in the British Army as the other is in a hustle there. Why would a Ghanaian hiplife duo as popular as Nkasei leave Ghana to hustle in another country if all is well with hiplife in Ghana? Naa Kay and Sly of Nkasei became a household name in Ghana after they released the hit song, ‘Tuabodom’. Of course they were famous but most people don’t know what happened behind the curtain of fame. I gather they were in dire financial constraints before they left Ghana. Their fame certainly didn’t come with fortune.

Do you know Bright of Buk Bak fame is no more in the country? Buk Bak was one of the pioneering groups that started hiplife. They did split along the way after which Bright went solo. His first solo project didn’t work out the way he thought it would so he packed and left town for the US. My sources tell me Bright has been out there in the US for close to three years now. And not even the media in Ghana have reported this. Don’t ask me when this great talent will come home…your guess is as good as mine.

V.I.P is another great hiplife group that has been there since the beginning of the movement. I’m ashamed to announce that V.I.P is also a sick group at the moment. Their influential member, Lazzy, has sneaked out of town for the US leaving Promzy and Prodigal in Ghana. I’m told the two in Ghana have almost lost interest in the group and are planning their next line of action. You may say the Goodies case had an impact on them but they had an album out there on the market, why have they lost steam all of a sudden? Is it not something about the genre of music called hiplife?

I can go on and on about hiplife artists and groups that have left Ghana because the industry is doing poorly. Anyone who says the industry is well and vibrant today isn’t being honest. There is something wrong with the industry. Ask yourself why hiplife grandpapa hasn’t yet released his new album after months in the pipeline…or in the dark tunnel.

The corporate world in Ghana and those in authority have not helped to push the hiplife movement forward. In some cases, the hiplife guys themselves didn’t help the image of the genre by the way they carried themselves. But the blame game can’t work in this state of emergency. Stakeholders must hold a conference as soon as possible to look at the issues not just for hiplife but the entire Ghanaian arts and entertainment sector and chart a way forward. The problem has always been with our arts and entertainment industry; it’s only now having an impact on hiplife.