Where do our hiplifers run to?

Right from the days of Hiplife music I have been involved in every aspect of this genre to date and I have a great admiration for the country’s youth for taking their destiny into their own hands by finding jobs for themselves through music, instead of roaming our streets selling dog chains and involving themselves in all sorts of social vices. The genre which seems to be given hope for the youth seems to be loosing grounds with most of them migrating after one or two releases. For the past years or so, I haven’t heard from most of the pioneers who started it all.

The likes of Sony Belly, Solomon, T’Blaze, Keteke, Nkasei, Buk Bak, Sony Achiba, Bandana, Joty, Deeba, Debrah, Mary Agyepong, Yoggy Doggy among others are no where to be found and I am wondering what they are doing and their whereabouts. These are talents, who in a good day undoubtedly can churn out good hits but almost all these crops of stars have vanished into thin air. My investigations shows that most of these guys after coming out with one or two hit albums, they recoil into their shells feeling big instead of concentrating on their God given talents to make it to the international level.

The problem stems from the fact that there are no producers in the system to invest in the industry coupled with piracy and payola makes the industry not attractive enough for them to invest in it. Actually there is nothing called “music industry”. And it has affected the musicians who no longer enjoy the benefits of their predecessors and continuing languishing in abject poverty and when they find life difficult, the last thing is to relocate.

As a result of this disturbing phenomenon some of them have decided to sojourn in UK and USA to seek greener pastures but to do what? Working? At a time of writing this piece, Ronny, Bright of Buk Bak fame, Mzbel are in USA, Sonny Belly, Nkasei, Yoggy Doggy, Debrah, T’Blaze, Deeba are in the UK, doing what I can’t exactly tell. The question is what at all is driving our musicians whom we know are doing well in their field of endeavor to foreign lands for greener pastures.

Is Hiplife no more attractive or is it the usual unavailability of system and structures? If something is not done sooner or later the “industry” will collapse. What are the government, MUSIGA and National Commission on Culture doing about this? These are things the musicians have to fight for than mounting platform to campaign for politicians. Eyes are watching.