Reggie Rockstone Paved The Way For Us—Shatta Wale
Shatta Wale has expressed his support for Reggie Rockstone and acknowledged his significant contributions to the music industry.
Shatta Wale commended Reggie for pioneering the hiplife movement in the 1990s, which provided countless Ghanaian youth with a means of livelihood through music. Shatta Wale also mentioned that he started in Hiplife before transitioning to Dancehall, thanks to the opportunities created by Reggie.
He noted that “Reggie Rockstone put food on our table and gave us access free of charge. When he started doing hiplife music, most of us were unemployed but Reggie gave us jobs. Some of us started as hiplife artistes before switching to dancehall. We need to celebrate him now because he has done a lot for our music industry”.
Hiplife is a genre of music that originated in Ghana and combines elements of Ghanaian culture with hip hop. It is primarily recorded in the Ghanaian Akan language and has gained significant popularity in recent years, not only in West Africa but also internationally, particularly in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, and Germany.
Reggie Rockstone, often referred to as the “Godfather of Hiplife,” is credited with creating this new music genre in Ghana. Following the success of his debut album “Makaa Maka,” which featured the hit single “Choo boi,” many other hiplife artists emerged. While Reggie Rockstone has stated in interviews that he no longer performs hiplife, preferring to rap in English, his influence on the genre remains undeniable.
A pivotal moment in hiplife came in the late 1990s when a young producer named Hammer of The Last Two introduced original beats and talented rap artists. Hammer, also known as Edward Nana Poku Osei, skillfully blended hip-hop grooves with local rhythms and catchy melodies, captivating both the elite and the masses.
His unique style, characterized by heavy drums and lead trumpets, elevated hiplife to new heights and inspired a whole generation of producers, including Richie, Ball J, Kill Beats, Jayso, EL, and others. Additionally, some of the biggest names in hiplife today, such as Kwaw Kesse, Ayigbe Edem, Odeshi, Obrafour, Tinny, Sarkodie, and Koo Wiase, were part of Hammer of The Last Two’s lineup. Other Ghanaian rappers, including Lord Kenya, Obour, V.I.P, The Native Funk Lords (who predominantly rap in Pidgin English), Castro, and MzBel, continued the trend, solidifying hiplife as one of the most popular music genres in West Africa.
Among the most renowned hiplife musicians are Tic Tac, Sarkodie, Vision in Progress (VIP), Asem, Obrafour, Buk Bak, Castro, and Samini, who received a MOBO award in 2006 for his contributions to hiplife. With the rise of these influential artists, hiplife has gained international recognition, with artists like Kwaw Kesse, Koo Wiase, D-plan, Richie, ASEM, Sarkodie, and Yaa po spreading its popularity abroad.
