‘STONEBWOY’S AFRO-DANCEHALL DOESN’T SPEAK TO THE STORY OF HIPLIFE’ – Reggie Rockstone

Reggie Rockstone, the pioneer of the groundbreaking Ghanaian music genre Hiplife in the 1990s, has noted that Stonebwoy’s Afro-Dancehall does not fall under the category of Hiplife.

He claimed that Afro-Dancehall may have been inspired by Hiplife, but it is not related to the genre.

“That has nothing to do with Hiplife,” he stated on ClassFM’s Class Morning Show, on Friday, August 30, 2024.

“That’s another fusion that he created. That’s not my road, I don’t know that [theme]. I know about the style. I’ve heard the style. I know what he did with that. But it doesn’t speak to the story of Hiplife. We’re talking about what he created – Afro-Dancehall,” Reggie added.

Rockstone recognized that genres are not formed independently but are shaped by existing ones.

For example, he identified Hiphop as the original source of inspiration for his Hiplife music, which was essentially a fusion of Highlife and Hiphop.

He said: “If we want to be truthful, most music styles borrow from everywhere. A little bit here, a little bit there. Calypso… Even Highlife itself. We would have never had Highlife without the diasporic influence. They all borrow.”

Although he argued that Afro-Dancehall is not Hiplife music, the rap icon respected and commended the use of Dancehall elements in Hiplife history especially in the 2000s.

“You see, rap in itself and Dancehall – what the Jamaicans deem chatting, you know, the whole style is non-conforming. You can translate Hiphop in so many forms. You can do Gospel rap… Rap is so flexible. You can [use it] to address issues… Nothing surprises me, thus,” Reggie Rockstone said.

The serial entrepreneur added: “So Yoggi Doggi and them, they might have been doing the Jamaican-style, Patois-driven vibration over a Highlife-type beat or Ghanaian-friendly beat. This was what Samini was very popular for. So when he’d do Linda – Linda is a perfect example – he was still doing his Jamaica theme [or] vibe on there but the music really relates to Ghanaians. So, yes, it can fall into the Hiplife category, easily.”

Stonebwoy has had issues with a Grammy article about 10 artists essential to Hiplife music which did not mention him.

 

 

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