Ghanaian veteran rapper, Okyeame Kwame has admitted that although he has made enviable gains rapping in his local dialect, Twi, his brand would have had a bigger appeal and influence if he had rapped in the English language.
The 2009 VGMA Artiste of the Year, who spoke in an interview on how Ghanaian artists could break barriers, explained that language was a significant means to push the agenda. He quickly mentioned, however, that he had no regrets about sticking to his mother tongue as a mode of communication even though it limited his audience and therefore, encouraged up-and-coming artists to take another look at rapping in English.
“Popular as Okyeame Kwame has become, if I’m able to deliver rap lines in English, coupled with the culture, tone, and style, I know it will have a much bigger appreciation and appeal. If I deny this, then I’m not being truthful. However, the success of rapping in English doesn’t happen in a vacuum. I’m saying this because rappers are poets and must be creative with their words”.
Okyeame Kwame
“My explanation is technical but the simplest form I can make people understand my point is that, with rap, the artist is considered the figure and he/she must be able to communicate in a language that people understand,” Okyeame Kwame said. “As a creative rapper, no matter how well-crafted my lines are, they will mean nothing when I perform to a US or UK audience. This is because they will not understand the Twi language and will not appreciate my craft, which is very key for a rapper”.
Okyeame Kwame, however, asserted that he believed the global feat of a rapper and that of a singer was different. According to him, a Ghanaian rapper who wants to make worldwide gains will certainly need to infuse the English language in his works but the singer may not need that.
“Why do I say this? We have the likes of Salif Keita and Angelique Kidjo who are globally successful but sing in their local languages,” Okyeame Kwame explained. “Singers give a certain rhythmic effect which is understood by the mind because music is already universal”.
Explaining further, Okyeame Kwame noted that singers elicit responses through their emotions that listeners connect to, so a listener doesn’t necessarily have to understand a singer’s native language to connect with what is being sang. However, the case is different for rappers.
“The rapper doesn’t have that luxury since his craft has to be appreciated by the words and what he is communicating as a poet and not emotions, voice or rhythm,” Okyeame Kwame explained.
Ghanaian Music Breaking Grounds
The conversation about Ghanaian music breaking grounds gained momentum in the last few weeks following Black Sherif’s global hit with ‘Kwaku The Traveller’, which was officially released on Wednesday, March 30, 2022.
It is worth mentioning that Black Sherif’s ‘First and Second Sermons’, which were released last year, made local hits, however, ‘Kwaku The Traveller’ has been more popular. In the first week of its release, the song placed number 55 on Apple Music’s Top 100 songs globally and streamed a million times on Boomplay and Audiomack separately, a feat that many attributes to him rapping in English.
Even though Okyeame Kwame buys into that assertion, he also pointed out that Black Sherif enjoyed international exposure through his collaboration with Nigeria’s Burna Boy. He also noted that he was confident that Black Sherif’s talent, especially his unique voice, is a great asset that has contributed to his quick rise.
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