But before Dancehall became what it is today, some people (who seem to have been forgotten) laid the foundation and prepared the ground for the future generation, including the current artistes.
Pulse Ghana presents to you the artistes who pioneered the Reggae/Dancehall genre.
He burst onto the African reggae scene in 1996 with the release of his debut recording, The Movement.
The artist’s introspective journey into social and spiritual consciousness garnered rave reviews in the Ghanaian press and spawned two hit singles, with both “Sugar” and “What Goes Around” obtaining massive Ghanaian airplay.
The intense media exposure led to a full-page write-up in New Nation, one of England’s most influential weeklies, where Rocky was touted as Ghana’s Bob Marley.
Root Eye, born Kwesi Nyarko, is another ‘grandfather’ when it comes to the Reggae/Dancehall genre. He hosted the famous Music Music show on TV3. When hiplife was in its experimental stage, he infused Jamaican rhythms into his style.
This made him different, which led Reggie Rockstone and Akyeame to feature him on their respective albums.
Yoggy Doggy was very phenomenal in his era. If you love listening to C.J. Lewis of Jamaica, whose unique voice was the subject of imitation by most of our artistes, then you will equally appreciate the immense quality of Yoggy Doggy.
He did well to make the genre attractive, and artistes like Sonni Balli and Samini followed in his footsteps.
Sonni Balli is relatively unknown in the music industry, but that does not take away from the fact that he was such a great gem.
He discovered and introduced Samini into the game. He initially started as a hiplife artiste before he metamorphosed into a full Dancehall artiste. He has really been influential.
It is very unfortunate that he is not in the limelight anymore, a situation he has always blamed on saboteurs.
Black Prophet, born Kenneth Wilberforce Zonto Bossman on 3 April 1977 in Accra, Ghana, is a Ghanaian reggae music composer and a member of the Rastafari movement. Bossman appeared at a young age with the Ola Williams band.
He released his debut solo album No Pain No Gain in February 1998 with his backing band, the Thunder Strike. It was not until the release of Legal Stranger in 2003 that Prophet gained national spotlight.
In 2007, Prophet’s “Doubting Me” was named Best Reggae Song of the Year at the Ghana National Music Awards.
Known as the King of African Dancehall, Shatta Wale was already one of Ghana’s most decorated artists before a collaboration with Beyoncé introduced him to a global audience.
“Dancehall King,” his 2014 breakthrough hit, won him several accolades, including Best New Entertainer honours at the International Reggae & World Music Awards.
He’s been described as the king of reggae and dancehall artists in Africa. For the past decade, Stonebwoy has cemented himself as one of Ghana’s most successful artists, winning more than 50 awards.
His music has reached millions on streaming platforms, earning the respect of artists and fans far beyond the West African nation’s borders.
She can simply be described as a pacesetter; being the first female in Africa to ever win a Reggae/Dancehall award, and the first and only Ghanaian female artiste to date to be selected to perform at Big Brother Africa, the number one reality TV show in Africa, held in South Africa.
Generally, it is very rare to find a female musician doing Dancehall in Africa or from Africa. But as in the case of Kaakie, she has stepped on the scene as not only Ghana’s first female act to take Dancehall to the international stage but also, on the records, Africa’s first female Dancehall artiste who has gained international prominence within a short period of just 16 months.
