Fussbot: one word"crap"

mikeapollo: The truth hurts, especially if it is the bitter truth.This IK guy must have been a keen follower of music trends between Ghana and Nigeria

I have been saying this for almost 2 years now, and people did not believe me. Infact, I wanted to post a thread on the same topic!

Most of what young,so-caled Afro-pop Nigerian musicians are playing now is patterned after the Ghana Hiplife music (with lots of Azonto-like beats/rhythm). Only a few Nigerian Afro-pop musicians e.g. PSquare, had been original in recent years.

Any keen and unbiased follower of Nigerian and Ghana music from the 90s would see this trend clearly.
Let us think back to Silverbirds(STV)' Music Africa in the early 2000s and compare the type of songs/music from Ghana and Nigeria. At that time, Ghanaians had already created and playing their Afro-pop/ Hiplife music which is basically up-tempo highlife mixed with rap. In those days, Nigerian musicians were playing R&B....Check the list....Tuface, Eedris,Styl-Plus etc were all playing the so called R&B which was not as danceable. But the Ghanaian musicians had their own indigenous creation of Hiplife(their version of Afro-pop) music which was created/pioneered by REGGIE ROCKSTONE in the early 90s with other musicians like Obour, Obrafour, Praye, 4x4, K.K Fosu(who Olamide mentioned in his 'Bend Down Low'' Azonto dance album) etc

I used to visit Ghana then and I realised a contradiction between the Nigerian and Ghanaian music and film industries. While Nigerian films dominated their TV houses and video clubs, Ghana Hip-life( their self-styled Afro-Pop) dominated all their dance clubs and dance parties. You would never hear a single foreign music at their parties or occassions. Their Hiplife was rock solid for dancehall and parties.
On the contrary, Nigerian club houses were still dominated by foreign songs and Nigerian local music were not rocking our local parties/club houses unlike their Ghanaian counterparts. The reason for this is that the Ghana Hiplife has a faster tempo (more danceable) than the R&B of Nigerian musicians of that era.

The recent influence of Ghana's Hip-Life music in Nigeria started when Tony Tetuila went into a collabo with TicTac and they produced 'Fefe Ne Fe'.
The followed other Ghanaian groups like VIP who had a collabo with Tuface. Then came the collabo between Wande Cole in the song 'Allow me to kiss your hand'

But the emergence of PSquare and their beautyful songs changed the scenario and signalled the emergence of huge popularity of Nigerian songs in Ghana because PSquare were creative and some of their songs had this 'High-life; kind of effect, and Highlife music is very popular in Ghana.

But the heavy percussions of the Hiplife music and its very danceable rhtyhms and beats made it more attractive to dancers and party goers than our fake R&B. I could remember on STV's Music Africa. Ghanaian songs were more dance-inducing than Tuface's African Queen or any other Nigerian songs e.g Eederis or Style Plue or any other.

Soon, the Ghanaians added the crazy and fun-filled Azonto dance and the dance moves were patterned after the tempo of their Hiplife (Afro Pop) music. The effect on the music scene was too much and Nigerian musicians just decided to join!
The emergence of good Ghanaian rappers like Sarkodie and Guru and some onf their innovations and creative beats has also influenced a lot of Nigerian musicians

Check these trends;

Iyanya: The first album he released after winning MTN Project Fame was purely an R&B album which was not very successful commercially. But right now, just listen to his songs....he has jumped on the Ghanaian Hiplife style of music which rocks very well in parties. Infact, a lot of the clips he showed in the video of 'Kukere' are videos of Ghanaians dancing Azonto music which he downloaded from youtube e.g the small boy dancing

Omawumi: Her Bottom Belle album is an extraction from the Ghana Hiplife style.

Eedris: Even he himself has joined in singing the fast tempo beats of Hiplife/Afro Pop

Duncan Mighty; His songs are pure immitation of Ghana's Hiplife. Infact he featured Ghanaian rappers and the type/style of music are clearly new to Nigeria

Olamide: His 'Bend-Down Low' is clearly an Azonto song and he even acknowledged the Ghana influence in the song by mentioning some Ghanaian slangs and even the name of a musician K.K. Fosu. Remember. that song is different from his usual style which is rap.

J.Martins; He sings mostly highlife, but he is gradually infusing the Hiplife style into his music now

May-D: He jumped on the Azonto train without delay. His 2 singles in the market are purely Azonto/Hiplife songs and they are doing well

Timaya; He has joined in the Azonto/Hiplife craze.

D-Banj; He even featured the white guy that danced Azonto (after dancing with his Ghanaian friends on youtube)

Ruggedman/Terry G; Their latest works show a lot of influence on their music by Ghanaian musicians like Guru and Sarkodie.
Infact their beats are now tailored after Sarkodie's style

Davido; Compare his past works to his lastes songs....you would see the clear influence of Azonto on his songs

PSquare: They are preparing to join the Azonto craze (forget Alongo for now). The beats/rhythm of their song for Glo 'UNLIMITED' is a pure immitation of Sarkodie's beats.

.....the list goes on and on.

It is interesting to note that the latest music style/works of these guys are quite different from what they used to deliver just a few years ago. And the best hits in Nigerian music today are songs that are patterned after the Ghana's Azonto dance...e.g Iyanya, May-D, Olamide, Davido, Wizkid, etc


It should be noted that Nigeria and Ghana have always influenced and learned from each other. Ghana had greater influence on Nigeria in the early days up to the 70s. Nigeria had more influences from the 80s.
In the television/film industry, Nigeria seem to have had greater influence. Nigerian films are vitually in every village in Ghana, and they are preferred to Ghanaian films
But Ghana seems to have had greater influence on Nigeria in music. Highlife music came to Nigeria from Ghana and most of the best Nigerian musicians had their roots in Highlife....they either had Ghanaians in their bands or traveled to learn the act in Ghana. Infact there was a time when Ghanaian musicians were the best in West Africa e.g Ramblers Band and Osibisa, ET Mensah etc

Infact Fela was not a force to be reckoned with in Nigeria music (Highlife) until he traveled to Ghana where he lived for years and learned to master the real act of music. That was where Fela got the name 'AFRO BEAT'. He changed his style of music to Afrobeat while he was in Ghana and became an instant hit when he returned to Nigeria. He even brought some big and tall Ghanaian royal drums(which are played for kings) and he learnt how to beat the drums personally.

Interestingly, Nigerian musicians break higher grounds than their Ghanaian counterparts because of 2 reasons;

1. More Nigerian musicians sing in English (or Pidgin English) while Ghanaians sing mostly in their local languages....hence Nigeria songs tend to reach more fans
2. Nigeria has a bigger popluation, which translates to relatively more fan base and economic success.

It is not an offence or crime to be influenced by a neigbhbouring country. But we should also strive to create something that every keen follower can identify with us. Nigerian musicians shoudl also do some deep thinkng and bring out something that can rule the world. We have had series of dance styles/name like Alanta, Yahoozee, Galala etc. but s single Azonto from Ghana has had more impact globally in just a few yesrs.

God Bless Nigeria, God Bless Ghana!

chachacorner: ... So every Nigerian has one song that sounds Ghanaian...

Rossikk: Shut the fck up, idio.t. What do you mean by 'our fake R&B?' Bush man writing garbage.

omoghana22: you have said it alll...........thats a exactly the i.k. means.

mikeapollo: The truth hurts, especially if it is the bitter truth.This IK guy must have been a keen follower of music trends between Ghana and Nigeria

I have been saying this for almost 2 years now, and people did not believe me. Infact, I wanted to post a thread on the same topic!

Most of what young,so-caled Afro-pop Nigerian musicians are playing now is patterned after the Ghana Hiplife music (with lots of Azonto-like beats/rhythm). Only a few Nigerian Afro-pop musicians e.g. PSquare, had been original in recent years.

Any keen and unbiased follower of Nigerian and Ghana music from the 90s would see this trend clearly.
Let us think back to Silverbirds(STV)' Music Africa in the early 2000s and compare the type of songs/music from Ghana and Nigeria. At that time, Ghanaians had already created and playing their Afro-pop/ Hiplife music which is basically up-tempo highlife mixed with rap. In those days, Nigerian musicians were playing R&B....Check the list....Tuface, Eedris,Styl-Plus etc were all playing the so called R&B which was not as danceable. But the Ghanaian musicians had their own indigenous creation of Hiplife(their version of Afro-pop) music which was created/pioneered by REGGIE ROCKSTONE in the early 90s with other musicians like Obour, Obrafour, Praye, 4x4, K.K Fosu(who Olamide mentioned in his 'Bend Down Low'' Azonto dance album) etc

I used to visit Ghana then and I realised a contradiction between the Nigerian and Ghanaian music and film industries. While Nigerian films dominated their TV houses and video clubs, Ghana Hip-life( their self-styled Afro-Pop) dominated all their dance clubs and dance parties. You would never hear a single foreign music at their parties or occassions. Their Hiplife was rock solid for dancehall and parties.
On the contrary, Nigerian club houses were still dominated by foreign songs and Nigerian local music were not rocking our local parties/club houses unlike their Ghanaian counterparts. The reason for this is that the Ghana Hiplife has a faster tempo (more danceable) than the R&B of Nigerian musicians of that era.

The recent influence of Ghana's Hip-Life music in Nigeria started when Tony Tetuila went into a collabo with TicTac and they produced 'Fefe Ne Fe'.
The followed other Ghanaian groups like VIP who had a collabo with Tuface. Then came the collabo between Wande Cole in the song 'Allow me to kiss your hand'

But the emergence of PSquare and their beautyful songs changed the scenario and signalled the emergence of huge popularity of Nigerian songs in Ghana because PSquare were creative and some of their songs had this 'High-life; kind of effect, and Highlife music is very popular in Ghana.

But the heavy percussions of the Hiplife music and its very danceable rhtyhms and beats made it more attractive to dancers and party goers than our fake R&B. I could remember on STV's Music Africa. Ghanaian songs were more dance-inducing than Tuface's African Queen or any other Nigerian songs e.g Eederis or Style Plue or any other.

Soon, the Ghanaians added the crazy and fun-filled Azonto dance and the dance moves were patterned after the tempo of their Hiplife (Afro Pop) music. The effect on the music scene was too much and Nigerian musicians just decided to join!
The emergence of good Ghanaian rappers like Sarkodie and Guru and some onf their innovations and creative beats has also influenced a lot of Nigerian musicians

Check these trends;

Iyanya: The first album he released after winning MTN Project Fame was purely an R&B album which was not very successful commercially. But right now, just listen to his songs....he has jumped on the Ghanaian Hiplife style of music which rocks very well in parties. Infact, a lot of the clips he showed in the video of 'Kukere' are videos of Ghanaians dancing Azonto music which he downloaded from youtube e.g the small boy dancing

Omawumi: Her Bottom Belle album is an extraction from the Ghana Hiplife style.

Eedris: Even he himself has joined in singing the fast tempo beats of Hiplife/Afro Pop

Duncan Mighty; His songs are pure immitation of Ghana's Hiplife. Infact he featured Ghanaian rappers and the type/style of music are clearly new to Nigeria

Olamide: His 'Bend-Down Low' is clearly an Azonto song and he even acknowledged the Ghana influence in the song by mentioning some Ghanaian slangs and even the name of a musician K.K. Fosu. Remember. that song is different from his usual style which is rap.

J.Martins; He sings mostly highlife, but he is gradually infusing the Hiplife style into his music now

May-D: He jumped on the Azonto train without delay. His 2 singles in the market are purely Azonto/Hiplife songs and they are doing well

Timaya; He has joined in the Azonto/Hiplife craze.

D-Banj; He even featured the white guy that danced Azonto (after dancing with his Ghanaian friends on youtube)

Ruggedman/Terry G; Their latest works show a lot of influence on their music by Ghanaian musicians like Guru and Sarkodie.
Infact their beats are now tailored after Sarkodie's style

Davido; Compare his past works to his lastes songs....you would see the clear influence of Azonto on his songs

PSquare: They are preparing to join the Azonto craze (forget Alongo for now). The beats/rhythm of their song for Glo 'UNLIMITED' is a pure immitation of Sarkodie's beats.

.....the list goes on and on.

It is interesting to note that the latest music style/works of these guys are quite different from what they used to deliver just a few years ago. And the best hits in Nigerian music today are songs that are patterned after the Ghana's Azonto dance...e.g Iyanya, May-D, Olamide, Davido, Wizkid, etc


It should be noted that Nigeria and Ghana have always influenced and learned from each other. Ghana had greater influence on Nigeria in the early days up to the 70s. Nigeria had more influences from the 80s.
In the television/film industry, Nigeria seem to have had greater influence. Nigerian films are vitually in every village in Ghana, and they are preferred to Ghanaian films
But Ghana seems to have had greater influence on Nigeria in music. Highlife music came to Nigeria from Ghana and most of the best Nigerian musicians had their roots in Highlife....they either had Ghanaians in their bands or traveled to learn the act in Ghana. Infact there was a time when Ghanaian musicians were the best in West Africa e.g Ramblers Band and Osibisa, ET Mensah etc

Infact Fela was not a force to be reckoned with in Nigeria music (Highlife) until he traveled to Ghana where he lived for years and learned to master the real act of music. That was where Fela got the name 'AFRO BEAT'. He changed his style of music to Afrobeat while he was in Ghana and became an instant hit when he returned to Nigeria. He even brought some big and tall Ghanaian royal drums(which are played for kings) and he learnt how to beat the drums personally.

Interestingly, Nigerian musicians break higher grounds than their Ghanaian counterparts because of 2 reasons;

1. More Nigerian musicians sing in English (or Pidgin English) while Ghanaians sing mostly in their local languages....hence Nigeria songs tend to reach more fans
2. Nigeria has a bigger popluation, which translates to relatively more fan base and economic success.

It is not an offence or crime to be influenced by a neigbhbouring country. But we should also strive to create something that every keen follower can identify with us. Nigerian musicians shoudl also do some deep thinkng and bring out something that can rule the world. We have had series of dance styles/name like Alanta, Yahoozee, Galala etc. but s single Azonto from Ghana has had more impact globally in just a few yesrs.

God Bless Nigeria, God Bless Ghana!
God bless you for your objectivity.

mikeapollo: The truth hurts, especially if it is the bitter truth.This IK guy must have been a keen follower of music trends between Ghana and Nigeria

I have been saying this for almost 2 years now, and people did not believe me. Infact, I wanted to post a thread on the same topic!

Most of what young,so-caled Afro-pop Nigerian musicians are playing now is patterned after the Ghana Hiplife music (with lots of Azonto-like beats/rhythm). Only a few Nigerian Afro-pop musicians e.g. PSquare, had been original in recent years.

Any keen and unbiased follower of Nigerian and Ghana music from the 90s would see this trend clearly.
Let us think back to Silverbirds(STV)' Music Africa in the early 2000s and compare the type of songs/music from Ghana and Nigeria. At that time, Ghanaians had already created and playing their Afro-pop/ Hiplife music which is basically up-tempo highlife mixed with rap. In those days, Nigerian musicians were playing R&B....Check the list....Tuface, Eedris,Styl-Plus etc were all playing the so called R&B which was not as danceable. But the Ghanaian musicians had their own indigenous creation of Hiplife(their version of Afro-pop) music which was created/pioneered by REGGIE ROCKSTONE in the early 90s with other musicians like Obour, Obrafour, Praye, 4x4, K.K Fosu(who Olamide mentioned in his 'Bend Down Low'' Azonto dance album) etc

I used to visit Ghana then and I realised a contradiction between the Nigerian and Ghanaian music and film industries. While Nigerian films dominated their TV houses and video clubs, Ghana Hip-life( their self-styled Afro-Pop) dominated all their dance clubs and dance parties. You would never hear a single foreign music at their parties or occassions. Their Hiplife was rock solid for dancehall and parties.
On the contrary, Nigerian club houses were still dominated by foreign songs and Nigerian local music were not rocking our local parties/club houses unlike their Ghanaian counterparts. The reason for this is that the Ghana Hiplife has a faster tempo (more danceable) than the R&B of Nigerian musicians of that era.

The recent influence of Ghana's Hip-Life music in Nigeria started when Tony Tetuila went into a collabo with TicTac and they produced 'Fefe Ne Fe'.
The followed other Ghanaian groups like VIP who had a collabo with Tuface. Then came the collabo between Wande Cole in the song 'Allow me to kiss your hand'

But the emergence of PSquare and their beautyful songs changed the scenario and signalled the emergence of huge popularity of Nigerian songs in Ghana because PSquare were creative and some of their songs had this 'High-life; kind of effect, and Highlife music is very popular in Ghana.

But the heavy percussions of the Hiplife music and its very danceable rhtyhms and beats made it more attractive to dancers and party goers than our fake R&B. I could remember on STV's Music Africa. Ghanaian songs were more dance-inducing than Tuface's African Queen or any other Nigerian songs e.g Eederis or Style Plue or any other.

Soon, the Ghanaians added the crazy and fun-filled Azonto dance and the dance moves were patterned after the tempo of their Hiplife (Afro Pop) music. The effect on the music scene was too much and Nigerian musicians just decided to join!
The emergence of good Ghanaian rappers like Sarkodie and Guru and some onf their innovations and creative beats has also influenced a lot of Nigerian musicians

Check these trends;

Iyanya: The first album he released after winning MTN Project Fame was purely an R&B album which was not very successful commercially. But right now, just listen to his songs....he has jumped on the Ghanaian Hiplife style of music which rocks very well in parties. Infact, a lot of the clips he showed in the video of 'Kukere' are videos of Ghanaians dancing Azonto music which he downloaded from youtube e.g the small boy dancing

Omawumi: Her Bottom Belle album is an extraction from the Ghana Hiplife style.

Eedris: Even he himself has joined in singing the fast tempo beats of Hiplife/Afro Pop

Duncan Mighty; His songs are pure immitation of Ghana's Hiplife. Infact he featured Ghanaian rappers and the type/style of music are clearly new to Nigeria

Olamide: His 'Bend-Down Low' is clearly an Azonto song and he even acknowledged the Ghana influence in the song by mentioning some Ghanaian slangs and even the name of a musician K.K. Fosu. Remember. that song is different from his usual style which is rap.

J.Martins; He sings mostly highlife, but he is gradually infusing the Hiplife style into his music now

May-D: He jumped on the Azonto train without delay. His 2 singles in the market are purely Azonto/Hiplife songs and they are doing well

Timaya; He has joined in the Azonto/Hiplife craze.

D-Banj; He even featured the white guy that danced Azonto (after dancing with his Ghanaian friends on youtube)

Ruggedman/Terry G; Their latest works show a lot of influence on their music by Ghanaian musicians like Guru and Sarkodie.
Infact their beats are now tailored after Sarkodie's style

Davido; Compare his past works to his lastes songs....you would see the clear influence of Azonto on his songs

PSquare: They are preparing to join the Azonto craze (forget Alongo for now). The beats/rhythm of their song for Glo 'UNLIMITED' is a pure immitation of Sarkodie's beats.

.....the list goes on and on.

It is interesting to note that the latest music style/works of these guys are quite different from what they used to deliver just a few years ago. And the best hits in Nigerian music today are songs that are patterned after the Ghana's Azonto dance...e.g Iyanya, May-D, Olamide, Davido, Wizkid, etc


It should be noted that Nigeria and Ghana have always influenced and learned from each other. Ghana had greater influence on Nigeria in the early days up to the 70s. Nigeria had more influences from the 80s.
In the television/film industry, Nigeria seem to have had greater influence. Nigerian films are vitually in every village in Ghana, and they are preferred to Ghanaian films
But Ghana seems to have had greater influence on Nigeria in music. Highlife music came to Nigeria from Ghana and most of the best Nigerian musicians had their roots in Highlife....they either had Ghanaians in their bands or traveled to learn the act in Ghana. Infact there was a time when Ghanaian musicians were the best in West Africa e.g Ramblers Band and Osibisa, ET Mensah etc

Infact Fela was not a force to be reckoned with in Nigeria music (Highlife) until he traveled to Ghana where he lived for years and learned to master the real act of music. That was where Fela got the name 'AFRO BEAT'. He changed his style of music to Afrobeat while he was in Ghana and became an instant hit when he returned to Nigeria. He even brought some big and tall Ghanaian royal drums(which are played for kings) and he learnt how to beat the drums personally.

Interestingly, Nigerian musicians break higher grounds than their Ghanaian counterparts because of 2 reasons;

1. More Nigerian musicians sing in English (or Pidgin English) while Ghanaians sing mostly in their local languages....hence Nigeria songs tend to reach more fans
2. Nigeria has a bigger popluation, which translates to relatively more fan base and economic success.

It is not an offence or crime to be influenced by a neigbhbouring country. But we should also strive to create something that every keen follower can identify with us. Nigerian musicians shoudl also do some deep thinkng and bring out something that can rule the world. We have had series of dance styles/name like Alanta, Yahoozee, Galala etc. but s single Azonto from Ghana has had more impact globally in just a few yesrs.

God Bless Nigeria, God Bless Ghana!

Soso990240: Ghana artists larck creativity..nigeria artists use ghana style 2 showcase their own creativity..dats all..abi no be nigerians de sing d song?

sambos994: Fela sang some of his songs in yoruba, yet he still become one of africa's greatest musicians.

solomon111:
Their music is not even good enough to penetrate the Nigerian market.

Ironi: He is right. You people don't know shiit.

Any contemporary Nigerian music being played by this so-called musicians have a Ghanaian beat somewhere. The annoying fact is they lift these beats from existing Ghanaian songs without any shame. I can list songs after songs and can tell you which Ghanaian music the artist stole from.

Fact is, those really in the music industry know this truth and acknowledge it.

The man knows what he is taking about, too many Mumu on this pages.

Bidvest2020: not surprised. your 'brain' is too shallow n fragile to grasp the message. I blame the stvpid OP who deliberately posted this rubbish to cause needless 'tension' n the f00lish MOD who deemed it FP story.

chachacorner: Visit here for more: http://chachacorner.com/nigerian-music-has-been-overtaken-by-ghanaian-music-ik-osakioduwa/

Is IK Osakioduwa for real? This is the silliest response to any interview that I have heard in a long while! Big Brother Africa’s Host, Ik thought it ‘wise’ to respond to a question asked on air this way. I am so ashamed! And to think I believed him to be brilliant and wise in his way of thinking.. Well, here it goes:

IK Osakioduwa hosted YFM’s breakfast show with Babiee Dapaah as part of a special arrangement between Rhythm 93.7 in Lagos and the Accra-based youth radio station as it celebrates its 5th anniversary.

When asked,why Nigerian radio stations play little of Ghanaian music while Ghanaian radios play too many Nigerian music.

See what he said below:

Are you joking? Let me tell you the truth. Ghana has taken over Nigeria on the music scene, and what is selling now is Ghana. So every Nigerian has one song that sounds Ghanaian. Many people have started making Ghanaian accents on their songs. So whether it is Olamide or K-9 incorporating Ghanaian mannerisms on their songs or whether it’s just putting Ghanaian songs like Atumpan or Sarkodie on air. Maybe it’s the big names that are selling and not so much for the younger ones. But that is why we are doing such and exchange,” he answered.

mikeapollo:
Omawumi's song is not a direct Azonto song, but it is patterned after Ghana's Hiplife music. Go listen to 'Shordy' by Praye and listen to the background beats and instruementation, keyboards etc.

mikeapollo:

I did not say ALL our songs have Azonto. I said MOST of the current hits by young Nigerian (Afro-pop) musicians have Azonto in them.
Have you seen May D and Davido's latest works? They are pure Azonto beats! Infact both of them danced Azonto in the videos!
Omawumi's song is not a direct Azonto song, but it is patterned after Ghana's Hiplife music. Go listen to 'Shordy' by Praye and listen to the background beats and instruementation, keyboards etc.
Timaya has been holidaying in Ghana for sometime now, and he has already been doing collabos with Ghanaian musicians....so dont be surprised about him using Azonto beats!

All the beats in those songs u listed are Azonto beats! Even the musicians know it themselves and all of them danced Azonto to the beats. Apart from May-D that is just doing his first songs/releases, both Iyanya and Davido were playing different beats in the past, until recently when everyone of them is playing Azonto-like beats....and they even danced it!

Abrantie:

Let me help -- "Shordy" By Praye:

http://www.ghanaplaylist.com/home/music/play/11919298078956

mikeapollo: The truth hurts, especially if it is the bitter truth.This IK guy must have been a keen follower of music trends between Ghana and Nigeria

I have been saying this for almost 2 years now, and people did not believe me. Infact, I wanted to post a thread on the same topic!

Most of what young,so-caled Afro-pop Nigerian musicians are playing now is patterned after the Ghana Hiplife music (with lots of Azonto-like beats/rhythm). Only a few Nigerian Afro-pop musicians e.g. PSquare, had been original in recent years.

Any keen and unbiased follower of Nigerian and Ghana music from the 90s would see this trend clearly.
Let us think back to Silverbirds(STV)' Music Africa in the early 2000s and compare the type of songs/music from Ghana and Nigeria. At that time, Ghanaians had already created and playing their Afro-pop/ Hiplife music which is basically up-tempo highlife mixed with rap. In those days, Nigerian musicians were playing R&B....Check the list....Tuface, Eedris,Styl-Plus etc were all playing the so called R&B which was not as danceable. But the Ghanaian musicians had their own indigenous creation of Hiplife(their version of Afro-pop) music which was created/pioneered by REGGIE ROCKSTONE in the early 90s with other musicians like Obour, Obrafour, Praye, 4x4, K.K Fosu(who Olamide mentioned in his 'Bend Down Low'' Azonto dance album) etc

I used to visit Ghana then and I realised a contradiction between the Nigerian and Ghanaian music and film industries. While Nigerian films dominated their TV houses and video clubs, Ghana Hip-life( their self-styled Afro-Pop) dominated all their dance clubs and dance parties. You would never hear a single foreign music at their parties or occassions. Their Hiplife was rock solid for dancehall and parties.
On the contrary, Nigerian club houses were still dominated by foreign songs and Nigerian local music were not rocking our local parties/club houses unlike their Ghanaian counterparts. The reason for this is that the Ghana Hiplife has a faster tempo (more danceable) than the R&B of Nigerian musicians of that era.

The recent influence of Ghana's Hip-Life music in Nigeria started when Tony Tetuila went into a collabo with TicTac and they produced 'Fefe Ne Fe'.
The followed other Ghanaian groups like VIP who had a collabo with Tuface. Then came the collabo between Wande Cole in the song 'Allow me to kiss your hand'

But the emergence of PSquare and their beautyful songs changed the scenario and signalled the emergence of huge popularity of Nigerian songs in Ghana because PSquare were creative and some of their songs had this 'High-life; kind of effect, and Highlife music is very popular in Ghana.

But the heavy percussions of the Hiplife music and its very danceable rhtyhms and beats made it more attractive to dancers and party goers than our fake R&B. I could remember on STV's Music Africa. Ghanaian songs were more dance-inducing than Tuface's African Queen or any other Nigerian songs e.g Eederis or Style Plue or any other.

Soon, the Ghanaians added the crazy and fun-filled Azonto dance and the dance moves were patterned after the tempo of their Hiplife (Afro Pop) music. The effect on the music scene was too much and Nigerian musicians just decided to join!
The emergence of good Ghanaian rappers like Sarkodie and Guru and some onf their innovations and creative beats has also influenced a lot of Nigerian musicians

Check these trends;

Iyanya: The first album he released after winning MTN Project Fame was purely an R&B album which was not very successful commercially. But right now, just listen to his songs....he has jumped on the Ghanaian Hiplife style of music which rocks very well in parties. Infact, a lot of the clips he showed in the video of 'Kukere' are videos of Ghanaians dancing Azonto music which he downloaded from youtube e.g the small boy dancing

Omawumi: Her Bottom Belle album is an extraction from the Ghana Hiplife style.

Eedris: Even he himself has joined in singing the fast tempo beats of Hiplife/Afro Pop

Duncan Mighty; His songs are pure immitation of Ghana's Hiplife. Infact he featured Ghanaian rappers and the type/style of music are clearly new to Nigeria

Olamide: His 'Bend-Down Low' is clearly an Azonto song and he even acknowledged the Ghana influence in the song by mentioning some Ghanaian slangs and even the name of a musician K.K. Fosu. Remember. that song is different from his usual style which is rap.

J.Martins; He sings mostly highlife, but he is gradually infusing the Hiplife style into his music now

May-D: He jumped on the Azonto train without delay. His 2 singles in the market are purely Azonto/Hiplife songs and they are doing well

Timaya; He has joined in the Azonto/Hiplife craze.

D-Banj; He even featured the white guy that danced Azonto (after dancing with his Ghanaian friends on youtube)

Ruggedman/Terry G; Their latest works show a lot of influence on their music by Ghanaian musicians like Guru and Sarkodie.
Infact their beats are now tailored after Sarkodie's style

Davido; Compare his past works to his lastes songs....you would see the clear influence of Azonto on his songs

PSquare: They are preparing to join the Azonto craze (forget Alongo for now). The beats/rhythm of their song for Glo 'UNLIMITED' is a pure immitation of Sarkodie's beats.

.....the list goes on and on.

It is interesting to note that the latest music style/works of these guys are quite different from what they used to deliver just a few years ago. And the best hits in Nigerian music today are songs that are patterned after the Ghana's Azonto dance...e.g Iyanya, May-D, Olamide, Davido, Wizkid, etc


It should be noted that Nigeria and Ghana have always influenced and learned from each other. Ghana had greater influence on Nigeria in the early days up to the 70s. Nigeria had more influences from the 80s.
In the television/film industry, Nigeria seem to have had greater influence. Nigerian films are vitually in every village in Ghana, and they are preferred to Ghanaian films
But Ghana seems to have had greater influence on Nigeria in music. Highlife music came to Nigeria from Ghana and most of the best Nigerian musicians had their roots in Highlife....they either had Ghanaians in their bands or traveled to learn the act in Ghana. Infact there was a time when Ghanaian musicians were the best in West Africa e.g Ramblers Band and Osibisa, ET Mensah etc

Infact Fela was not a force to be reckoned with in Nigeria music (Highlife) until he traveled to Ghana where he lived for years and learned to master the real act of music. That was where Fela got the name 'AFRO BEAT'. He changed his style of music to Afrobeat while he was in Ghana and became an instant hit when he returned to Nigeria. He even brought some big and tall Ghanaian royal drums(which are played for kings) and he learnt how to beat the drums personally.

Interestingly, Nigerian musicians break higher grounds than their Ghanaian counterparts because of 2 reasons;

1. More Nigerian musicians sing in English (or Pidgin English) while Ghanaians sing mostly in their local languages....hence Nigeria songs tend to reach more fans
2. Nigeria has a bigger popluation, which translates to relatively more fan base and economic success.

It is not an offence or crime to be influenced by a neigbhbouring country. But we should also strive to create something that every keen follower can identify with us. Nigerian musicians shoudl also do some deep thinkng and bring out something that can rule the world. We have had series of dance styles/name like Alanta, Yahoozee, Galala etc. but s single Azonto from Ghana has had more impact globally in just a few yesrs.

God Bless Nigeria, God Bless Ghana!

Fussbot: it's obvoius u dn't know an azonto beat..since u said al d songs I listed are azonto beats..dat means d'banj's-y me,2face's implication,psquare's-do me,timaya's plantain boy,terry g's-free madness,wande coal's-bumper 2 bumper,wizkid's holla @ ur boy, are also azonto beats??{Cus those are beats we've bin making b4 azonto came and dey ain't dfrnt 4rm our 2days typical naija beats(d 1s I listed)},,bros abeg go and hear sarkodie ft el-u go kill me,olamide's 1st of all,danny youngs omo lepa,kswitch's oluwa is involved.. 2 see d dfrnc btw an azonto beats and our typical naija beats

Fussbot: it's obvoius u dn't know an azonto beat..since u said al d songs I listed are azonto beats..dat means d'banj's-y me,2face's implication,psquare's-do me,timaya's plantain boy,terry g's-free madness,wande coal's-bumper 2 bumper,wizkid's holla @ ur boy, are also azonto beats??{Cus those are beats we've bin making b4 azonto came and dey ain't dfrnt 4rm our 2days typical naija beats(d 1s I listed)},,bros abeg go and hear sarkodie ft el-u go kill me,olamide's 1st of all,danny youngs omo lepa,kswitch's oluwa is involved.. 2 see d dfrnc btw an azonto beats and our typical naija beats

Ironi: He is right. You people don't know shiit.

Any contemporary Nigerian music being played by this so-called musicians have a Ghanaian beat somewhere. The annoying fact is they lift these beats from existing Ghanaian songs without any shame. I can list songs after songs and can tell you which Ghanaian music the artist stole from.

Fact is, those really in the music industry know this truth and acknowledge it.

The man knows what he is taking about, too many Mumu on this pages.

mikeapollo:

Wande Cole's Bumper-to-Bumper is one of the immitation of Ghanaian Hiplife style of music. Same for songs like Omawumi's Bottom Belle. Ghanaians were the people playing that of style/music before some of our musicians started to join, beiginning from Tony Tetuila.

Azonto is only a faster and more funkified version of Hiplife music.