From drill to afrobeats and reggae-dancehall, the year 2020 has witnessed diverse and variety of relatable genres and a swamp of records that broke charts and streaming figures.
Every year, a new star is born and just like the previous years, new stars were born and infused into the Ghana music scene. There were over 100 of them born this year, but a few stood out with their creative content.
See below a set of new industry shot callers:
Dead Peepol
While Donald Trump and the United States were trying hard to ban Chinese video-sharing app, TikTok, the fast-rising duo found their luck with it. It’s the major social media application that shot them into the limelight when they released their breakthrough single, titled “Otan Hunu”, featuring RichKent. They were smart – they took advantage of their newly found fame to grab new school leaders; Fameye, Medikal, Kuami Eugene, Tulenkey, Deon Boakye, Malcolm N and BosomP-Yung, for the remix. And guess what? It blew up instantly.
Yaw Tog
The new Kumerica sensation brought the drill vibes to Ghana without even knowing it. Not sure he knew about drill – probably he was trying to follow the trend in the US and UK – but his attempt came off flawlessly. His breakthrough single, “Sore” (meaning ‘wake up’ in Asante Twi), which features fellow Kumericans, O'Kenneth, City Boy, Reggie and Jay Bahd, went viral on Twitter, got thumbs up from Michael Dapaah, and a feature in the Complex. The song comes with a street-themed music video which has garnered over one million views on YouTube.
Bosom P-Yung
He gave everyone a broken heart sentiment when the year 2020 kicked off. Little did we know that what was before us was beyond broken heart – coronavirus pandemic. Despite this, his entry into the music scene was slick. He captured the internet with a bizarre yet infectious traditional trap music – first of its kind in the Ghana music industry. His breakthrough single, “Attaa Adwoa”, propelled him into the limelight. He told Pulse.com.gh in October this year that the song – which has amassed over 2 million views on YouTube – was inspired by an unforgettable broken heart he endured. “The inspiration behind Attaa Adwoa is heartaches,” he said, adding, “Attaa Adwoa is my first love but she broke my heart. The whole thing is I trusted her too much”. He's got the backing of BET Award-winner Sarkodie and other rap giants like Joey B and Medikal.
Larruso
The new King of Accra New Town and rising dancehall gem has captured the hearts of reggae-dancehall fraternity in Ghana and beyond. He popped up late last year with his breakthrough, “Killy Killy”, but he caught afro-dancehall heavyweight Stonebwoy and Tema young king Kwesi Arthur for a more impactful remix of the song (the remix video has over 1 million views on YouTube). And coming to the end of this year, the “Eba” hitmaker made more impact, featuring on AC Milan and Roc Nation’s ‘From Milan with Love: Next Gen’ virtual concert hosted by DJ Khaled.
AY Poyoo
You had no access to the internet if the lockdown was boring for you. Guess what, when we were all bored, AY Poyoo, a careless ‘mad man’ from Adenta, popped up out of the blue with a variety of entertaining content that was embraced by millions of netizens. A rib-cracking cover of E.L’s song, “Efa Woho Ben”, coupled with his low-budget music video brought him into the limelight. Then subsequent singles like “Face of GH Rap”, “Alcoholics” and “Goat”, sealed his place in the industry. Hs consistency attracted love from around the globe, including connections with Michael Blackson, 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg.