Music producer and sound engineer, Fred Kyei Mensah (Fredyma), shared his views on Hiplife. Key actors can only sustain Hiplife if they continue to write, record, and produce it, according to his belief.
Fredyma believes that Hiplife has suffered a severe blow. He stated that it will require a revolution to revive the genre, which was popular in Ghana in the 90s.
His views come in response to the recent BBC documentary, Hiplife Rewind by Akwasi Sarpong and Keyvah Cardoso. The documentary explores the chances of the survival of Hiplife against the now global Afrobeats pioneered by Nigerian artistes.
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Despite concerns raised by industry players such as legendary producer, Hammer of the Last 2, and artiste manager, Bullgod, that the documentary does not give a true representation of Hiplife, Fredyma believes that reviving the genre depends on the artistes themselves, who must keep recording it.
However, he acknowledges that most of the artistes who were doing Hiplife have migrated to Afrobeats. Fredyma says this makes it difficult to bring the genre back.
Fredyma explains that Hiplife went into oblivion when some of the music executive producers and financiers stopped investing in the genre. This according to him created vacuum and giving room for other music types to come into play.
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The originators bequeathed Hiplife as a legacy to Ghanaians says Fredyma.
Since the BBC documentary, industry players like Fredyma have not relented in voicing their views on the subject, with some expressing their displeasure about the documentary, including Hipllife stalwart and popular DJ, Andy Dosty, and renowned music producer and sound engineer, Zapp Mallet.
Critics have raised concerns about the selection of personalities for the documentary, with some feeling sidelined.
Zapp Mallet, who played a role in creating Hiplife, voiced his displeasure on being left out of the recognition stage. Fredyma thinks that people should not disregard the concerns raised by the pioneers since they are genuine.
Many critics feel uneasy about the documentary. They claim that the organizers left out the actuality of the genre with respect to the originators.
He pointed out that Reggie Rockstone, together with his late father Ricci Osei and Zapp Mallet, coined the name Hiplife. He added that the genre had already existed before its name was coined.
