10 essential Hiplife artistes: From godfather Reggie Rockstone to King Paluta

In the 1990s, Ghanaian artists and producers merged American hip-hop with local highlife music to create hiplife, a genre that revitalized Ghana’s music scene and significantly influenced African music.

Pioneered by Reggie Rockstone, hiplife blends Western hip-hop with traditional Ghanaian rhythms and has given rise to various subgenres like azonto and asakaa.

Key artists include Obrafour, whose 1999 album *Pae Mu Ka* is seminal to the genre, and Sarkodie, who has extended hiplife’s reach across Africa.

Newer artists like Black Sherif and King Paluta continue the genre’s legacy, integrating traditional sounds with modern influences.