I don’t chase trends; I create them – Reggie Rockstone cites 90s

Advising Ghanaian rap sensation Black Sherif to craft a unique name for his music style, Ghanaian Hiplife pioneer Reggie Rockstone has cited how he zigged away from the Highlife of his youthful days and as a result created the Hiplife genre.

He made the recollection to Nana Romeo, host of Accra 100.5 FM’s mid-morning show ‘Ayekoo Ayekoo’, on Thursday, 6 October 2022.

“When I came home [to Ghana], I came to meet the likes of Uncle [Daddy] Lumba [but] I just stayed in my corner, in my lane,” he reminded the audience.

“I kept at it for a while and eventually named it,” he continued.

“So me, I’ve always said this, I don’t chase trends, I create trends,” the rap megastar stated matter-of-factly before adding: “When others are making music in this direction, I’m going in the other direction.”

As if to indicate how challenging the trendsetter’s path is, he said, “Slowly, you [the audience] will see or notice it. And that’s how I move. It’s a fact.”

“So Blacko, your style, if you decide to name it Sherif-life or Blacko-something, you’ve in fact started a new sound,” he suggested.

Naming his music style “would be really good judging from what happened to me,” Reggie Rockstone said.

“When you finally do it, give the evidence so 30 years later, after your hard work, no one will come and claim you are not the originator. Have you heard?” he stressed the advice.

Using both the American English and Twi dialect of the Akan language of Ghana, sampling classics like ‘Kyenkyen Bi Adi Me Awu’ by Alhaji K. Frimpong, and with his captivating energy and panache, Reggie Rockstone is acclaimed as the 1994 originator of the Hiplife music style of Ghana.