The year 2016 is finally over and it can’t be reversed even if the entire world yearns for it again. The year was explosive for newcomers because more new talents emerged and broke through than expected.
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2016 was also a marquee year for Ghanaian Hip-hop. The genre resonated across the country through new artistes like Medikal, Worlasi and A.I.
But the question is, will history repeat itself? Pulse Music editor, David Mawuli, forecasts the year’s breakthrough artistes who will make impacts. They will be the industry’s new shot-callers.
List is unranked.
- A.I
Even though he has been in the industry for some time now, A.I managed to make a triple impact last year. The exceptional Hip-hop and Afro-pop crooner whose vocal abilities is rare broke through last year with “Grind” – a Hip-hop jam with Vision DJ. His vocal is piecing even though he sounds like an American. The way he blends Ga and the English language makes him exceptional. I hope he will continue the success this year.
2. Amerado
After winning DM Network’s one-month free publicity project and placing second on Pluzz FM’s ‘Accra Vs. Kumasi Rap Battle’, Amerado has won the hearts of Ghanaians with his prodigious rap style. His fastidious delivery, timing, style and somewhat spooky vocal won him attention from music lovers and industry players including Reggie Rockstone. Last year, he dropped two fairly hit songs titled “Save My Soul” and “Beast Attitude”. He has over 5 new singles to release this year. He is currently shooting a new video for “I Am” – a yet to be released track. I hope he will explode this year.
3. FaReed
Fareed, the ‘Hip-hop Alhaji’, is currently one of the hottest new rappers in Ghana. His laborious and gruelling rap style coupled with commercial hankering ties him to the mainstream lab. After lurking for years, he made his presence known last year, courtesy Bamba Records. He got his debut single titled “Hip-hop Alhaji” right! He followed up with another blazing Hip-hop single titled “Zaafi” (meaning ‘hot’ in Hausa) and kick-started 2017 with a video for “Hip-hop Alhaji”. I understand he has a chunk of tracks and huge collabos with mainstream artistes to drop this year. Hoping he won’t disappoint.
4. Mununkum
You can call him the ‘King of Mallam-Gbawe’. He is Mununkum (meaning ‘cloud’ in Twi), an astounding rap artiste who emerged last year after claiming Accra’s new rap King crown in Pluzz FM’s ‘Accra Vs. Kumasi Rap Battle’. What makes him special? His ability to blend many local dialects in his delivery. He nailed it on “Ogboo”, a commercial song he dropped in October last year. He followed up with some good songs and we hope he will make major headlines this year.
5. Kamelyeon
Many Ghanaian Dancehall musicians fear him due to his vocal prowess. His is the new Dancehall kid on the bloc. His powerful and idiosyncratic talent puts him on top of the lot. He dropped some fairly hit songs last year. They include “Popping Juice”, “One Day”, “News in the City”, “To Di World”, “Dutty Businezz”, and “Yob Yob”. Hope he drops more this year.
6. Maccasio
Sheriff Abdul Majeed “Maccasio” is a Hiplife musician who is making it big in Tamale. He made mainstream prominence last year when he managed to recruit Shatta Wale for his hit song titled “Too Big”. He climaxed a successful year with “Too Big Concert” which saw thousands at the Tamale Sports Stadium on January 1. He kicked started this year with a diss song titled “Fired”. Hope he repeats history this year.
7. 1Cedi
1Cedi is a rapper with dynamism. He has constantly proven that he knows the Hip-hop culture and rightly following it. He flawed any rapper that refixed Sarkodie’s “Take It Back” with his epic “Take It To The Future” cover and successfully launched his debut EP titled “Golden Tomorrow”. From the early signals, I can tell that he will explode this year!
8. Cina Soul
Cina Soul gave her colleagues some great competition with her soothing vocal last year. Since emerging early 2016, she’s been active and consistent. She was featured on M.anifest’s “Nowhere Cool” album and has fairly hit singles like “Bamidele”, “Awo”, “Julor” featuring M.anifest and “Baddo” featuring KIDI to her credit. Her debut EP titled “Metanoia” is a power pack. Hope she continues the success this year.
9. Fancy Gadam
The vibrant and budding Tamale-based Afro-Dancehall and Afro-pop artiste has proven to Ghanaians what he is made of. Fancy Gadam is on records to have filled Tamale Sports Stadium, a 20,000 capacity stadium – the first in history. He also stormed Accra last year and filled the National Theatre with his own concert dubbed “Gadam Nation Concert”. Even though his hit songs haven’t dominated the southern part of Ghana, he made a lot of impacts last year. He has had a nascent career so far. Hope this will continue this year.
10. Medikal
Medikal, signed with Criss Waddle’s AMG Business record label, got his breakthrough last year. His first hit, “Confirm”, which he released in January last year helped him launched his sprouting career. Since then, he’s been buzzing and he seems not to stop dropping hit songs. Just last year, he managed to collaborate with top artistes including Sarkodie, Joey B, Bisa Kdei and Mr Eazi. He has been tipped to win the “Best New Artiste” award at this year’s VGMA. At this point, we can all tell how successful he will be this year.
