Award-winning Ghanaian rapper and Afrobeat musician, Joseph Gamor, known by his stage name Lyrical Joe or LJ, has shared strong opinions about the trend of Ghanaian hardcore rappers turning to singing.
In a candid interview on Campus Exclusive, Lyrical Joe shared his insights on why singing doesn’t guarantee success for musicians.
“I’ve always sung on my records from the beginning of my first EP. I didn’t feature any singers. I do my choruses; I do my verses. Now we’re in a place where people tell you that singing will ‘blow’ you. Mind you, we have Afro-pop singers who are underground…so singing doesn’t blow you.”
Nevertheless, Lyrical Joe emphasized the importance of staying true to one’s identity as an artist, even while being open to creativity and experimentation. He acknowledges the fact that as a musician, it is good to explore diverse genres, but on the condition that one will not lose their identity.
“You need to accept it and be creative. I would say as an artist, be open-minded and creative. If you listen to the beat and this beat is calling for singing or trapping, do it. If you do not lose your identity, you are good.”
When asked about top Ghanaian rappers-turned-singers like Amerado Burner, King Paluta, and Rap Fada, Lyrical Joe shared his views
“Losing your identity is going so far deep into something that when they call you somewhere, you don’t know what you’re going to d0 – if they make it to the big stage out there which we are all gunning for, maybe Grammies. Because if you don’t, when you get on those stages and you don’t have the vocals to sing, you can’t sing there.”
In supporting his argument, he made reference to Omar Sterling, one of Ghana’s biggest and most celebrated rappers who recently dropped a hit single titled ‘Boom Boom’ ft Reggie, Jay Bhad, and O’Kenneth. He stated that the song was a hit song regardless of the fact that Omar Sterling rapped instead of singing.
“So you need to have that mentality that in either rap or singing, there are songs that will drop that will not blow. Let me pick Paedae, from back in the day. [Referring to ‘Boom Boom’ ft Jay Bahd and Reggie] That’s his hit song. It’s a hit song. He was rapping on there. It’s the time, that song blew. At that moment, if he would have dropped any singing song… any song with him fully singing on it, it wouldn’t have gone that way.”
Lyrical Joe also urged the up-and-coming artists to steer clear of lifestyles involving smoking and drinking, emphasizing that such habits do not contribute to making good music.
“The lifestyle that people put out there is not the reality they are living. Drinking and smoking do not add any lyrics. I know people who are ‘Jonky heads’ who do not write anything or say anything proper in their music. The thing that kills people is peer pressure because imagine you idolize somebody and all of a sudden because you also do music you become close to that person and the person passes on weed that ‘Yo! Take’.”
–
Story by: Kelvin B. Annor-Yeboah | univers.ug.edu.gh
