We can’t deny the fact that Nigeria and Ghana have shown strong competitiveness in different areas like music, sport and even food. The Nigerian jollof and the Ghanaian jollof is still a major debate till date, as to which taste better. Well it’s not far-fetched that both countries are quite passionate and patriotic when it comes to their music.
Some months ago, singer, songwriter and rave of the moment, Mr Eazi, was attacked on social media for tweeting the present day Nigerian sound was influenced by Ghanaian music. Many reacted negatively to this as they felt this was not patriotic and rather saw it as been insulting. Well, the truth be told, Ghanaian sound has influenced Nigerian music in recent times.
What we consider to be Highlife music in Nigeria never originated here. According to Wikipedia, “Highlife music is a music genre that originated in Ghana at the turn of the 20th century”. I’m sure many of us never knew this, I also learnt about this much recently.
Since the introduction of the popular Ghanaian dance step, Alkayida, our sound has evolved and continues to fall in tune with this dance style, which lays emphasis on a side to side movement. Songs like No kissing baby by Patoranking featuring Ghanaian rapper, Sakordie, Mad over you by Runtown, Koffi Anan by Yemi Alade, are just few of many tracks that have been successful with the Alkayida beat.
Presently, these are songs that have gained heavy airplay in clubs, parties and other social gatherings. We could recall the popular Azonto dance which also originated from Ghana, heavily influenced the Nigerian sound some years back, as many artistes jumped on the bandwagon.
The fact that there is an element of the Ghanaian sound in present day Nigerian music doesn’t change the fact that Nigerian music is a major force in Africa and will remain the most popular on the African continent.
Without further ado, despite the rivalry, both countries have also enjoyed some wonderful and successful collaborations over the years. References can easily be made to songs like “Kiss your hand” by Wande Coal featuring R2beez, “Tonight” by R2beez featuring Wizkid, “No kissing baby” by Patoranking featuring Sakordie, “Life” by Bisa K’dei featuring Patoranking, “Na wash” by Becca featuring Patoranking, the list is just endless. The fusion of Nigeria and Ghana isn’t stopping anytime soon, as both nation will continue to collaborate, interact and create beautiful music.
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