Leading Musicians to the Promised Land of international acclaim

Who inherits the leadership of Musiga, the association of musicians in Ghana. To answer that question one should appreciate the challenges such a person is going to face.

Among other challenges, the person should be able to wield the various elements of our music industry together. This spans musicians practicing the various genres as well the various stakeholders to address the vexed issue of the local nature of our music.

It seems after 1966, our music industry came to halt along with our development as a nation. Although some may argue that other aspects of the economy came alive….debatable as that may be, our music suffered and has apparently not made those monumental strides the likes of ET Mensah, the Uhuru Band, Ramblers and those bands of old made.

With the exception of Osibisa and to a certain extent the Hedzolleh Soundz and Basabasa experiments of Faisal Helwani¸ Ghana was virtually without any reputable music ambassadors.

Then came the burgher hilife era when our music assumed a certain international feel with the fusion of the funky grooves of the west and the inimitable Yaa Asantewa rhythm.

Around this same period a group of Ghananaians in Berlin began experimenting with reggae music and some hilife and other indigenous beats to come up with what they described as sunlife music. The result was a hybrid sound that saw Roots Anabo at the heights of their career playing at the famed Reggae Sunsplash in Jamaica as the first African group to represent at that level.

So now our challenge as a nation is how do we get our music to cross borders like the Nigerian and Cote d’voire music have invaded our shores.

Our next President of Musiga should have a plan to ensure that our music reaches the necessary heights so that like our medical doctors and other professionals are able to work internationally, our music will also cross borders and be internationally accepted.

We will therefore look at the various contestants assessing their strengths and weaknesses to determine which of them possesses the vision and experience to lead our musicians to the mecca of accomplishment.