It’s been over a decade since Stonebwoy’s foray into Ghana’s mainstream music industry. Yet, interestingly, as he Zooms in from Accra for our chat a few days before the release of his sixth studio album, UP & RUNNIN6, he is as giddy as a newbie and excited to speak about his journey. When asked if he thought he’d be making music this long, the Afro-dancehall and reggae savant simply says, “This, to me, is life, and more than just a career.”
Stonebwoy’s journey began in 2004 within the confines of Ghana’s underground music scene. There, he sharpened his lyrical dexterity and gradually built a name for himself. “We started on the streets,” he says. “We would battle one another in the hood, in school, and on the radio. It was a proper grooming process to gain some respect as the underground cat coming through.” It wasn’t until 2010’s “Hills & Valley” that his efforts started aligning, a track which “the whole of Ghana thought was a Jamaican artist because it was not in the typical Ghanaian style.”
Most of Stonebwoy’s career has been spent utilising the power of music to shape lives and challenge the status quo. “My music is an encyclopaedia of messages,” he says matter-of-factly. “I speak the message of truth, the message of love, the message of positivity, the message of revolution, and the message of social development because those are what I stand for.”
Through 10 songs, Stonewbwoy looks back at all the decisions and moments that have impacted his career and led him here as one of Ghana’s most innovative and daring artists.
I remember being enraged when creating “Run Go”, I was in the studio trying to understand the domestic system in relation to the global system, in terms of development, infrastructure and healthcare. Many of us tend to detach ourselves from governance and politics, but we don’t realise that these are what run our institutions and systems.
This revolutionary mentality forms the messaging in my music. I do songs, put in the message as realistically as possible, and trust that once the message is right, it will forever continue to make sense. Music is a message bank filled with melodies. I recorded that song in 2013. You can imagine how old that song is, but it’s still fresh. “Simple life is all we want/Give me food, give me cloth, give me love and give me shelter.” These are all basic necessities.
Between 2009 and 2012, I was in an era where I was trying to merge my sounds, heavily influenced by dancehall. Although my sound was fresh and I was a new artist on the block making waves with the dancehall and Afrobeats energy, I spent those years trying to weave a sound that would be uniquely mine. At that time, there was a lot of foreign influence. The Western sound, mixed with African elements, was becoming the new school. We were all free to experiment, and dancehall was huge on the continent, with artists like Sean Paul’s “Gimme The Light” and Beanie Man dominating the scene.
I released songs like “Hills & Valleys”, a blend of hip-hop and dancehall, and “Ghetto Love” with Irene Logan, a smooth R&B record. Eventually, “Pull Up” came about. We collaborated with Master Garzy, experimenting with two tempos. When the kick dropped, the tempo shifted. At that point, I found a comfortable space where that style became my signature. I was actively bridging dancehall and Afrobeats, pioneering a style that Stonebwoy later popularised as Afro-dancehall. Patoranking further built on this style with the “Pull Up” remix.
“Go Higher” is my blessed song. It’s the song that finally connected the bridge and truly represented the style I’d been cultivating all along. It arrived later in my career, after other songs had enjoyed their moment, but I consider it my breakthrough song, the one that propelled me from a domestic to a global stage.
By God’s grace, I won Artist of the Year at the Ghana Music Awards the same year I claimed the Best International Act award at the BET Awards. Back then, the BET Awards pre-recorded that category. So, for me to win that award with a reggae-dancehall-Afrobeats fusion was a significant moment in the African music scene. It validated the style I’d been working on all this time. I remember Davido being the first Nigerian artist to congratulate me. That surprised me because, at the time, there was still considerable tension between Nigerian and Ghanaian artists. But since then, that brother has remained a good friend.
You can see that Afro-dancehall makes a lot of sense now. “Go Higher” is a typical record that represents both worlds. That’s the career mountain and I’ve been going higher ever since. I remember in an interview, they asked me what was next, and I told them: “I’m about to blow the world.”
I have two versions of “Mama”. The first one I did was “Mama (Cognition Riddim)”; the second version, which was on the Epistles Of Mama album, was about how she viewed the world and her advice to me regarding pressures, success and hard work. After my mother’s passing, I felt like that was the aspect I needed to capture. Losing my mum was a heavy moment; unfortunately for me, she only witnessed the beginning of my greatness, where anybody who loves and trusts God for your life can only envision what it could be. I think I may have surpassed her dreams for me, though. I remember when I won the BET, she was at a funeral in our village and I made a call through to her. We were vibing, and she was happy. You know, they hear these things and get so happy, even if they may not really fully understand. But they know something good has happened. She was like, “Oh, you’ve always been a winner.” And she wasn’t lying.
Unfortunately, right when I landed in Accra after the BETs, I had to go straight to the hospital to see her. She passed as soon as I got there. It’s like when someone is just waiting for you to see them before they move on; it was really emotional. I wish I had some last few moments with her, but I got to the hospital quite late from the States, and that was it. Everything she’s ever taught me or told me is what I’m living by now, and that’s why this song captures some of the advice she would always speak to me.
“Baafira” is a Hausa word that means ‘say less’ or ‘say nothing.’ That was one of the collaborations that came in, featuring Sarkodie. Getting him on the song was a straight shot; it was only a matter of him finding the time to come to the studio. He actually did the honors and drove all the way from Tema to come and fix it. He fit the song perfectly because it needed a rap vibe. It’s just one of those songs speaking to situations where you don’t have to give your attention, but you’re aware of them. I’m saying that I don’t need to speak and address everything because I’ve experienced and gone through bigger stuff. “I just commot my eyes cos I don’t see nun, Baafira.”
“Sobolo” is a typical Highlife song that tells a very relatable love story that still resonates with people. On the song, I simply dared to show the world that Stonebwoy is multi-talented and that he’s a musician for the people. When you watch the video, you’re actually watching and listening to the live version. The vocals weren’t placed underneath it or anything; it’s live! That gave it a lot more appreciation and defined it the way it was supposed to be because Highlife music has always been played live.
“Everlasting” speaks to the tenacity of relationships. External forces that play a role in our lives tend to demand a lot of attention, which then causes friction in our relationships. The song is saying not to pay attention to them. Singing it to your partner feels good, like, “Wow! We’ve come this far, and whatever they do is not going to break us because my love for you is everlasting.” Love runs the world. Love is the ultimate because, for human beings to be here, it must be out of lovemaking. If you don’t have love for something, you don’t have passion for it.
Stonebwoy and Keri Hilson? These are two very different worlds. R&B meets up with Afro-dancehall, produced by Andre Harris at Keri’s studio in Atlanta. We wrote and recorded the song right there and then.
It’s such an interesting situation, how Keri and I met. I think a friend of mine met her on a flight and was like, “Yo, what’s up? I got an artist friend who’s amazing.” He made the connection, we made the beautiful record, put it out there for the world, and she and I became really good friends till this day. It blew the world away. Keri hadn’t dropped anything in a long time. She popped up, worked on this with me, and went back to hide. She gave me that honour.
“Shine” has an Amapiano and house kind of style. It was produced in Amsterdam by my guy, whose name is, interestingly, Shine. He’s one amazing guy. I did a performance before the album dropped where I had to use the song as an opener, and everybody got goosebumps. It’s going to be one of the people’s favourites because it’s just different.
“‘Memories” is one of those songs that makes you want to call over a friend or your love interest to just vibe—chilling and making memories. That’s the whole point. It feels like an R&B kind of song.
Collaboration is really important to me. It expands our reach as artists. For example, when Wizkid collaborated with Tems, you saw the effect. Tems didn’t have to be the most popular artist at the time, but you realise how amazing the collaboration turned out. It’s just a matter of realising that when it sounds right, you just get it done. I think Ir Sais is one of the biggest artists in his country, Bonaire.
The collaboration is like a ‘boys to men’ kind of situation, with a Buju Banton kind of twist. A mix of reggae and R&B, still representing the collaborative efforts between Africa and the Caribbean. You know what I stand for, so with every given opportunity, you would easily find me doing that cross-collaboration. And I love collaborations anyway.”
Stonebwoy’s new album, UP & RUNNIN6, is out now.
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