Okyeame Quophi Asserts Hiplife Has Been Abandoned Due To Ownership Debate

Okyeame Quophi, a media personality and one-half of the defunct Hiplife duo Akyeame, believes the Hiplife genre is not as extinct as some claim.

Speaking on 3Music TV’s Culture Daily, he argued that the music genre lost its appeal when arguments emerged over who invented it. According to Okyeame Quophi, the Azonto genre had a similar challenge; yet, because Afrobeat has not been claimed by anyone, it has enjoyed commercial success on a global scale. His comments follow the release of BBC’s Documentary HIPLIFE REWIND.

“In Reggie’s case, immediately that (I am the one that invented it, I am the creator) everyone said ok. If it’s for you then take it. So everyone stopped calling their music Hiplife because immediately you subscribe to Hiplife it looks like you are working for Reggie who is going to collect all the credit at the end of the day. Look at the argument on Azonto, whether it was Sarkodie who brought it. That also killed Azonto. But Azonto became a worldwide phenomenon and we with our argument of who owns what will kill it eventually. Now Afrobeats is big. Let’s ask ourselves who is arguing about who owns Afrobeats?"

Okyeame Quophi adds that the success of Hiplife was the result of the toil of other music industry players and not just the effort of one person.

“You brought it but we made it a hit. Reggie Rockstone alone couldn’t have done it. Reggie Rockstone brought it but it took everybody that produced, put in their money, their talents and everything in there to make Hiplife what it became. Until somebody wanted so much to take all the credit and everybody is like ok if that is the case then I’m not doing it anymore.”

BBC’s Documentary HIPLIFE REWIND examines the history of Ghana's enduring musical genre through the personal narratives of significant performers and creators in the profession.