"Hiplife is dead in Ghana, upcoming artistes don't want to do it" — Tinny declares

Ghanaian rapper, Tinny

Veteran Ghanaian rapper Tinny has declared that hiplife, the genre that once defined Ghana’s urban music culture, is now dead.

Speaking in an interview on Hitz FM, the rapper lamented that the genre which dominated the local music scene in the late 1990s and early 2000s has lost its relevance among the younger generation of artistes.

“When it comes to music, Ghana is on fire. But hiplife is dead. No upcoming artiste wants to do hiplife,” Tinny stated.

He explained that the new wave of musicians has shifted their focus toward more contemporary genres such as Afrobeats, Amapiano, and Dancehall, abandoning the hiplife sound that once produced some of Ghana’s most iconic acts.

“The majority of up-and-coming artists I meet nowadays are not interested in hiplife. They prefer other types of music,” he added.

Despite his disappointment, Tinny acknowledged that Ghana’s music industry is thriving internationally, thanks to the growing global recognition of Afrobeats and Dancehall artistes.

He, however, expressed regret that the cultural identity and lyrical storytelling that hiplife once represented appear to be fading from the country’s music landscape.