Bad influence of Dancehall music encouraging hooliganism –Adangba

HIGHLIFE musician, Adangba, may ruffle the feathers of some leading Ghanaian artistes by attributing the rising cases of hooliganism among the youth to the influence of Dancehall music.

To him, the lyrical content and overall vibe of Dancehall music are contributory factors to the growing trend of unruly behaviour among young people.

He mentioned that Dancehall music, with its emphasis on rebellion, violence and explicit content, was warping the minds of our youth.

Speaking to Graphic Showbiz recently, Adangba, who gained popularity for his political songs said “It’s fostering a culture of lawlessness, disrespect, and aggression, which manifests in various forms of hooliganism”.

Adangba cited the Stonebwoy/Shatta Wale’s clash at the Ghana Music Awards in 2019 as an example of the bad influence of the music style, noting that the wild culture was common in Jamaica where Dancehall music originates.

Interestingly, Adangba blamed all of these happenings on Ghanaians ‘high taste’ for foreign things, noting that Dancehall had become popular because most of our artistes weren’t proud to identify with Highlife music.

“Presently, if you describe any of the young musicians as a Highlife artiste, they will out rightly reject it because they think the genre is for old people. We have opened our arms to every foreign thing and continue to look down on our own,” he stated.

He mentioned how the music of the likes of Nana Ampadu and other Highlife legends shaped his life to make concrete decisions while growing up without a father.

He pointed out that such ‘goodies’ and wisdom in music were absent in today’s music because Ghanaians had abandoned Highlife, which promotes their unique identity and the foundation of their traditions and culture for foreign identity such as what Dancehall offers.

“For some of us, we didn’t have a father or any father figure to guide us while growing up but we were able to make very good decisions that shaped our lives by listening to the likes of Nana Ampadu, and George Darko, among others for wisdom.

As Ghana gears up for the December 7 elections, fans of Adangba’s music are eagerly awaiting his next political song, particularly one in support of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party. 

Adangba, who is currently promoting his latest song, ‘Mapeneso’, disclosed to Graphic Showbiz that he wouldn’t be releasing a political song this year, citing the NDC’s already impressive support from other creatives.

Instead, Adangba is focusing on his health, recovering from a successful open-heart surgery in South Africa. He was diagnosed with Cardiomegaly, or an enlarged heart, and wants to take his time to fully recuperate.

In fact, ‘Mapeneso’ is a song showing appreciation to Ghanaian entrepreneur Ibrahim Mahama for footing his medical bills.

source: Graphic online