Hiplife is a Ghanaian musical style which fuses highlife and hip hop.^[1] It is also influenced by dancehall and reggae. Recorded in Ghanaian languages such as Twi, Ewe and Ga, hiplife is rapidly gaining popularity throughout West Africa and abroad, especially in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Germany.

History[link]

The origins of Ghanaian hip hop goes back to the 1980s, when performers such as K.K. Kabobo and Gyedu Blay Ambolley as early as 1973 with Ambolley's release of his first record, The SIMIGWADO ...a "semi-rap style hi-life" to a small audience which showed him performing highlife variations with fast spoken, poetic lyrics. Ambolley would go on to be held the "father of rap" not only in Ghana but in the world. With time, Ghanaians became influenced by American hip hop, reggae, dance hall. There was an emerging underground hip hop collective in the capital Accra

Hiplife's history dates back to the early 1990s when Reginald "Reggie Rockstone" Ossei began to craft this art form with producers Mike Cooke, Rab Bakari, Zapp Mallet and Coal house. Chief G and the Tribe was one of the first rap groups in Ghana consisting of Chief G (now known as Jay Ghartey), Abeeku and Kwaku T. After they broke up before Reggie's foray into what is now termed hiplife, Talking Drums, consisting of Kwaku-T and Bayku, experimented with choruses and hooks in local languages. In Twi, Reggie would flow over hip-hop beats a style that had been used previously in Mahoney P's debut album Kofi Babone. That same era Native Funk Lords group (NFL) came out with the pidgin rap; the originators of the genre, from the Kay's Frequency camp: Tinniequaye, Cil, Jake & Eddy Blay; this group also took inspirations from bands like the Osibisa and Ghanaba of Ghana. It is also to be noted Rapper and Producer Cavell was also part of the original NFL collective and is now known to many as The Mantis. Reggie Rockstone has been described as the "Godfather of Hiplife" since he spawned a new music genre in the country, After his debut album Makaa Maka, with the hit single Choo boi, several hip life acts followed. Oddly enough, in several radio interviews in 2004, Reggie Rockstone stated that he does not perform hiplife this could be mainly attributed to the fact that he now prefers to rap in English. A new era was born late 1998 when a young producer Hammer of The Last Two emerged with original beats plus precision rap artistes. Hammer, born Edward Nana Poku Osei was only 22 years old. Hammer of The Last Two managed to fuse hip hop grooves with local tempo and sweet melody which caught up with both the elite and masses instantly. Known for his heavy drums and lead trumpets, Hammer's originality elevated hiplife to greater heights and inspired and influenced a whole generation of producers like Richie, Kill Beats, Jayso, EL etc. Hammer of The Last Two's groomed artiste line up also eventually became some of the biggest artiste in hiplife today...e.g. Kwaw Kesse, Ayigbe Edem,odeshi, Obrafour, Tinny, Sarkodie etc., Other Ghanaian rappers like Lord Kenya, Obour, V.I.P, The Native Funk Lords (Rapping mainly in pidgin English), Castro Destroyer and MzBel continued the trend of hiplife music which is now one of the most popular forms of music in West Africa.

The most popular Hiplife musicians include Tic Tac, Sarkodie, Vision in Progress (VIP), Asem, Obrafour, Ayigbe Edem,odeshi, D-Black, Castro and Samini who won a MOBO award for his contribution to hiplife in 2006. Since the rise of these popular musicians, hiplife has grown in popularity abroad.It must be said though artists like Ayigbe Edem, Kwaw Kesse, D-plan, Richie, ASEM, Sarkodie, Yaa pono, Keps, Lil Pope, Dirgen, Bra Kevin Beats, Greenfield,Iscream.

In 2009 Ghanaian filmmaker, Mantse Aryeequaye, released a documentary focusing on the political history of the hip life movement in Ghana as well as hip-hop music amidst various political climates in the nation. In his film, Rhythm Rising, Aryeequaye also examines many famed Ghanaian artists such as Kwaw Kese, Kwaku Tutu and Obrafour through their experiences within hip life or hip-hop movement. The film works to explore and expose the culture of the hip life movement against the backdrop of Ghana's political environment.^[2]

Hip life in Ghana is sticking to a new trend of rhythm and this is mainly being influenced by great music engineers like Kill Beatz, Dj Dijoe[1], Pie-Sie, Jay So looney, Richie, Kaywa and Hammer of The Last Two. There is this confusion with classifying hip pop made in Ghana and Hip life but in all they bare the same qualities and share common rhythms.

Musical style[link]

It must be noted that hiplife can cover a broad range of musical styles fused together. Artists such as Samini combine reggae/dancehall/ragga scat and patois-tinged sounds of Jamaica with Akan-language lyrics over reggae rhythms fused with Ghanaian melodies. His music is branded by the general populace as hiplife. Then there are artists such as K.K. Fosu, Ofori Amponsah and Richie who do not rap or 'DJ' per se; but sing with a heavy R&B influence. Verses; bridges and choruses may be in Twi, but the structure and the rhythm fusion is suspiciously based on American R&B.But he and other artiste like himself fall under contemporary highlife.

The majority of hiplife is recorded in a studio environment with heavy emphasis on computer-aided composition, arrangements and production. At this moment, hiplife artist are not known to use live instruments in their performances in front of audiences. Most performances are based on voicing over instrumentals and dubs on Compact Disc. This may be a leading reason why the latest incarnation of Ghanaian music has not reached the ears of World Music promoters or bridged the frontiers of countries across Africa such as Congolese music has done.

Famous hiplife artists include Reggie Rockstone, Kwaw Kese, Obrafour, Obour, Tinny, Asem, Tic Tac, Mzbel, VIP, Buk Bak, KK Fosu, Batman Samini, jaaklan, Okomfour Kwadee, Ayigbe Edem, Sarkodie, Okyeame Kwame, Bradez, Lord Kenya, Castro (D'Destroyer) Sydney. Producers include JQ, Appietus, Richie, Kaywa.^[3] MiD 9ite Rekordz, Hammer of The Last Two, Roro, Zapp Mallet, Nana Quame, Hitz Factory, Big Dave, Kwam1, Panji, Beatmenace, K-Rock, Kevin Beats,^[4] Lordy and Seven and Pie-Sie.

Also to be noticed is the emergence of Gh Rap which is mainly underground hip hop made in Ghana the artists in this genre mainly rap in English or pidgin English. Most notable of the Ghanaian rappers and producers are: Tinniequaye, keps (6side records), F.F.E (D-Plan, Dirgen, K-gee) The Skillions (Jayso, E.L.,Ball J, Jinx, Therapy, Midnight, J-Town), Ecxtreme, Nash, Nova. Evil Twin, Loonee, Pie-Sie (http://www.myspace.com/bestbeatsforsale), Kwam1, Nash Kevin beats,^[5] Greenfield (Ali & Jo Willy)^[6] Gemini, Kwaku-T, Kryptic, Illa Shaz,IsCream,^[7] Mic Wreckers (Lil Shaker, Joey, Killmatic), J town, N-Dex, Keps, Peer Pressure crew, Ronny O, Vibe Squad, Scientific, Big Money Records (Big Money SL, Lil' Pope) Tight Squeeze Family, Trigmatic, Wanlov, 24Seven (Lethal Lyrix and Kay-Ar {Da Mic Dude}) and more. Much of Ghanaian rappers emerged after moving from hiplife to specializing in just hip hop.

See also[link]

• Highlife

References[link]

External links[link]

• Hiplife content - songs, lyrics, audio, video, etc.
• Living The HipLife -Documentary on the early years of Hiplife in Ghana with focus on Reggie Rockstone
• Hiplife story
• ghanatimes.com article: "Hiplife: A New Dawn; A New Day"
• ghanatimes.com article: "Hiplife Music Is Noise"
• ghanaweb.com article: "The HIPLIFE story"
• Honors Thesis on Hip-Life and Ga Drumming
• Glocalization Trends: The Case of Hiplife Music in Contemporary Ghana @ http://ijoc.org/ojs/index.php/ijoc/article/viewFile/230/383

Asamoah Gyan

Personal information
Date of birth	(1985-11-22) 22 November 1985 (age 26)
Place of birth	Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Sunderland
Number	3
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2003	Liberty Professionals	16	(11)
2003–2008	Udinese	39	(12)
2004–2006	→ Modena (loan)	53	(15)
2008–2010	Rennes	48	(14)
2010–	Sunderland	34	(10)
2011–2012	→ Al Ain (loan)	18	(22)
National team‡
2003–	Ghana	59	(28)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:15, 28 May 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:31, 11 February 2012 (UTC)

Asamoah Gyan (born 22 November 1985 in Accra) is a Ghanaian professional footballer and a part-time rapper, who plays as a striker for Sunderland of the Premier League.

Gyan shot to prominence after scoring three goals at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and also missing a crucial penalty kick in the last minute of extra-time in Ghana's quarter-final defeat by Uruguay.

Club career[link]

Udinese[link]

Having signed for Udinese in 2003 from Ghanaian club Liberty Professionals located in his hometown of Accra, Gyan spent two years on loan at Serie B club Modena to gain match experience. Following some excellent displays during the 2006 World Cup, he attracted interest from Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow. Gyan returned to Udinese at the start of 2006, but on 17 February 2007, Udinese pulled out of a deal to sell him in the January transfer window. The striker was on the verge of signing a 3-year deal with Russian Club Lokomotiv Moscow for US$10.5m, the fourth largest transfer fee in Russian football history. "The striker Udinese targeted to replace me did not sign for them," Gyan told BBC Sport. "I've been told I will now have to stay in Italy for the rest of the season."^[2]

On 10 August 2007, along with Fabio Quagliarella, Gyan signed an improved 5-year contract extension to stay at Udinese until 30 June 2012 as a reward for his fine form^[3] in the 2007–08 pre-season.^[4] "I have decided to stay here because it is one of the top leagues in the world," Asamoah said, "There is the possibility of me playing regular football here to make me a better player. "I am comfortable with the new deal and I know I can help Udinese achieve great things for the future".^[5] Gyan and Quagliarella marked their contract extensions with a brace each in Udinese's 7–0 friendly win later that evening.^[6]

.^[7] On 29 July 2007 following his impressive pre-season form, including a hat-trick^[8] in a friendly against Serie B outfit Spezia on 25 July, before Udinese sealed the long term deal.^[9][10] Gyan scored 10 goals in 2006–07 to help the Stadio Friuli club finish in 10th place in Serie A.

Gyan was dogged by injury during the 2007–08 season and never appeared for Udinese again after January 2008, having played only 13 Serie A matches and scored 4 times that season.

Rennes[link]

On 11 July 2008, Gyan was signed by French Ligue 1 Club Stade Rennais for 4 years on an €8 million transfer fee.^[11][12] Gyan played 48 times for Rennes, scoring 14 goals. By the end of his stay at Rennes, he became a well known goal scoring figure, scoring 13 league goals in the 2009-10 season. However, Gyan only played two games in Ligue 1 the following season, taking his total appearances to 50, before he departed for Sunderland.

Sunderland[link]

On 31 August 2010, Gyan signed for Premier League club Sunderland on a four-year deal.^[13] Gyan was later given the number 33 shirt at Sunderland. He scored on his Sunderland debut against Wigan Athletic on 11 September after coming on as a substitute for Danny Welbeck. The match ended in a 1–1 draw with Antolín Alcaraz scoring Wigan's equaliser.^[14] He marked his first start for Sunderland by netting their only goal in their League Cup exit at the hands of West Ham United.^[15] Gyan scored twice on his first Premier League start for the club in a 2–0 win against Stoke City on 6 November. His first goal came in the 9th minute when a Nedum Onuoha shot was parried by goalkeeper Asmir Begović, with Gyan on hand to tap home the rebound and his second came in the 86th minute, to secure a 2–0 victory for the Black Cats.^[16] Three days later, he followed this up by scoring the equaliser against Tottenham at White Hart Lane in a 1–1 draw as Sunderland moved up to seventh in the table.^[17] He also scored a goal in Sunderland's 3–0 victory at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea.^[18] Gyan scored Sunderland's third goal in their 3–0 victory over Blackburn Rovers on 1 January 2011.^[19] On 16 January 2011, he started against local rivals Newcastle United, scoring a 94th minute equaliser, preventing Newcastle gaining their second win of the season against Sunderland.^[20] Gyan added to his impressive goalscoring tally with a goal away at Stoke City on 5 February 2011. He scored an 11th minute goal against Tottenham on 12 February 2011. Gyan's next goal came on 23 April as Sunderland beat Wigan Athletic 4-2, a match which ended prematurely for the forward as he was substituted following a hamstring injury which is expected to see him miss the remainder of the season.^[21] Gyan did recover in time to feature in Sunderland's last game of the season at West Ham but didn't add to his tally finishing his first season in English football with 10 league goals. Gyan took the number 3 shirt for the 2011/12 season, the same number he wears for Ghana.

Al Ain (loan)[link]

On 10 September 2011, it was confirmed on the Sunderland website that Gyan would leave on a season long loan to club Al Ain FC.^[22] Amid speculation of a fee of up to £6m being paid for the loan period, with Gyan receiving up to four times his previous salary,^[23] Chairman Niall Quinn emphasised the financial benefits of the deal for both Sunderland and the player. He also did claim that he left Sunderland for money, quoting that the offer he received was "too good to refuse". The Ghanaian finished the season with Al Ain by helping them capture their tenth league success. As well as being the top goalscorer in the season with twenty two league goals.

When Martin O'Neill became manager of Sunderland on 8 December he considered the possibility of recalling Asamoah from his loan spell away from the club.^[24] But on 13 April 2012, O'Neill claimed that Gyan returning to the Stadium Of Light could be unlikely.

International career[link]

Gyan made his international debut at the age of 17. Gyan scored on his senior International debut^[25] for Ghana against Somalia on 19 November 2003 in the 90th minute, he came on for Isaac Boakye in the 62nd minute in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier, three days before he turned 18 years; helping Ghana to win that game, and making him the youngest ever player to score for Ghana. He scored four times in seven matches during that successful World Cup qualifying campaign.

He was part of the 2004 Ghana Olympic squad, who exited in the first round, having finished in third place in Group B.

Asamoah Gyan playing for Ghana at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final victory match against Nigeria.

He also scored the fastest goal of the 2006 World Cup after 68 seconds. The strike was also Ghana's first ever goal in the World Cup, coming in the game against the Czech Republic on 17 June at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne, Germany, which set the Black Stars on their way to a 2–0 victory. He missed a penalty later in the game, and received a yellow card ruling him out of the final group game for trying to take the penalty too early. In Ghana's defeat^[26] to Brazil in the Round of 16, he was sent off in the 81st minute after collecting his second booking of the match (for diving).

On 24 January 2008 during the Africa Cup of Nations Gyan and his brother Baffour decided to walk out on the Black Stars following criticism after their unconvincing 1–0 win^[27] over Namibia. The media learnt the brothers had packed their bags and were ready to leave the team hotel but were persuaded to stay by team-mates.^[28] In the 2010 African Cup of Nations, Asamoah Gyan helped a Ghana team, ravaged by injuries to the finals. Gyan scored three out of the four Ghana goals during the tournament.

Gyan scored with a penalty in the 85th minute of Ghana's first match of the 2010 World Cup against Serbia, in a 1–0 win. He hit the post in the 92nd minute before being substituted to a standing ovation just before the final whistle.^[29] In Ghana's second game, he scored a penalty in the 26th minute to level the scores and earn his team a 1–1 draw against Australia.^[30]

In the round of 16 match against the USA, he scored a goal in extra time allowing Ghana to win by a score of 2 to 1 and hence become the third African team in history to qualify to the tournament's quarter final, after Cameroon and Senegal.^[31] In the quarter final tie against Uruguay, following Luis Suárez's handling of the ball on the goal-line, he missed a penalty kick with no time remaining at end of extra time, hitting the crossbar and necessitating a penalty shootout to decide the game. He converted his penalty in the subsequent penalty shootout, but Uruguay went on to win the shootout 4–2.^[32] Gyan scored Ghana's equaliser against England at Wembley in the international friendly on 29 March 2011.

For the second time in his career, Gyan missed a crucial penalty kick in a major tournament when he missed a penalty kick in the 2012 African Cup of Nations semi-final. Ghana went on to lose 1-0. After missing that penalty kick, Gyan decided to take an "indefinite break" from International football.^[33][34]

International goals[link]

Gyan – goals for Ghana
#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	19 November 2003	Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra	Somalia	2–0	2–0	2006 World Cup qualifier
2.	25 June 2004	Estádio da Machava, Maputo	Mozambique	1–0	1–0	Friendly
3.	3 July 2004	National Stadium, Kampala	Uganda	1–1	1–1	2006 World Cup qualifier
4.	23 March 2005	Nairobi	Kenya	1–0	2–2	Friendly
5.	27 March 2005	Stade des Martyrs, Kinshasa	Congo DR	1–0	1–1	2006 World Cup qualifier
6.	8 October 2005	Estádio da Várzea, Praia	Cape Verde	3–0	4–0	2006 World Cup qualifier
7.	14 November 2005	King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh	Saudi Arabia	2–1	3–1	Friendly
8.				3–1
9.	4 June 2006	Easter Road, Edinburgh	South Korea	1–0	3–1	Friendly
10.	17 June 2006	RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne	Czech Republic	1–0	2–0	2006 World Cup
11.	8 October 2006	Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul	South Korea	1–0	3–1	Friendly
12.				3–1
13.	21 August 2007	The Den, London	Senegal	1–0	1–1	Friendly
14.	20 January 2008	Accra Sports Stadium, Accra	Guinea	1–0	2–1	2008 Africa Cup of Nations
15.	9 September 2009	Stadion Galgenwaard, Utrecht	Japan	1–0	3–4	Friendly
16.				2–0
17.	15 January 2010	Estádio Nacional do Chiazi, Cabinda	Côte d'Ivoire	1–3	1–3	2010 Africa Cup of Nations
18.	24 January 2010	Estádio 11 de Novembro, Luanda	Angola	1–0	1–0	2010 Africa Cup of Nations
19.	28 January 2010	Estádio 11 de Novembro, Luanda	Nigeria	1–0	1–0	2010 Africa Cup of Nations
20.	1 June 2010	De Kuip, Rotterdam	Netherlands	1–2	1–4	Friendly
21.	13 June 2010	Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria	Serbia	1–0	1–0	2010 World Cup
22.	19 June 2010	Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg	Australia	1–1	1–1	2010 World Cup
23.	26 June 2010	Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg	United States	2–1	2–1	2010 World Cup
24.	29 March 2011	Wembley Stadium, London	England	1–1	1–1	Friendly
25.	7 June 2011	Jeonju World Cup Stadium, Jeonju	South Korea	1–1	1–2	Friendly
26.	2 September 2011	Accra Sports Stadium, Accra	Swaziland	1–0	2–0	2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier
27.	8 October 2011	Al-Hilal Stadium, Khartoum	Sudan	1–0	2–0	2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier
28.	28 January 2012	Stade de Franceville, Franceville	Mali	1–0	2–0	2012 Africa Cup of Nations
Correct as of 11 February 2012

Personal life[link]

Gyan's brother, Baffour Gyan, currently plays in Ghana for Asante Kotoko.

Off the field[link]

In summer 2010, Gyan recorded and released a Ghanaian Hiplife song with Castro The Destroyer, where he features under the alias 'Baby Jet'. The song is entitled "African Girls" and was launched unto the Ghanaian screens. The video shows his famous 'Asamoah Gyan Dance' celebration which he demonstrated at the 2010 World Cup and at Sunderland. The song won an award at the Ghana Music awards in 2011.

He also joined Castro for another duo "Do Da Dance".

Career Statistics[link]

Titles and honours[link]

Club[link]

Al Ain

• UAE Pro-League (1): 2011–12

• Top scorer in UAE Pro-League (1):2011–12

International[link]

Africa Cup of Nations

• Runners-up: 2010
• Third place: 2008
• Fourth place: 2012

Individual[link]

• 2010 Africa Cup of Nations Best XI
• Man of the Match in 2010 World Cup (2): vs. Australia, vs. Serbia
• FIFA Ballon d'Or: Shortlist Nominee (Top 23 players in the World)
• BBC African Footballer of the Year: 2010^[35]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Asamoah Gyan career stats Soccerbase
• Asamoah Gyan at National-Football-Teams.com
• Serie A 2006/07 – Gyan ASAMOAH Gazzetta dello Sport
• Asamoah Gyan profile ESPN Soccernet
• Premier League profile

Ghana squads v t e Ghana squad – 2004 Summer Olympics 1 Owu 2 Lamine 3 B. Gyan 4 Osei 5 Mensah 6 Pappoe 7 Yahuza 8 Taylor 9 Poku 10 Appiah 11 Villars 12 A. Gyan 13 Pimpong 14 Paintsil 15 Coleman 16 Tiero 17 Chibsah 18 Alhassan Coach: Barreto v t e Ghana squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Adjei 2 Sarpei 3 Gyan 4 Kuffour 5 Mensah 6 Pappoe 7 Shilla 8 Essien 9 Boateng 10 Appiah (c) 11 Muntari 12 Tachie-Mensah 13 Mohamed 14 Amoah 15 Paintsil 16 Owu 17 Quaye 18 E. Addo 19 Pimpong 20 O. Addo 21 Issah 22 Kingson 23 Dramani Coach: Dujković v t e Ghana squad – 2008 Africa Cup of Nations Third Place 1 Adjei 2 Sarpei 3 A. Gyan 4 Paintsil 5 Mensah 6 Annan 7 Kingston 8 Essien 9 Agogo 10 K. Asamoah 11 Muntari 12 Ayew 13 B. Gyan 14 Kumordzi 15 Barusso 16 Fatawu Dauda 17 Asare 18 Addo 19 Shilla 20 Quincy 21 Afful 22 Kingson 23 Dramani Coach: Le Roy v t e Ghana squad – 2010 Africa Cup of Nations Runners-up 1 McCarthy 2 Sarpei 3 Gyan 4 Osei 5 Jonathan 6 Annan 7 Inkoom 8 Essien 9 Opuku 10 Asamoah 11 Narry 12 Addy 13 André Ayew 14 Amoah 15 Vorsah 16 Agyei 17 Abdul Rahim Ayew 18 Addo 19 Agyemang-Badu 20 Adiyiah 21 Afful 22 Kingson 23 Dramani Coach: Rajevac v t e Ghana squad – 2010 FIFA World Cup 1 Agyei 2 Sarpei 3 A. Gyan 4 Pantsil 5 Mensah (c) 6 Annan 7 Inkoom 8 Jonathan 9 D. Boateng 10 S. Appiah 11 Muntari 12 Tagoe 13 A. Ayew 14 Amoah 15 Vorsah 16 Ahorlu 17 I. Ayew 18 Adiyiah 19 Addy 20 Quincy 21 K. Asamoah 22 Kingson 23 Prince Coach: Rajevac v t e Ghana squad – 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Fourth Place 1 Adjei 2 Opare 3 Gyan 4 Paintsil 5 Mensah 6 Annan 7 Inkoom 8 Badu 9 Boateng 10 A. Ayew 11 Muntari 12 Tagoe 13 J. Ayew 14 Alhassan 15 Vorsah 16 Kwarasey 17 Addy 18 Jonathan 19 Takyi 20 Asamoah 21 Boye 22 Sowah 23 Abu Coach: Stevanović