#MusicWeDeyFeel: All-time Favorites, including these from Obrafour

I first noticed Obrafour's music and abilities when he featured on Tic Tac's Philomena track, a banger released in 1999. As Ghanaian youth, and Ghanaians in general, we were getting enamored with hiplife, after Reggie Rockstone and co had birthed it. Yes, I have to mention Gyedu Blay Ambulley here. Happy now? Anyway, back to the Rap Priest. Lyricist, word play, wisdom, development, consciousness, longevitiy, legendary, you name it. 

I was in Presec (Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School - Legon) in 1999. I was starting to get into poetry, and rhyming. Enter Obrafour and my days of rapping along seriously to songs started. I remember rapping to Pae Mu Ka, etc in my dorm in Presec's Clerk House, all the way to the times I spent on exeat at my aunts' in Adenta and Teshie-Nungua Estates, all through to my home in Kumasi. It's been a couple of decades since Obrafour's first album, but many hiplife heads and Ghanaian music historians (like me) would say Pae Mu Ka is still the best rap album ever released by a Ghanaian. 

Let's get into the music. I think Obrafour's music for his patriotic songs, his battle cry music and even his love ballads. For someone who blogged about how songs impacted our society and cultural neighbourhood, Michael Elliot Kwabena Okyere Darko's music gave me a lot of fodder. Sounds on the ground and see-ins on the scenes. In 2004, we at GhanaThink started our lyrics project out of a forum discussion on Ghanaian music lyrics, especially hiplife, a genre that was driven by Ghanaian youth, who had started to lead in the music scene. It also helps that my favourite radio show - Citi Breakfast Show on Citi 97.3 FM plays his music a lot too. Obrafour would have been much much bigger if he had YouTube earlier. 

Nya Ntetee Pa - 2003
You probably might have thought about this song while reading the prologue. I am still bummed this song did not win Ghana's song of the year in 2003. VIP's Ahomka wo mu was a huge hit and well, not sure Ghanaians were ready to crown a song about discipline as the very best. Yes, there was the campaign against indiscipline that the late Aliu Mahama was championing at the time. I was at MIT at the time, and I was already on my way to not paying much heed to Ghanaian politicians. Obrafour's song was a lot more important. 

"Let's do all we can to help our nation". Be at the right place, the right time, c'mon, do the right thing". He even channeled Pae Mu Ka in this song. Looking for the lyrics? Museke.com is no more but you can find it on our sister site (which also emerged from Kasahorow) Nya Ntetee Pa by Obrafour - lyrics

"Yɛnyɛ deɛ yɛbɛtumi bia. Yɛnfa mmoa yɛman yi a. Aah ooh. Yaanom yɛhuuyɛ anka o. Daabia ne yaka akyire o"

Heavy (Oniee)
Every musician makes love songs. Even gospel ones. This one by Obrafour is a song I love to sing in the shower. I just clapped. Like seriously. I'm not joking. This song excites me. It is heavy. Actually, that is the name of the song, though a lot of people know it by Oniee (She is the one, she is here, etc).

You know how they say Ghanaian and African men like bodacious women? Women with a lot of body? I mean, how else should I say it? Can you see the heavy analogy? There's also the idea that as the lady is heavy, she is valuable, strong, big in many good ways, etc. I was nowhere close to getting married when I first heard this song, but the lyrics really entered me. All of the love-lings things people say, sigh. 

Ako (war) - 2006
The beat for this song. The way it starts. This is where we have to give Hammer his flowers. You cannot talk about Obrafour's success (and for that matter many top rappers in Ghana) without Edward Nana Poku Osei. He's an Odadee by the way :-) Another Odadee I really admire - Bernard Avle - seems to like this song. I might be wrong. But damn, this song. This track literally murders all sorts of things. There's a back story to this which might be about Lord Kenya and Kontihene. A complete classic!

2006. By the time this song came out, Museke was being birthed. I had already seen him perform, met Obrafour, said many nice things to him, and interviewed him too. The music video was groundbreaking at the time. It was done by Phamous People. I have tweeted about this song severally. The lyrics? You have to listen to it over and over again. Here they are. I don't even know which of the lyrics in the song to choose for to do a deep dive first. Actually, battle cry eh? How about a mic drop? 

"Tie wei sua nyansa. Yɛse ɔpanin dware wie a, na nsuo asa. Dwenedwene ho kɔ akyire. Tietie mu na tie bio. Fiifii mu na hwɛ no yie. Rap sɔfoɔ, yes, mede asɛm no adi ako awie"

PS: Wait, we need some honorable mentions. Kwame Nkrumah (you might be surprised it didn't make my top 3 from what you know about me, but forgive me), Who Born You By Mistake (music eh, it's a funny thing), Oye Ohene remix (yes, arguably the best remix ever made in Ghana), as well as Sete, Kasiebo, Odo, Asem Sebe, Obibinii, Aden, Ghetto Love, Twe Wo Ho, Agoro No Aso, Maame, etc.