Hiplife Music in Ghana: Postcolonial Performances of the Good Life

Authors

  • Nii Kotei Nikoi University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Keywords:

postcolonial, decolonial, Ghana, postdevelopment, hiplife, hip-hop

Abstract

This article examines how common-sense ideas of development are reinforced in Ghanaian popular culture. Specifically, using Sarkodie as a case study, I analyze how he constructs a successful entrepreneurial branded self, which then becomes an index of a “good life.” I also use participant observations and interviews conducted in Accra. I argue that hiplife artists’ success and their performances of success not only underscore their desire to access the good life but also to create distance from notions of poverty and “backwardness” associated with underdevelopment. Nonetheless, the images of success in mainstream hiplife do not necessarily reflect the everyday realities of most Ghanaians, and are, at times, deemed inauthentic. These misrepresentations may reinforce the fallacy of developmentalism.

Author Biography

Nii Kotei Nikoi, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Nii Kotei is a PhD candidate in communication studies. He draws on critical cultural studies and postcolonial/decolonial studies to examine issues of modernity in popular culture.

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Published

2020-03-08

Issue

Vol. 14 (2020)

Section

Articles

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