Epixode Believes Ghanaian Dancehall And Reggae Will Soon “Take Over The World”
Days after members of Vybz Kartel’s Gaza Nation and other Jamaicans took to Twitter to upbraid Epixode for declaring himself “King of the Dancehall”, the Ghanaian artist is now reported as saying that Ghanaian Reggae and Dancehall “will soon take over the world”.
Additionally, according to the Ghana News Agency, the artist who recently won Ghana’s Reggae and Dancehall Artiste of the Year award, said that his countrymen should take steps to “rebrand the Reggae and Dancehall genre by adding our local vibe to make it completely unique to sell it worldwide”.
In a June 29 article, the Ghana News Agency reported Epixode as saying, during an interview with one of its reporters after copping his award at the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA), that “Ghanaian Reggae and Dancehall will soon take over the world considering its uniqueness, but will need rebranding for it to be appreciated all over the world”.
“Reggae and Dancehall would forever top the world of music and I believe Reggae from Ghana would soon take over,” Epixode is quoted as saying. “Reggae has always been in our blood as some Highlife artistes some time back did branch into that genre but we can rebrand it and add our local influence to make it special and I believe the world would appreciate it.”
Epixode said there are thousands of Reggae and Dancehall artiste in Ghana and as such, he wants to use his latest success to “help other upcoming musicians thrive in the Ghanaian Reggae/Dancehall space”.
“I have personally contacted some of the nominees to congratulate them and I think the Dancehall space is so huge for all of us and we have to work hard to take it to the world,” Epixode said. “The next move for me after this award is to try and help those artistes who need a helping hand in the Reggae and Dancehall space and make the genre very vibrant.”
On Sunday, Epixode came under scrutiny and much jeering after declaring on Twitter that he was the “King of the Dancehall”, a title reserved for Jamaican Dancehall deejays, which has been claimed by Yellowman, Beenie Man and Vybz Kartel.
“KING OF THE DANCEHALL..thank you Ghana,” Epixode had tweeted triggering a series of taunts and sarcastic comments from Jamaicans and even detractors from his own country.
KING OF THE DANCEHALL .. thank u Ghana pic.twitter.com/IIdDtAVJYB
— LAST DON (@epixodemusic) June 27, 2021
The Gaza Nation was out in their full force, frontally dismissing the Ghananian.
“How Kartel reach inna you and Ghana business sir?” Destructive Angel asked.
“King of what sir? Please leave Jamaica business alone. Respectfully,” msjayexo added, while MackMaajah declared: “Why are their king of dancehall awards without Jamaicans involved. That seems like cultural appropriation”.
As the jeering progressed, D’jangotron added sarcastically; “A must one village in Ghana name “dancehall” den”.
The statements by Epixode came weeks after acting president of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), Bessa Simons, declared in a radio interview, that Ghanaian artists were copycatting Jamaicans and passing off their Highlife music genre as Reggae and Dancehall.
In the interview on Asempa FM, Simons said all the musicians who were purporting to be topping the Dancehall genre including Shatta Wale, Stonebwoy and Samini, were mostly doing “Highlife music” and not Reggae or Dancehall as they were claiming.
Speaking on Tête-à-Tête, a weekend entertainment show on Asempa FM, Simons, who is himself a Highlife artiste, had said the artistes were only mimicking the style of Reggae/Dancehall acts but cannot be identified as such as they were not born in Jamaica.
“They are singing Highlife. Ask any better musician and they will tell you. Were they born in Jamaica? They are only trying to copy the Jamaicans,” the Belembe singer had said.