When Ghanaian Afro-dancehall and reggae star Stonebwoy visited Jamaica earlier this year for the Island Music Conference, he made headlines with an impromptu freestyle alongside Shaggy, Sean Paul and Wyclef Jean. But for the 36-year-old, the trip was about more than just performing \u2014 it was a pilgrimage. <\/p>\n
Arriving in the capital, Kingston, just a week after the US release of the biopic \u201cBob Marley: One Love,\u201d the singer linked up with the Reggae legend\u2019s grandson, Yohan Marley, to record new music for Stonebwoy\u2019s forthcoming album. The session was the Ghanaian\u2019s first visit to Bob Marley\u2019s iconic Tuff Gong Studio. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m inside of a legendary monument, and this is a monumental situation right now,\u201d said Stonebwoy as\u00a0he laid down his tracks, seamlessly\u00a0alternating between English, Jamaican Patois, and Ghanaian Twi, riffing off other collaborators in the studio. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s emotional, man,\u201d the visibly affected singer said during the session. \u201cIt means a lot. I feel like I\u2019m surrounded by the spirits of those who built here.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cOnce upon a time, Bob Marley was probably sitting in the same spot that I am sitting in,\u201d he added.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s like a world reserve for music, for consciousness, for somebody who stood up for humanity in his music.\u201d <\/p>\n
Very few have propelled Ghana\u2019s dancehall movement to greater heights than Stonebwoy, whose real name is Livingstone Etse Satekla. He is not only one of the most renowned Reggae and dancehall artists across Africa but he also commands the respect and admiration of Caribbean audiences. <\/p>\n
For Stonebwoy, there\u2019s nothing strange about a Ghanaian having such a deep affection for music forms that originated in Jamaica. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe influence of the motherland is significant in the formation of Reggae, dancehall, and Caribbean music styles,\u201d he noted, likening the storytelling and style of these genres to Highlife, a West African fusion of traditional rhythms with jazz and calypso. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the message of the style of music that influenced me to go the direction I did,\u201d Stonebwoy said. <\/p>\n
\u201cHighlife music is definitely a style of music that also tells a lot of conscious stories, just like reggae.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWe can relate, and we love each other\u2019s journeys,\u201d he added.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s time for us to continue to bring it together in order to sing one song, like Bob Marley said.\u201d <\/p>\n
While at Tuff Gong Studios, he recalled that the first Bob Marley song he ever heard was \u201cThree Little Birds,\u201d a childhood favorite of Stonebwoy\u2019s often played by his father. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Rastafarian communities were in their primes during those times, in the eighties and nineties, so there was that movement across the whole of Africa that was indulging,\u201d Stonebwoy recalled. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then, of course, the music flew over to support the ideologies and cancel out apartheid, so like there was an influx of consciousness. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe energy in which the messages were delivered was so captivating to my heart.\u201d <\/p>\n
Inspired by his idol, Stonebwoy embraces the \u201cOne Love\u201d ethos, which transcends Marley\u2019s song title. Rooted in Rastafarian beliefs, \u201cOne Love\u201d embodies a profound message of hope, unity, and universal love. <\/p>\n
In 2023, Stonebwoy was part of a \u201cBuffalo Soldier\u201d remake on Marley\u2019s posthumous album \u201cAfrica Unite.\u201d The album reinterpreted Marley\u2019s classics with Afrobeats rhythms, aligning with Stonebwoy\u2019s aim to spread peace, love, and unity through his music. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all about one love, Blackness, and Africa,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
From Afrobeats to reggae, Stonebwoy has worked with musicians including Rick Ross, Beanie Man, Shaggy, Keri Hilson, Russ, Davido, and Angelique Kidjo, shining brightest when mentoring emerging artists. <\/p>\n
He has also hosted Ghana\u2019s BHIM Festival for seven years, showcasing African-Caribbean music. Each year includes a cypher for upcoming artists to showcase their freestyle skills, reminiscent of Stonebwoy\u2019s own beginnings at the Kashari Level rap battles on Adom FM two decades ago. And he has consistently supported other artists, even those not signed to his Burniton Music Group label. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of people that I helped release singles, et cetera, without any formal agreement whatsoever,\u201d he said. \u201cI have my platform for everybody.\u201d <\/p>\n
As much as Stonebwoy has accomplished, he still hopes to do more, including eventually collaborating with Rihanna and Taylor Swift. <\/p>\n
\u201cI know it\u2019s going to happen one day,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Until then, he has his eyes set on making sure the sounds of the Black diaspora continue to dominate worldwide. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a certain kind of message, a certain kind of tone, a certain kind of voice, and a void to fill,\u201d Stonebwoy explained. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have a seat at the table, you really do have to work at it and go grab it because just like the greatest of greats have ever come and dominated and inspired all of us, the same way we also have come and take a place.\u201d <\/p>\n
On April 12, Stonebwoy is set to drop the single titled \u201cEkelebe,\u201d featuring Nigerian rapper Odumodublvck.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n When Ghanaian Afro-dancehall and reggae star Stonebwoy visited Jamaica earlier this year for the Island Music Conference, he made headlines with an impromptu freestyle alongside Shaggy, Sean Paul and Wyclef Jean. But for the 36-year-old, the trip was about more than just performing \u2014 it was a pilgrimage. Arriving in the capital, Kingston, just a <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":17428,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-17427","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17427\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}