Akwaboah is sounding the alarm over what he sees as a growing sameness in Ghana’s music landscape, blaming it on a rising culture of imitation that is gradually dulling originality.
The highlife singer and songwriter says the shift is not just cosmetic but is also weakening the overall quality and identity of music coming out of the country.
Speaking in an interview with Nana Romeo on ‘Atuu’, the ‘Forever’ singer said many Ghanaian artistes have gradually stepped away from their creative roots as foreign influences continue to shape local soundscapes, leading to music that increasingly feels indistinguishable.
“Nigerian musicians have a certain way they do their music. When that trend came to Ghana, a lot of Ghanaian artistes took it up. Nowadays, if I listen to some songs by Ghanaian artistes, I cannot differentiate. They are all the same,” he said.
He warned that if the trend is allowed to continue, Ghana risks eroding its musical legacy and pride in its own sound. In his view, the industry could reach a point where repetition becomes the norm, with entire albums blending into one another and fading quickly from public memory.
“If this continues, years from now, we will not be proud of what we have. Everybody is just copying everybody. It will get to a point where people will be tired of all music sounding the same. Someone can release an album, and all songs on that album will sound the same. After three months, everyone forgets,” he bemoaned.
Akwaboah also expressed disappointment that more original work often struggles for attention while what he describes as less substantial songs gain popularity.
“I know that what I do is way different from what those songs are. But they won’t pay attention to me.
“We have artistes like Kofi Kinaata and Fameye doing authentic Highlife, but no one pays attention to that,” he noted.
He further pointed to what he sees as a broader identity problem in the industry, where many artistes are reluctant to embrace Ghana’s own musical foundation.
“When you go to Jamaica, you know they have Reggae. America has Hip-Hop and RnB. The UK has its own specific genre. Everyone has their own genre.
“But if you come to Ghana and ask any random artiste what they do, you will be hearing foreign genres, meanwhile we have Highlife,” Akwaboah stated.
