‘Selfie’ is hiplife not hiphop – Hammer
Music producer, Hammer of the Last Two has challenged VVIP’s ascertion that their song Selfie is a hiphop and not a hiplife.
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While VVIP and some pundits have argued that the song which has been nominated in the Hiplife of the Year category at this year’s Vodafone Ghana Music Awards(VGMA) should have been nominated in the Hiphop Song of the Year category, Hammer thinks otherwise.
Explaining his stance, the music producer said in an interview on Hitz FM that , Selfie has hiphop elements but it’s a dance song and the hiplife genre is normally made up of dance songs. “People don’t dance to real hiphop songs, they either bounce or nod to it” he said.
“The dancing part of Selfie overwhelms the hiphop part, so I’ll actually see it as a dance song which makes it a hiplife song. If I had my way, it will make it to the Afro dance category,’ Hammer added.
He noted that one hiplife song that is closest to hiphop is Joy B’s Tonga.
Comparing the two songs, Hammer said, “The emptiness of Tonga, its limited instrumentation, it has a lead straight to the point, the rap dominates but you can still dance to it too. So if you want a hiplife song that is closest to hiphop that will be Tonga.
“ Selfie on the other hand went into the dance area too much to call it a hiphop song. I’ll say the hiphop element is good but the dance aspect overwhelms the hiphop side”.
Explaining further, he said, “I think it fits the hiplife category because even when you listen to Lazzy [Zeal’s] rap, its hiplife”. Hammer concluded that the debate also depends on how Reggie Rockstone describes hiplife but he still sees Selfie as a hiplife song.
