If you take the beat out, Shatta Wale’s ‘Dancehall King’ song is not dancehall – Gyedu Blay Ambolley

• Posted on January 17, 2014
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

There have been barrage discussions on whether Ghanaian dancehall Artistes are doing the real dancehall or they are in a mirage calling their genre dancehall. Gyedu Blay Ambolley has added his hoarse voice to the criticisms.

Yesterday on the ‘Taxi Driver’ show hosted by Blakk Rasta, guest and Artiste Gyedu Blay Ambolley had a different take on dancehall brewed in Ghana with the hit song ‘dancehall king’ as an epitome. In his own words answering Blakk Rasta’s question as to his take on Shatta Wale’s song ‘Dancehall King’ being dancehall, Gyedu Blay Ambolley said “Yea this is what the younger ones are following. But if you take the beat out, you know, if you take the beat out, it’s no more dancehall.”

Even though Gyedu Blay Ambolley was banging his head to the song in the studio when it was played on air, he admitted that “the 4-4 rhythm will keep your head going and things like that but I wish like the tribe that he is coming from, he could have taken that 4-4 beat but find another something that will maybe identify because I’m saying this based upon the fact that one day I heard on radio somebody taking ‘adowa’ music and rapping to it, it was wonderful. These are some of the things that we want to talk about. We have to look at where we come from; because wherever that we came from has something and we have to start capitalizing”

Gyedu Blay Ambolley congratulated the host, Blakk Rasta for his ‘cologo’ song and added that “this is our direction bro, this is where you know that this is me because if you do that the spirit, they follow you more. That is what I am talking about..”

Author: Nana Kwesi Coomson (www.233times.net)