![]() Between the 1990s and 2000s, for example, the trend was hiplife, a hybrid genre-blending hip-hop with highlife. For Ghanaian music journalist Philip Edusei, drill is not a totally new phenomenon: it is actually a very logical continuation of the various rap waves that Ghana – and the world – have experienced. Kumasi hip-hop is enjoying new and unprecedented exposure, but the scene has actually been vibrating for years, patiently waiting for an opportunity to break through to the rest of the country. Yet, Kumasi’s drill is also part of a long history of Ashanti rap. “ Drill instrumentals are very upbeat, and we just think it goes well with the tempo of the Twi.” Rabby adds. This cold and violent form of rap joins the lifestyle: it is its soundtrack more than its trigger. The drill wave is only one element of this broad culture, in which a large Ashanti population recognizes itself. ![]() But all this is stuff from our ghettos, it was there long before the word Kumerica.” Indeed, if the movement is booming, it is important to understand that it is not just hype. Bantama is called Florida, Abuakwa has always been called Chicago, and Suame is Miami. Is there anything else we need to know to understand the phenomenon? “ Street names, or town names. It’s to speak in code, to keep the discussion between us.” This slang is called Saka, which is the opposite of the Twi word “Kasa,” meaning “to speak.” Saka is not to be confused with Asakaa, which is none other than the famous Drill of Kumerica. If I were to say broda to a Kumerican, I would say dabro. “ We have a code for our Twi: basically we turn the words around,” the manager tells me. Ironically, for some Nigerians, the word “Akata” refers to African-Americans, a nuance that must surely delight the Akata boys of Kumasi.Ī second important element is their language. It means the same thing here,” Rabby explains. For example, the Kumericans call each other “Akata.” “ Last week, an old man was explaining me that Akata is a Yoruba word for a person with a true ghetto experience. Like any subculture, the Kumerica lifestyle is extremely codified. In the ghettos, in Accra it’s dancehall, but in Kumasi it’s rap.” For several decades now, the inhabitants have been inspired by black American cultures, which they have integrated into their own ways of being. “ He came up with the term because we live in Kumasi, but we live like Americans. “ The word arrived 4 years ago, with the rapper Blaq Foreigner,” Rabby tells me. On the phone with Rabby Jones, co-founder of Life Living Records (one of the most influential labels in the Kumasi drill scene), two comments stand out: “ Kumerica is a lifestyle,” and “ it’s not a hype.” The term actually encompasses the many codes of the Kumasi streets lifestyle. In reality, the drill is only the tip of the Kumerica iceberg. A big part of Kumasi’s youth feels represented by the term, and as far as in Accra, the Kumericans are gaining attention. Strangely enough, all these drillers claim to be under the same umbrella: Kumerica, a word born from the fusion between Kumasi and America, whose lifestyle is admired by the local artists. In Ghana, the phenomenon made its way through Kwaku DMC, Jay Bahd, O’Kenneth, Reggie, Yaw Tog, City Boy and many others. “Welcome To The Party”, “Dior”, and the New York rapper with the darkest voice of the game popularised the genre worldwide. Among the rappers who popularized it (mainly Chief Keef), many had a double life between their gangs and their music, in which they described their macabre acts with precision: drug dealing, assault, murder… This harsh style quickly gained popularity in the impoverished neighbourhoods of Great Britain, before being reappropriated by the United States around 2018, notably through the (deceased) Pop Smoke. Born in the 2010’s on the South Side of Chicago, a powerful successor to trap music, this rap subgenre tended to present a purer and rawer face than that of mainstream hip-hop. In September 2020, a bunch of rappers suddenly gained huge attention on Twitter and Instagram with tracks like “Sore” and “Akatafoc.” No sweet lyrics, no choreography, no Afrobeats: this was drill music. ![]() If Ghana has been known for decades for its warm melodies and playful rhythms, one confinement period was enough for many things to change. Chicago-London-Kumasi, international street music ![]()
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