SPEAKER DEBUTS HIPLIFE DOCUMENTARY TO WIDE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ACCRA 000644

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO SCUL OIIP OEXC PGOV GH
SUBJECT: SPEAKER DEBUTS HIPLIFE DOCUMENTARY TO WIDE
GHANAIAN AUDIENCE



1. Summary. From February 17-26, 2005, post
sponsored a series of film screenings across Ghana
of a PAS-funded documentary that described links
between Ghanaian hiplife artists and the United
States. The film showings were part of post's
African American History Month celebrations. Post
used I-Bucks to bring out the documentary filmmaker,
a former Fulbright researcher in Ghana, Dr. Jesse
Shipley, who introduced his film to enthusiastic
audiences at two state-run universities, the British
Council and the residence of Ambassador Mary C.
Yates in Accra. The film screenings were enhanced
by the presence of local hiplife artists, who
performed and/or answered questions about their
music and told of the impact U.S. rap music had had
on them. End Summary.


2. The documentary was first shown at the University
for Development Studies-Nyampala campus, in the
predominantly-Muslim Northern Region, near Tamale.
Nearly 200 students showed up and stayed to watch
the one-hour film despite a series of technical
problems that threatened to disrupt the event.









Some members of the audience jumped from their
chairs and danced when the film was followed by a
live performance by Big Adams, a Ghanaian hiplife
artist, who sang and strutted across a makeshift
stage.


3. Dr. Shipley's film, entitled "Living the
Hiplife: Reggie Rockstone and Ghanaian Popular
Culture", uses interviews with younger hiplife
musicians, disc jockeys and record producers to show
how the well-known singer, Reggie Rockstone, became
known as the "godfather" of hiplife music. One
record producer in the film is Rab Bakari, who grew
up in New York and who helped Reggie Rockstone
develop his unique music style. In the film, Mr.
Bakari said that when he first met the musician and
his group in 1994, as he put it, "I thought I was
listening to rappers from Brooklyn." He worked with
Reggie to produce an album, which featured mostly
songs in English. However, before its release,
Reggie's father urged his son to tailor the album
more toward an African audience, so Reggie added two
songs in Akan-Twi, and the album took off, creating
hiplife, Ghanaian style. In the film, Mr. Rockstone
said he believes his music became popular in the mid-
1990s with Ghanaian audiences because, "I sounded
and dressed like a kid they'd seen in a N.Y. video,
but then I'd sing in (Akan) Twi."


4. Reggie Rockstone, who still performs, but also
produces records for younger artists, attended both
the screening at the British Council for an audience
of 80 students, music buffs and cultural figures and
for guests at the Ambassador's residence. Dr.
Shipley and the artist explained that hiplife music
is a fusion of Ghanaian languages and U.S. hip-hop
music. The Ambassador was enthusiastic about the
film and its portrayal of this segment of the youth
population that she has recommended it to the
President and shared a copy with the Foreign
Minister.









5. Following the successful showing at the British
Council, Dr. Shipley, CAO and Cultural Affairs
Specialist, travelled to Kumasi, Ghana's second
largest city, for a screening at the Kwame Nkrumah
University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
Despite suffering a severe bout of malaria on the
eve of his talk at KNUST, (he was hospitalized for
12 hours),Dr. Shipley went ahead the next day with
his talk before an audience of 700 KNUST students
and faculty. Again, post sponsored a performance
after the film by a nationally-known singer, Obuor,
who is Kumasi-born. Several students were so taken
by the performance that they ascended the stage to
dance alongside the singer. Several members of the
audience, including professors, said they were
thrilled because they had never seen Obuor in
person, only on television.


6. Results of the film screenings, talks by Dr.
Shipley, live performances and interaction with the
hiplife artists were outstanding, with the programs
reaching hundreds of university and high school
students and promoting greater mutual understanding.
Post received a message from Dr. Shipley saying the
trip was amazing, and had given him opportunities he
had never had before.


7. Post greatly appreciates the support of IIP and
ECA for their assistance in arranging this speaker
program featuring Dr. Shipley, and looks forward to
building upon this effort to engage younger
audiences for PAS programs.

YATES