I am about to spew some ‘crap’ so I need you to be a little attentive to make sense of it. Take your eyeballs off this page for a few seconds and let me engage you in a very simple non-academic exercise. Ready? Ok lets go…
Without being very critical, name your top three Ghanaian musicians of all time: your top three Ghanaian musicians of recent times: your top three Ghanaian rappers of all time and your top three Ghanaian rappers of recent times (recent times here refer to say…. the past ten years).
With no scientific basis to conjecture, I can almost certainly and without a shred of doubt opine that aside some friends and close family members; because blood is thicker than water, D-black will not feature on anyone’s list in any of the afore mentioned categories.
I first heard of D-black when he came out with a joint album with Kwaku T, after the latter returned from the Big brother Africa house as a huge fan’s favourite. Many mistook D-black for a Nigerian then, because the influx and general preference for ‘alata’ songs was at an all-time high. But before long, we realised he was one of us; brother to the then co-host of ‘rhythms’ on GTV with Chris Attoh; Pamela Blackmore.
He was a laid-back ‘dadabee’ looking guy, with mulatto looks to match; something that almost certainly made many females go gaga.
From the onset, what was clear about Mr D. was the quality or otherwise of his rap and his clear strategy in music. If you put me under duress to name my three worst Ghanaian rappers of recent times, D-black will certainly feature, though coincidentally, most of his songs will also make it to my list of best hip-life / hip pop songs in the last ten years. How ironic!
Yh, I know, but just in case you are wondering how he manages to do be such a perfect music contrast, adjust your reading glasses….
It is exactly what I call the ‘D-Black Music Strategy’. D-black, from a purely music-fan and music loving point of view, is a very very very terrible rapper. YES, I really said that, and NO, I do not and cannot rap myself. Why should it even matter whether I can or cannot rap? You do not play football, but does Asamoah Gyan ever escape your thoughts whenever he misses those glorious chances and penalties? And who said the fact that Sarkodie put out his inflation song means he could be a better president than JDM?
Anyway, leaving this diversion and continuing to justify why I think D-black is a terrible rapper, you will agree with me his timings on beats are usually off, his punch lines (or ‘tap’ lines) are always very weak and worst is when he mounts stages to perform with his usual laid back, lazy and boring sluggish performances.
I do not disagree he has one or two raps in songs that are loved, but why not? President Mahama has given brand new SUVs to some traditional leaders and Asamoah Gyan scored a penalty against Uruguay after missing the first one…. Do these negate the harm both individuals caused or are causing us?
D-black’s lines on ‘my kinda girl’ with Sarkodie and on ‘Vera’ are my personal favourites, but the whack ones are just too many to ignore.
What has kept this man afloat and still relevant in our music circles all these years though has been his ability to identify the best materials around and collaborate with them. He is about the most collaborated artiste in Ghana now and the reason must simply be, ‘if you can’t beat them, just join them.’ Name the collaborations D-black has and you will understand that he strategically rubs off the shine of the good ones and projects himself to overshadow his flaws.
Locally, he has ‘collabos’ with Sarkodie, Sherifatu Gunu, Bradez, Bisa K’dei, several with music prodigy Joey B, Castro etc. Yes …with Castro. If you still don’t get my drift with this piece, just go listen to the chart-topping ‘seihor’ collaboration and make your judgments of his contribution to that great song. The least said about his verse on ‘personal person,’ the better for the word-limit I have for this article.
As far as I can remember, D-black doesn’t have a HIT SONG that doesn’t feature another artiste. Suggest any if I am wrong.
Not to say it is bad to feature more talented colleagues, but it’s worth hinting that Ghana’s response to international Universities, studying celebrity brands like David Beckham; could be a course in one of our institutions, titled ‘Succeeding in an area you lack talent in – the case of D-black.’
@Pasinoman
THOUGHTS IN TOTS 