Up-Close with Stonebwoy; Ghana’s dancehall genius

Dancehall icon Stonebwoy is a celebrated personality when it comes to good music in Ghana.

His stage performances are always breathtaking and worth writing home about. The award-winning musician has just returned from a tour of Europe and is working on his second album, ‘Necessary Evil’.

Stonebwoy spoke exclusively to NEWS-ONE about his plans to go international and his style of music.

What were you doing In Italy?

We did a quick Europe trip, but you can still call it a tour because we were running from one end to the other. I touched down in Portugal, which is Lisbon, and I went on to Madrid, Germany, Austria and Italy and came back to Ghana. I was able to hold two successful shows in Austria and Italy. I did a couple of recordings and meetings and link ups in Germany but only passed through Portugal and Spain for normal movements.

Was the trip meant to reach out to your fans outside Ghana or to build links internationally?

Exactly! I did both. Reaching out to my fans outside the country and building links to go international because I believe the type of music that I do is not a stagnant one. It is versatile and unique and can go international and would be accepted. So I have to take it upon myself and my team to make the move.

What was the feedback?

It is working; very positive. The two shows that we (my team and I) did were successful. They were put together in clubs. They were club shows, but it worked. Trust me, it worked. Simple! I can’t explain that further.

If God blesses this dream, what exactly do you want to see in the next few years?

I would not be going out there by myself when I reach the international scene. I believe I do a very unique type of music and my style is versatile and deserves to go international if and only if I work hard enough. When Stonebwoy gets up there, it would not be all about me. I would be raising the flag of Ghana high and it would not be a selfish movement. I would be representing the nation and artistes as a whole. You get what I am trying to say?

Are we about to have another Lucky Dube to make Africa proud?

That would be an interesting achievement. I am trying to mention someone on that level from Africa. I mean a reggae dancehall artiste from Africa who has become a hit on the international scene. Kudos to Lucky Dube; he did reggae music and had the riding on his rhythm.

Black Prophet has done well, particularly for a being a Ghanaian artiste who has reached that level. There are very few names from Ghana who have gone that far. Though there are a lot of Ghanaians out there working behind the scenes to raise the name of international artistes. You would be surprised by the number of Ghanaians working behind the scenes out there. This is the time I believe we should have dreams of putting some of us out there to rub shoulders with the world’s best.

Is the dream achievable?

Yeah man. Very achievable. We are doing very well in the reggae and dancehall music and this is a genre accepted internationally. My type of dancehall is Jamaican but with a unique African flavour to make it authentic. The unique combination or blend is perfect to sell internationally and not only in Ghana.

What are you doing currently?

I just released one called ‘More Gyal’ featuring DXD, a brother artiste, who is very excellent. I saw him as a perfect artiste to put on that song. The song would make waves because it is mad. Immediately, I dropped from Australia, I had to drop something for my fans.

What is this song about?

‘More Gyal’ is Jamaican and it means more girls. It is just a party song for the girls and the boys as well. It admires the beauty of African girls basically and talks about them. That’s it.

Is that what you are pushing now?

Yeah, that is what I am pushing now. Truth is you have to watch before dropping a song. Sometimes, you don’t have to join the ‘bandwagon’; you have to check. The last one I dropped was a conscious song. But I am a versatile artiste with a versatile fan base so I have to drop something different for the dance floor and that is why I dropped‘More Gyal’.

Are they part of an upcoming album?

Perfect. They are singles which would form part of my upcoming album called ‘Necessary Evil’. It should be dropping by the end of the year if things go perfect. If things do not go as planned, there is no need to rush. It is an album and must be done well according to plan so we may push for early next year.

Would this be your second album?

Yes. I already have one professional album out there and several hit singles and mixtapes. ‘Necessary Evil’ would be my second professional album. But the EP of ‘Necessary Evil’ is already in iTunes, Amazon, ReverbNation for downloads.

Your old songs seem to be doing well than the new songs. Can you compare ‘Ghetto Love’ with ‘Can’t Cool’.

These are two different songs. That is how versatile I am. My love songs are for one set on target audience and my conscious songs are also different. ‘Ghetto Love’ with Obrafour was a love song, ‘Cant Cool’ is a reggae song, and it is very big with reggae lovers, trust me.

‘Pull Up’ is pure dancehall and fits another audience.

So when I am on stage performing, I can drop 15 different songs and still satisfy my audience. I don’t want to be a boring or one-way artiste. I use my versatility to satisfy my fans. My old songs don’t seem to fade. It is good music and you just have to make sure the foundation is right and the content and concept is right.