Multiple Grammy Nominated Ghanaian musician Rocky Dawuni has urged musicians to pick inspiration from their pacesetters to shape their career better just as he did.
According to him, highlife legends like Nana Kwame Ampadu and Apofo Agyei have a great influence on his craft.
“When I began I was inspired by people like Nana Ampadu, and Ampofo Agyei, all of these people inspired me before Jamaican music came. So when you listen to me critically, it is a fusion of all these styles”, he said.
The singer also attributed the inability of most musicians in Ghana to break through the international market to a lack of originality.
Rocky Dawuni said the country is filled with musicians who are too lazy to be original and are comfortable copying the works of other artists to create theirs.
“When doing music, you don’t have to do it like someone else or copy what somebody is doing”, Rocky Dawuni said adding that, ‘musicians who do that can’t make it international’
He tipped that his Grammy nominations have been consistent because he stayed original to his craft and never diluted it with copied work and until some Ghanaians learn that trick, they will remain local champions.
“My style is not pure reggae music, it is called afro root. It is a style I mix with Highlife, Afrobeat, and different mixed together. So if you are doing music, you don’t have to do it as someone else or copy what somebody is doing. When you do that, you won’t make it”, he explained.
So what I’m saying is that you can’t copy somebody’s style and make it yours. Of course, you can’t do it better than the originator of the style so you have to create your own and that is what will make people know that you also have something unique to offer”, he added
Rocky Dawumi is one of the eight Africans nominated for the (65th) 2023 Grammys alongside; Burnaboy, Tems, Eddykenz, Angelique Kidjo, Zakes Bantwini, Wouter Kellerman and Nomcebo Zikodi. Dawumi was nominated for Best Global Music Performance award.
Source: Pulse Ghana