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“My Vibration Is Well Synced To Music Of Black Origin” – Stonebwoy
Photo: Ebenezer Ofori Donkor (Kay Studios) for Burniton Music Group
SOURCE: grammy.com
“My vibration is well synced to music of Black origin,” the Afro-dancehall artist says of his new album, ‘UP & RUNNIN6.’ “We are the custodians and we have to continue to bridge the gap by spreading the vibes.”
Those perusing the history of Africa’s entanglement with Jamaican sound can anticipate frequent mention of Stonebwoy’s name. Throughout his career, the Ghanaian Afro-dancehall artist has connected sonic and cultural dots on a scale scarcely rivaled in Ghana’s music history.
Beginning with the release of his vibrant 2012 debut album Grade 1, Stonebwoy has meshed dancehall, reggae, Afropop, and hiplife with ease. Five studio albums, multiple collaborations and a growing number of accolades later, Stonebwoy is back with UP & RUNNIN6. Out Oct. 24, the album aims to turn back time, bringing audiences back to the “basics” of authentic Ghanaian and African sound.
“The nature and the mood of the album is going to give people authentic sounds from all the styles that I represent,” the artist tells GRAMMY.com. “I just got drawn to selecting songs that give me that authentic feeling, and I realized that other people would love it too.”
Stonebwoy’s authenticity and lasting dedication to amplifying Africa through music has resonated with a global audience, as well as a number of major acts. His unmatched vitality has led to collaborations with fellow Afro-dancehall mainstays such as General Pype, Cynthia Morgan, and Patoranking, as well as Jamaican legends Beenie Man, Shaggy, and Sizzla. The release of Anloga Junction in 2020 marked a critical shift in Stonebwoy’s career, projecting his story and signature sound to the world (while tying in international features such as Keri Hilson, Nasty C, Alicaì Harley, and Diamond Platnumz and Morgan Heritage). By 2023’s The 5th Dimension, Stonebwoy was moving beyond his archetypal Afro-dancehall approach in favor of Afropop, amapiano, and Afro-R&B.
After much sonic exploration, UP & RUNNIN6 is a welcome return to roots that still feels as timely as ever. The album’s early singles reveal its vast range: “Pray for Me” is a reflective number featuring Wycelf Jean, while the buoyant “JEJEREJE” takes listeners to new heights.
GRAMMY.com spoke with Stonebwoy about connecting Africa and the Caribbean through music, Ghana’s #StopGalamseyNow protests, and the road to UP & RUNNIN6.This interview has been edited for clarity.
Congrats on “JEJEREJE”! It’s been very well received both in Ghana and abroad. What tone did you want the track to set before the album officially drops?
I think the feeling has been that Ghanaians would love to hear some authentic Ghanaian style coupled up with today’s sound. I realized that the people needed some nostalgic feeling, an authentic feeling. And we can use “JEJEREJE” as a very typical example of “African sound.” This is what the world wants to listen to right now, especially Africans globally.
Tell us more about how you want to chanel authenticity through UP & RUNNIN6.
To cut a very long story short, this whole album is actually supposed to complement The 5th Dimension, which was more present and futuristic. UP & RUNNIN6 is also very present, but it taps into the original African sounds that a lot of people have been missing. I decided to tap into that energy to bring back some originality and remind us of the times before.
You’ve been in the game for over a decade now, and you’ve worked with a myriad of artists across five projects and countless singles. What do you want to convey with UP & RUNNIN6 that you feel you haven’t yet shared with your audience?
I see life as a continuous process. From [my debut album in] 2012, there’s definitely going to be a build-up, so UP & RUNNIN6 is [a combination of] everything up till today. I’m still running with it. But I am making sure that I am creating music with a lot more reasoning in terms of satisfaction, and with an intense sankofa [a Twi word and phrase that connotes learning from the past to inform the future] kind of mentality.
For me, my vibration is well synced to music of Black origin. Therefore, I have the liberty to latch on to whatever vibration that is inspiring the world and inspiring me too. I merge both to stay true to my roots. That is what UP & RUNNIN6 is about for me.
Let’s talk about the feature selection on this album, because it seems very particular. In addition to the big names like Wyclef, Spice, and Duncan Mighty, you heavily represent rising talents from across the Caribbean and Africa such as Kaylan Arnold, Blvck H3ro, and Larruso. Were you intentional about platforming emerging voices on this project?
I’m just paying attention to an inner quest of moving in the UP & RUNNIN6 direction, without necessarily looking at the technicalities. I am moving with a vibrational understanding, but I’m just realizing now what meaning I’m making on a technical level.
I have two songs that have more than two features: “Geography” and “Overlord.” These are the two songs that speak to my Caribbean Afro dance style, and they also open a platform for other people to get up and run.
I’m happy because Blvck H3ro just hit me up recently and said, “Yo bro, thanks for putting me on the album.” I’m like, “Why not?” Kaylan is on the album too, and you know Chi Chi Ching has also been around for some time. But the variety and the uniqueness that they all carry is incredible.
A consistent thread throughout your project — and your entire career — has been your dedication to connecting Ghana and Africa with Jamaica and the Caribbean. How do you think African artists can use their platforms and their music to foster greater interconnectivity with the diaspora?
I think it’s just by continuing what we’ve been doing already. I think Africa has always been very receptive of its people from the diaspora. I have been very intentional about it ever since I [learned] that there are other Black people spread across [the globe]. And as soon as I realized that they all must have a link, or must have come from Africa, I had a lot of interest in wanting to capture that wide range in my creativity.
That was a turning point for me, where I realized that I cannot be doing music while only considering Ghana or people on the African continent. I must capture the globe. My music is not only for Africans at home, but also for Africans abroad and in the diaspora. This has been my inspiration from the get-go. That’s why I have always pushed the style that I do.
I’m grateful that I am well-accepted in the Jamaican and Caribbean society in terms of my representation of Black people globally. I think over the years, I’ve been able to develop my craft so that it appeals to the diaspora. That’s one of the ways that I will continue to — and other artists can continue to — bridge the gap. We are the custodians and we have to continue to bridge the gap by spreading the vibes.
A significant part of your work also includes uplifting Africa and advocating for its liberation through music. As you’re well aware, there were recently protests in Ghana against galamsey, or illegal gold mining, a phenomenon which is progressively contaminating the country’s bodies of water. This is an issue you’ve spoken out against in the past with your 2021 single “Greedy Men.” What is the role of the artist in advocating for the liberation of their fellow citizens?
Whatever happens in Ghana or Nigeria or Kenya or South Africa — so long as it’s happening on the continent of Africa — Africans can relate. And so long as something is happening on the continent, then the world can relate.
Illegal mining is not the only big headache that is hitting Ghana, you know. And I believe that there are surely forms of illegal mining of different natural mineral resources across Africa. For instance, Congo has a lot going on in that regard as well, where foreign companies are killing people while they dig for minerals.
There is a tendency to underrate Ghana’s contributions to contemporary African music as we tend to focus on the music scenes that are most validated by the West. But what are some key elements we’re missing about Ghana’s role in the spread of African music and the development of its larger soundscape?
Ghana cannot be stripped of its contributions in the overall establishment of African sound and its globalization. Ghana can never be written off. Ghana will forever remain that very important contributor to the explosion, globalization, and the creation of African sound.
But Ghana has the responsibility of amplifying its own contributions. Because if you do not amplify your own contributions, you can’t expect Nigeria to amplify Ghana’s contributions as much as they amplify their own contributions. Who is actually going to invest their resources — be it human, be it capital — to amplify somebody else’s contributions? The only responsibility we owe each other is just a level of honesty.
A very critical example is today’s amapiano in Nigeria. Someone who doesn’t know wouldn’t be able to speak to the fact that it is amapiano that influenced the addition of certain elements in today’s Afrobeats.
That’s why I’m proud to go anywhere and mention Ghana. And to read and study and know that E.T. Mensah is the founding father of highlife music, these are the legendary bands, this is where they went to, and this is how big they were. The contributions that our forefathers and predecessors made are left in books to be read and in history journals to be dug out. Or else, someone will just say what they think, and that will become what we know today.
If you see African music as a building, don’t forget that the foundation must be strong for it to get to where it is today. In as much as the roofing can be seen clearly, you cannot easily see the foundation that is in the soil. So it is up to us to be honest enough. The guy that’s on the roof should say, “That’s my brother down there that’s holding me up right now.” We just have to be selfless enough and honest enough. I don’t think there’s too much wahala [trouble] in that regard.
Our differences should be the advantages that we have, rather than them becoming the weaknesses that we use against each other. So Ghana plays some of the most significant moments that have changed the landscape forever. That might not be sitting on top as the roof to be seen, but it is sitting right in the soil as a foundation to remain forever.
You’ve recently signed a new deal with Warner’s ADA Worldwide. What are your hopes for the new partnership?
My target for this partnership is to continue to send my music across the globe the right way, through the right channels.
One of the things that we lack in our systems in Africa is monetization, and being able to gather all the necessary valuables that come with music as a commercial commodity. I think it’s important to partner with certain institutions that are very well established globally to be able to see the end results of our music. And also, to propel our artistry to the next level.
It goes without saying you’re incredibly accomplished. Over the past decade, you’ve indelibly shaped Ghanaian and African music. How would you summarize the legacy that you’ve left, and what do you look towards for the future?
While you are running the race, you know that you have to hit the end mark, but it is only after you hit it that you can sit back and analyze how your race went. Using that as a scenario, I trust that there’s more mileage for me to hit. But so far, so great. There’s a lot that has gone on, that is going on, and I’m grateful for that.
It just gives me energy to keep going because I do not feel that I have finished. There are things that can still be done, in terms of shows, still taking over, still pushing the numbers.
For the future, I see myself having an established system that can continue to harness and develop more musicians, equipping them with access that they didn’t have before. The best example I can use is Jay-Z — who’s an artist and an entrepreneur and is still very active.
We have to build back a better system in order to continue to produce musicians. This is what I see on a large scale when it comes to the music aspect of my life.