E.L SAYS HE IS THE BEST RAPPER IN AFRICA

Ghanaian HipHop artist E.L says he is the best in Africa | Photo courtesy of the artist

Ghanaian hip hop artist E.L has crowned himself as the best rapper on the continent with the release of The B.A.R. Mixtape two days ago. That’s a ballsy proclamation. But it’s also the kind of confidence African music needs at this moment. A time where music makers across the continent are trending more and more on global, and particularly western, radars.

MIX MASTA AMBOLLEY: THE RAP GOD

by Sionne Neely

*This is an excerpt from a fuller article originally printed in Jive magazine, Accra [June 2008]. Double-click on photos to enlarge.

GYEDU-BLAY AMBOLLEY’s Sekunde Album Launch, @AFAccra [June 21 2012]

He sounded like a Black Panther on the phone. Voice all deep and guttural like he had been cussing out “the Man” all day. I imagined him with a black beret cocked to the side and a matching leather jacket, right fist raised in the air, his left fingers coiled tightly around a megaphone.