CheChe – Ghana’s Next Hip Hop Prodigy

By

Nii Armah Tagoe

It’s no secret that music represents different meanings for many people but one feature that cuts across divided opinions and transcends music genres is ‘Music is the art of the soul’. While many people believe music is food for the soul, the craft and skill musicians employ to make music definitely makes it one of the most artistic vocations in the world. It is for this reason that up and coming artiste, ‘Cheche’ takes so much interest and time in ‘cooking’ the most profound and soul inspiring music.

Known in real life as Derrick Kofi Oppong-Checheku, Cheche prides himself as one of the few young musicians pushing new frontiers in Ghana’s music industry. While Hip Hop is rapidly catching up with genres like Hiplife and Highlife in the country, the Akyem-Tafo born artiste believes the genre is more popular with most Ghanaians, especially the Youth. According to him, this makes the genre one of the ‘hot cakes’ in the industry.

He’s not your typical Hip Hop artiste but Cheche has got massive talent you hardly see in most Ghanaian artistes. Asked about his choice of Hip Hop as his most suitable genre, the ‘Nightmares’ hitmaker explains that, it’s the type of music that speaks the language of the soul and gets bodies rocking to tunes. “I am here to entertain people with my music and I believe hip hop gives me just the platform to do that.”

Speaking about the competitive nature of the industry, the young man sees no competition as his focus now is only on his music and not on what his contemporaries are doing. He acknowledges there’s lot of work he needs to do to become a household name in the industry and remains optimistic about his chances of making it in a very tight industry where the likes of Sarkodie, EL, Edem, M.anifest, etc, have established themselves as gods and kings.

Growing up in the serene environs of Akyem Tafo, Cheche looked up to the likes of hiplife pioneers Obrafour and Kwadee. On the international scene, Cheche reveals he has always admired hip hop sensation Tupac, Nas, Dr Dre and Swizz Beatz. According to him, these artistes have had a great influence on his music but he has his own style which is evident in his unique tunes and stagecraft.

Born October 29^th, Cheche hails from Asante Mampong, a burgeoning town just on the outskirts of Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city and the capital of the Ashanti Region.

On what his fans should expect from him, the beat maker, producer and songwriter promises to produce music that will not just be for entertainment but food for the soul.

Cheche

Facebook: chechedalyricist, Twitter:@checheafrica

Music Link – https://soundcloud.com/user-967656587

Nii Armah Tagoe

Nii Armah Tagoe is a writer and works with InstinctWave, publishers of MobileWorld Magazine and InstinctBusiness Magazine. He occasionally blogs on entertainment and other socio political issues.