THE EVOLUTION OF REGGIE ROCKSTONE

  The evolution of Reggie Rockstone

 BY:  Kofi Montana Asuman

So, I’ve been a Reggie Rockstone fan since I can remember. His artistry and craft are exact. It is easy to say that Reggie is just a rapper or an entertainer, but the truth is, he is so much more.

Young Reggie Rockstone

He’s a visionary, the original imaginative poet, a mesh of classic hip hop poetry and High life sound conjured into one. It’s easy to look at Reggie Rockstone, through his music and see his soul, the way you can see the soul of Kwame Apagya through his paintings and pictures, the mark of a true artist. 

It is exciting to know that the guy that defined an era is still making music and is still on his grind, still exploring himself, his fans, his music, and his ongoing potential.

 Furthermore, it is amazing to see him shape a new era, an era that everyone felt the heart and soul of hip life music was waning.

Play any song made by Reggie Rockstone and  everywhere you turn, you’ll hear people say; “that’s real hip life”, “true music never dies”, etc, etc. Can you blame them? No! It’s all true.

For a long time, there has not been the kind of heat and action that is mostly associated with hip life. Because of the ever dynamic and evolving nature of music, but people still bump their heads and sing along whenever a Reggie Rockstone song is played. Whenever people hear “mensesa” featuring M3nsa of FoKN Bois which I use as my ring tone, they ask if I “could please blue tooth it to them.” The reason being; Reggie Rockstone’s fans want to be connected, personally to him. Everyone knows that, simultaneously, his songs are classics and ahead of its time. Just like his father’s designs, Reggie Rockstone and his talents- are timeless!

If you think it is easy to do what he has done, think again.

 Ghana’s music scene first met Reggie Rockstone in 1997 as a young brother who had returned from the Diaspora with a dream and nothing else. He brought with him straight soul African poetry that still makes everyone in Accra remember him, nostalgically for spear heading an era which is now known as “the golden era of hip life”. 

Now, when ever any of his earliest songs are played people remember: - what they were doing when they first listened to him, where they were, who they were with, and even what they had for breakfast!

“Grand papa” created for us a life soundtrack entitled “one day”. The song features, Sena Dagadu singing the hooks and a verse from the ever stylish Jayso on his 2010 L.P.  Reggiestration. On this song he narrates from the first person’s point of view the changes he has gone through over the past few years, as he has matured, and has a family to take care of now. 

Reggie Rockstone

He is reminiscent on his life as a young man thus he says in his first verse, “beautiful times when we was we”. The hooks also describes how bad he misses the good old days and wish he could go back to them “one day, maybe we shall meet again; sit back and talk for a minute to catch up on old times”.  

  Speaking on the Reggiestration album as a whole, I haven’t heard one negative thing about it. That is, to say the very least, which is extremely rare.

On a personal level, he makes his fans feel that they can accomplish anything and still be the people they are, without fear or regret. That proves why he is able to run one of the most active clubs in Accra and still do beautiful music.

I remember what he said in keep your eyes on the roll “I do declare, this year definitely my year” and I can’t help but also declare that with this much dedication and hard work, every year will be his year.

Twitter: @KofiMontana                               Facebook: Kofi Montana Asuman III