Ghanaians will soon fight South Africans over ownership of ‘Amapiano’ – Appietus

Multiple award-winning Ghanaian music producer and sound engineer, Appiah Dankwah, professionally known as Appietus has asserted that Ghanaians are on the verge of engaging in a dispute with South Africans regarding the ownership of ‘Amapiano’.

Amapiano, a genre of house music with roots in South Africa since 2010, incorporates elements of jazz and deep house and has been embraced by some Ghanaian musicians.

During an appearance as a special guest on The Chat show hosted by Ekow Koomson on Channel One TV, the renowned music producer expressed his belief that Ghanaians are too focused on imitating music from other countries instead of cultivating their own unique identity.

Appietus, during the conversation, highlighted that Ghana is traditionally known for Highlife music, but has seemingly abandoned it. He lamented the lack of a distinct Ghanaian musical identity, pointing out that Ghanaians are already competing with Jamaicans in Dancehall and Reggae, as well as with Nigerians in Afrobeat.

“ Ghana is noted for  Highlife but have abandoned it .. we don’t have Identity… We are wrestling Jamaicans over Dancehall and Reggae, we are wrestling Nigerians over Afrobeat … Where is our identity?

The celebrated producer further emphasized the need for Ghanaians to establish their own musical identity. He strongly asserted that Ghanaians will soon be embroiled in a conflict with South Africans over the ownership of Amapiano, as they have a tendency to claim ownership of music styles created by others due to the absence of a unique musical identity.

”Ghanaians will soon fight with South Africans over Amapiano… Yes, soon Ghanaians will start claiming ownership of Amapiano from South Africans… We have nothing so we keep fighting over what others have coined,” he opined.

Appietus, renowned for producing over 200 hit songs, rose to fame with his signature phrase “Appietus in the mix”, derived from “Appiahs’ Tools”.