Trigmatic Urges Ghanaian Artistes to Embrace Local Languages in Music

Ghanaian rapper and songwriter Enoch Nana Yaw Oduro-Agyei, popularly known as Trigmatic, has urged fellow musicians to embrace and uphold their cultural heritage by recording more songs in local languages.

According to him, the Ghanaian music industry has lost some of its originality, with many artists neglecting their cultural roots.

Speaking on The Day Show on Sunday, September 22, 2024, the ‘Meni Maye’ hitmaker shared his views on the importance of vernacular music, stating, ”I think we need to start being proud of who we are as a people. We need to encourage a lot of people to record in vernacular (local languages). There is nothing wrong and bad about it. I think it is something we need to encourage.”

Sharing his experience in South Africa, Trig detailed how South African artists often record in their local languages without compromising success. “They are very traditional. They don’t take away their originality, and it is something that I learnt,” he added.

He also disagreed with the belief that recording in local languages limits global recognition, stressing that it is the responsibility of the artist’s publishers to ensure global reach. “I disagree with that. It doesn’t necessarily take the artist to go far. It takes his publishers and distributors to do that job,” he said.

Trigmatic, who entered the music scene in 2010 with his album Permanent Stains, is known for recording many of his songs in the Ga language. His hit singles include ‘My Life,’ ‘My Jolly,’ and ‘Mefiri Ghana.’