Ghanaian rapper, Okyeame Kwame, has urged a deeper national conversation about how traditional practices are portrayed, especially within educational spaces and the creative industries.
During an interview on Hitz FM, the rapper recounted a personal story involving his son’s classroom experience with an art teacher. The topic was body painting, but the language used struck a nerve.
“I think they were discussing body painting and what it was used for. And the art teacher said that when a priest paints himself, he is invoking evil spirits. And then my son thought back and said, No, no, no, it is not fetish. It is a traditional priest. Once you call it fetish, you have marginalised it,” he explained.
Okyeame Kwame emphasized that such mischaracterizations do more than distort facts, they strip vital cultural roles of their dignity and legitimacy.
“And how is it that the priest, the person telling people to clean their cities, advising the chief, who knows herbs, and understands the culture, and is a custodian of traditional artifacts and wisdom? How is he using bad spirits to do good things in the community? So this is what I was talking about,” he continued.
READ ALSO: LilWin ‘Clashes’ With Man Who Tried To Snatch Cash During Kejetia Market Promo
The incident, he said, highlights the need to properly integrate Ghana’s cultural context into the school system.
“I think that it is very, very important that we get to understand our tradition well. And cultural relevance and its nuances must be taught in schools so that we know who we are. Because without that, our identity is lost in this whole cosmopolitan matrix,” he added.
In a separate conversation with Graphic Showbiz, the rapper went further, calling for deliberate cultural representation in modern creative expressions, including music, digital media, film, and fashion.
According to him, chieftaincy and local customs must move beyond ceremonial appearances and become living parts of everyday life.
“Bringing chieftaincy into pop culture is crucial. If our music, visuals and storytelling can project our traditions in relatable and modern ways, we will help the next generation understand who they are,” he said.
He cautioned against allowing modern institutions and media to erode cultural heritage.
“If we continue to allow our institutions and our media to dilute or shame our cultural symbols, we risk losing our soul as a people. It’s not enough to celebrate culture on Independence Day alone. It must be an everyday reality,” he warned.
Okyeame Kwame further challenged artistes and creatives to revitalize traditional identity through innovative storytelling.
“Our culture is not outdated. It is rich, it is meaningful and it can be ‘cool’ if presented creatively. Let’s make chieftaincy ‘cool’ again,” he averred.
