Hours after releasing his latest album, “New Road and Guava Trees“, the celebrated Ghanaian artist was on Accra-based radio station Hitz FM this morning. In an interview with DJ Slim, he opened up about several things that went into putting together his album, his music, career, and industry.
As part of their discussion, he responded to a question about the growth and changes in Ghana’s music industry he has witnessed over the country’s 68 years.
He first chronicled the highs of our music, describing Ghana’s music space as innovative.
Ghana music in different generations has had a lot of creativity and innovative things happening. We never carry past when it comes to being innovative
M.anifest
He highlighted the works of E.T Mensah, Osibisa, Ebi Taylor and the talent pool within the current landscape.
However, he didn’t shy away from addressing the challenges. He described the industry’s progress as regressive, stating, “We dey back. We haven’t reached any respectable level for the kind of place we for dey—both as a country and to honor the kind of talent that we have.”
Beyond infrastructure issues, he emphasized the need for creatives to take a more serious approach to their craft. “The infrastructure thing is a huge thing, but I’m also putting the onus on us as creatives to be a bit more serious-minded,” he noted.
M.anifest encouraged all parties involved to understand and recognize that the business aspect of the music industry needs to be taken seriously. He ended by saying that every player needs to level up to be able to effect the needed changes.
In the meantime, his latest album is currently out and streaming on all platforms.
Stream New Road and Guava Trees by M.anifest
