Ghanaian DJ and music producer DJ Slim has expressed concern over what he describes as a lack of vision in Ghana’s creative industry.
Speaking in an interview on 3Music on November 10, 2025, DJ Slim stated that many artists in the country struggle to establish a unique musical identity, often imitating foreign sounds instead of building on Ghana’s rich musical heritage.
“What we lack in our creative space is vision. You will see five or ten artists in Ghana who sing like a modern-day Nana Ampedu, and when you ask them, they’ll tell you they do afro-fusion or highlife. There’s no proper identity because we can’t force them to create something that truly represents us,” he said.
He added that Ghana’s music scene often borrows heavily from other cultures rather than developing a distinct sound.
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“We are tapping into other people’s sounds, and it’s impossible to stand out that way,” he said.
DJ Slim noted that Ghana currently boasts what he referred to as the “4S and 1B”: Stonebwoy, Shatta Wale, Samini, Sarkodie, and Black Sherif, as leading figures in the music scene.
However, he pointed out that despite their success, most of these artists do not represent the highlife genre, which he believes is key to Ghana’s musical identity.
“Now we have our 4S and 1B; Stonebwoy, Shatta Wale, Samini, Sarkodie, and Black Sherif. Do you know the dangerous part of it? All these artists don’t do highlife, and I can say what Black Sherif is doing is proper highlife, but he will not agree to that,” he shared.
DJ Slim added, “So imagine if you’re supposed to have four or five like Sherif, all pushing the highlife agenda. That’s the only way we can open the door. Otherwise, we’ll always play second fiddle in the afrobeat journey.”
FG/MA
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