With azonto taking over the world, DJ Good Blood took a trip down to Ghana, and is currently in the capital, Accra, conducting some field research on the subject.
Azonto is basically a dance style which has developed into something like a movement after certain stars of hiplife music (Sarkodie, Guru, Stay Jay and others) popularized the term in their songs. Musically, it's also possible to talk about 'azonto beats', the type of hard-hitting, faster, and at best very inventive and fresh-sounding beats, with producers like Ball J and Nshona leading the way.
One example of azonto's mainstream popularity in Ghana is the new campaign of the condom brand Fiesta. Their tv and radio ads use 'Azonto Fiesta', a Sarkodie hit produced by Appietus:
Meanwhile, Akwaaba Music, a record label committed to make azonto available for the world outside of Ghana also, just released an exclusive remix of 'Azonto Fiesta' featuring Raquel and Kesse. Listen here.
One interesting question is whether the rise of azonto will eventually make way for afro house in Ghana. Unlike countries like South Africa and Angola, house hasn't played a big role in urban Ghanaian music so far. But I was told things might change, as the azonto thing is helping people get into the house vibe. And crossing over to house just might be a key to increased popularity of Ghanaian music worldwide.
DJ Good Blood blogs also on tumblr: http://djgoodblood.tumblr.com/
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