If you know me well enough, you may already know this.. but.. i LOVE a good ratchet anthem. What’s a ratchet anthem, you ask? A song, typically hip hop, with simple repetitive chorus, that: 1. You can twerk to with relative ease. 2. Features Lil Wayne, Wacka Flacka, Chief Keef, 2 Chainz,Future  etc 3. Has syncopated claps in the beat ( aka ratchet claps) 4. References a “bad bitch” more than twice. 5. Makes you go “huh?” because you barely understand what they’re saying. Examples of ratchet classics can be found here, here and here. Get the general idea? No? Ok..  here’s a cheat code. Ask yourself  “Does Juicy J have any association with the song im listening to?” If the answer is ‘yes’, then congratulations, you have just enjoyed a ratch anthem. Juicy J is the litmus test of ratchet, and i love him dearly for it. ( And lest we forget, the man has an Oscar, so you will respect the artistry) Ratchet jams have proven very useful for getting me through particularly bad accra traffic when trotro drivers are being extra obnoxious. I turn up the music, and get HYPE. So when i heard the songs below, my heart swelled with joy and pride. Finally, it was no longer necessary to go all the way to Atlanta, or the hoods of Dade County to get my sweet, sweet fix.  I can now jam in Accra to homegrown, sun-kissed, organic  artisan ratchet.

Wonkobo- Treasure

Ok.. so do you understand me now? How delicious is that song.?..”My Accra boys get money ohh, Tema boys get money ohh”  Yaaassss! Shout outs to Treasure. (If i remember correctly, his cousin sent me a mixtape of his some years ago, and it was solid) I feel extra connected to this track because my friend Gafacci produced this beat, and killed it.  ( You may not know the name, but you certainly know his work; Dee Money – Kpo Kpo Body, D-Black- My kind of Girl, Sarkodie- Sharifa and my fav azonto track  Chase-Fire) Not only that, but Sony Addo directed the video.( and the one for Efya- Getaway) I sat beside Sony for 2 or of my 3 years in high school, and we had the time of our lives.. pretty much doing everything BUT pay attention in class. They eventually separated us..lol. What im sayin is.. this is perfection… all i need is for someone to tell me what Wonkobo means. lol

Shots on Shots- Ice Prince feat Sarkodie

You should see my stank face right now.. im getting my LIFE! Ghana/Naija collaborative ratch? Yes, yes and yes. It follows the blueprint to a tee… right from the beginning there  a “bad bitch” reference, then the claps come in… and then the rapping. Btw, when did Sarkodie start doing yo yo abrofo(english)  raps? Eish… 🙂 Another crazy beat from Chopstix. I swear everything he touches is pure gold. Ice Prince- Aboki, Endia-48,  Dash Me Di Ting, Judah and my favourite song of the last 6 months SOS by Yung L. Infact, the collective to which he belongs, Grip Music, all put out fantastic stuff. Plus he foine too, ahem. 🙂 And there you have it. Afrobeat Mix 2 Short disclaimer: Like the previous ‘mix’, all the tracks are ‘borrowed’ from the innanet, and are of varying (mostly terrible) quality. And i didnt do any actual mixing either, lol. just lumped them all together in random order.
That said.. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/aogw13r9kpqqm1s/9suenkg3Yd