“I no be deep saf, just these bums are dumb Musical infants still sucking their thumbs” -M.anifest
Rap is a form of music that relies heavily on vocal delivery that employs rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street language (common terminologies from the street and hood). It being the primary component of hip-hop has content, flow, and delivery as its own components.
Content refers to the message the song carries, the subject the song tackles, it is simply what is being said in the song. Some of the common kinds of rap content are Braggadocio, Battle Rap, Conceptual Rap, Story rap, Abstract Rap and Humorous Rap.
The flow, on the other hand, refers to the rhyme or rhythm that carries or drives the message. And the delivery also is the tone and cadence. It provides the words used Melody and emphasizes on how the lines settle or finalize with the rhythm, the timing.
It can be acknowledged from this that rap capitalizes on message. All these aforementioned components of rap revolve around the message. That is, what you say and how you say it on a beat. It is what matters. Rappers are noted mainly for the message they serve on a rhythm.
Ever since rap emerged into the music scene as a form of music and the primary component of hip-hop music, it has gained major global dominance with much impact on many souls especially the youth. It has given birth to great performers like, Tupac Shakur (2 pac), The Notorious B.I.G, Lauryn Hill, Andre 3000, Nas, Rakim, Jay Z, KRS one, Talib Kweli and many others who have influenced and inspired the society and other rappers with their message and lifestyle. Ghana is no foreign place of this dominance.
We have had our own share of great rap personalities like Reggie Rockstone, Obrafuor, Lord Kenya, Okomfour Kwadee, Okyeame Kwame, Abrewa Nana and many others in the ’90’s who shaped the society and inspired many others through the influence of their music, the messages in their raps. In every process of the time change is the only constant factor, old gives rise to new and generation passes on to the next. We are now
experiencing new players in the game as the old ones retire and enjoy the view in their legendary status. Among these new players like Sarkodie, Omar Sterling, Edem, E.L, Flowking Stone, Akan, Ko-Jo Cue, Eno Barony, Strongman, Obibini, Medikal, Teephlow, and many others is M.anifest, a prolific rapper who has positioned himself distinctively as the rap artiste who puts art first in every product(music) of his.
He has risen to become the Beacon Hill for quality rap music in this country. Where others resort to accolades and fame to prove their worth, he extends his works as his resume. This assertion comes from a comprehensive review of his discography as compared to his peers and explicit confessions from his peers.
M.anifest serves quality messages with an awe-stricken lyrical dexterity on authentic African rythm. He has been in the game for a little over a decade now and has provided 5 remarkable albums (Manifestation, The Birds and the beat, Immigrant Chronicles, Apae; The price of free Ep, and Nowhere Cool), mixtapes and also served a sumptuous meal, an Ep, titled “The Gamble” last year, which touches on the risk we take in life, especially love.
He caused a stir in the rap scene and inspired most Ghanaians to pay attention to rap content in his ”godmc” track with lines like, ”we’re some intelligent niggas that cannot dumb it down”, “even my nonfa back then had sensed in it, the difference between me and them? you’re sensing it”. He claimed the godmc (lyrical God) title for himself in 2016 in his lyrical feud (beef) with the country’s biggest rapper Sarkodie, which he won too. The song got awarded as the “best hip-hop song of the year” in the VGMA Awards, 2017. It still hits hard.
There have been many opinions over his rap prowess and position in the country’s rap music ever since the 2016 rap court case.
Obrafuor, who is generally considered as the best rapper in Ghana’s history with the best rap album “Pae Mu Ka” referred to M.anifest as his English version in an interview with Joy News’ MzGee.
He said, There is another rapper that to be honest with you I think he’s been underrated for so long but God being so good and the truth will always stand, he is getting the recognition now,”
“M.anifest is too deep. I listen to myself sometimes – I hardly do though – but I think we bore semblance. He is deep with the queen’s language, and that is what makes him unique,” the ‘Pae Mu Ka’ rapper added.
When JoyNews’ MzGee asked if he saw M.anifest as the English version of him, the veteran rapper retorted, “yes, exactly”, pointing out to the lyrical genius M.anifest is.
Where rappers turn to making rap songs with average content for commercial purposes and to make money, he stays true to his art and never falter or conform to such mediocrity. ”And I came here to murder mediocrity”, he said in one of his songs, “Debi Debi”.
Omar Sterling, a veteran rapper in the country recently complimented M.anifest for his genuinety in the rap game in paying utter attention to his lyrics and serving listeners with quality rap in his “Bangers and Reload” track.
“Shout to M doh doh doh ti doh my man Manifest
Ghana wanna hear us on a song me ne wo Manifest
I like how you rap
You don’t put money first
You sick run a test, old school or done it best” h e said.
Medikal, also known as MDK, attested in his recent freestyle “El Chapo” that M.anifest serves quality rap, he is the symbol for quality rap in this country.
“I fit rap like M.anifest but I for make money first” -Medikal
In an era where rap is losing its image as rappers are rapping about rapping (how good they are), the too much money, cars and buildings they have, the number of women they sleep with and many other things that don’t contribute to building up a better society in this country, M.anifest has emerged with quality rap to redeem the image of rap music and give it the prestige it deserves.
M.ANIFEST which is the acronym for Music. Always Needing Illumination For Every Soul Today, has been able to draw the line between fake and real and continues to leave trails of greatness for others to follow.
”Ghana Rap Moses” indeed.
A Shadrack Kwarteng Submission, February 2020.
