Six years before “Rapper’s Delight” put rap on American radio, a Ghanaian musician was already talking in rhythm over a band. His name was Gyedu-Blay Ambolley.
In 1973, Ambolley recorded “Simigwa-Do” with Ghana’s Uhuru Dance Band. The song mixed highlife with funk and fast, spoken Fante lyrics. It was released two years later on Capeside Records.
Simigwa
Ambolley called his style simigwa. The word refers to a dance and a sound, and “Simigwa-Do” was a call to join it. His vocal delivery, rhythmic and conversational, sat somewhere between singing and speaking, which is why many people describe it as early rap.
Was it the first?
Claims about the “first” rap record are always argued over. Spoken rhythmic delivery existed in many traditions, from Jamaican toasting to African American radio DJs and poets. But “Simigwa-Do” is widely cited as one of the earliest recordings to put rap-like vocals over a band groove, and it predates the famous American hip-hop records by several years.
Highlife roots
Ambolley came from Sekondi-Takoradi in Ghana’s Western Region, a city with a strong highlife tradition. He played in several bands before making his name and was influenced by both local highlife and American soul and funk, which were popular in Ghana in the late 1960s and 1970s.
Those influences meet in “Simigwa-Do”: highlife guitar and horns alongside funk bass and a loose, spoken vocal.
The godfather of hiplife
In the 1990s, Reggie Rockstone and others created hiplife, mixing hip-hop with highlife and rapping in Twi. Many writers and musicians see Ambolley as a forerunner of that movement, and he is often called the godfather of hiplife.
A long career
Ambolley has recorded many albums and toured widely, including in the United States, and has continued to perform into his later years. His style remains recognisable: sharp dress, energetic stage moves and the half-sung, half-spoken vocals that defined “Simigwa-Do”.
Rediscovery
Reissues and remixes have introduced “Simigwa-Do” to listeners outside Ghana, especially collectors of 1970s African funk. DJs play it alongside records by Fela and Ebo Taylor.
The look
Ambolley has always performed with flair, in bold suits, hats and dark glasses, dancing across the stage. The image of the sharp-dressed bandleader talking in rhythm is part of what younger rappers borrowed from him.
Listening now
Play “Simigwa-Do” next to an early hiplife track and the family resemblance is obvious. The rhythm of Fante speech over a band groove was in Ghanaian music long before anyone called it rap.
