In November 1999, a rapper who called himself the executioner released an album that would shape Ghanaian rap for a generation. It was called Pae Mu Ka, “say it plainly”.
The rapper was Obrafour, and the album is still regarded as one of the greatest hiplife records ever made.
The rapper
Obrafour, born Michael Elliot Kwabena Okyere, had studied law before turning fully to music. His stage name means “executioner” in Twi, a reference to how he “killed” his verses.
He rapped in deep, clear Twi, with proverbs and wordplay that impressed older listeners as well as young fans.
Hammer
Obrafour met Hammer of The Last Two, then a young beatmaker, who became central to the album’s sound. Hammer helped secure a deal with Abraham Ohene-Djan’s OM Studios. The album was produced by Hammer and Yaw Anoff, known as Way Deep.
Hammer went on to become one of the most important producers in Ghanaian music, working with many of the biggest names in hiplife.
The songs
The title track, “Pae Mu Ka”, and “Kwame Nkrumah” were the album’s big singles. “Kwame Nkrumah” invoked Ghana’s first president to call on Ghanaians to work for the country’s future. Other songs dealt with society, morality and everyday life.
Awards
At the 2000 Ghana Music Awards, Pae Mu Ka won Obrafour rapper of the year and new artist of the year, and the title track won best hiplife song.
Why it mattered
Hiplife was still young in 1999. Reggie Rockstone had started the movement a few years earlier, and many artists were experimenting. Pae Mu Ka showed that hiplife could be serious, lyrical and rooted in Twi, with more to offer than party music. It became the model for rap albums that followed.
OM Studios
Abraham Ohene-Djan’s OM Studios was one of the important labels of the early hiplife era. Its backing gave the album proper distribution across Ghana at a time when many young rappers struggled to get their music heard.
Twenty years on
In 2019, Obrafour marked the album’s 20th anniversary with a concert in Accra. Fans who had been teenagers in 1999 sang every word.
Sampled and remembered
The album’s influence reached beyond Ghana. Its sounds and lines have been referenced and sampled, and younger rappers speak of Obrafour as one of the masters of Twi rap.
Say it plainly
The title means to speak clearly and directly. Obrafour did exactly that, in the language of his listeners, and a generation of Ghanaian rappers learned from the way he said it.
