The Ghanaian music industry’s one-hit wonders. The major issue is, who are Ghana’s one-hit wonders in the music industry? Several names will undoubtedly appear, but it is vital to grasp the concept of the one-hit wonder before starting to look at who qualifies to be in the category and retaliating for how erroneous this collection is.
A one-hit wonder is any entity that obtains mainstream recognition for a single piece of work and becomes recognized among the general public purely for that brief success. The word is most typically used by musicians that have just one hit song that overshadows their other work.
Numerous singers labelled “one-hit wonders” in one nation have achieved enormous success in other countries. Musicians who have subsequent successful albums and hit lists are not often called one-hit wonders. One-hit wonders’ popularity generally declines following their hit song and somehow never makes a comeback.
When we look at the Ghanaian music scenes, there are certain artists whose greatest song eclipses all of their other songs to the point that it becomes the act’s signature song despite the fact that they have many other successful songs. While considering his big single “Tonga,” Joey B might be utilized as a case study. We can’t call him a one hit wonder since though he never managed to replicate the popularity of that one song, although he did create songs that came close.
On the other hand, we may look at Atom, whose one and only huge hit is none other than “Y3 wo krom,” and shortly when that song faded out of the system after wreaking havoc on radio waves and clubs for months, he vanished into thin air along with his club banger. According to legend, Atom sought to make a comeback and, in his desperation, he even went so far as to ask prophets to bless his song so it would blow, which sounds quite dramatic.
Atom of “Y3wo krom” fame makes a better reference to help us understand who a one-hit wonder is while fishing out acts of his kind so we can maybe guess what went wrong for them. There are many more one hit wonders across all the genres of music in the country, but it will be much better if the spotlight falls on the biggest of them all.
The Ghanaian music industry’s one-hit wonders
Nana BorooโAha Yede
I was definitely in primary when this song came out, and believe me, it was everywhere, including our heads. This was a song you could hear playing even though it wasn’t, but unfortunately for Nana Boroo,his smash hit couldn’t hold unto its dominance and slipped down the favorites with time and that was it, the rise and fall of Nana Boroo, never to be heard again. Despite his many attempts to make a comeback, he never succeeded, so I bet he accepted his fate and moved on.
Dr. Slim-Seke
Every disco night had this song as that secret ingredient to turn the crowd up, if you ask me. This song came with its own energetic vibe and dance, and trust me, no matter your mood, you’re definitely jumping on your feet. After some time, the tenure of Seke was up, and magically, Dr. Slim was erased from existence and never heard of again. Some believe he went back to continue his career as a doctor, and at the same time, we wonder what kind of doctor he is? Maybe a slim one who specializes in getting people slim can help.
Atom-Yewo Krom
Music just wasn’t for Atom, and we are glad he finally admitted this fate despite churning out such a massive hit song. The streets will definitely never forget Atom, but at the same time, he won’t be missed.
Bollie and Reggie – You May Kiss the Bride
It is hard to accept the fact that this was the only massive song this duo had but at the same time, it is understandable to realize they represented the flags of Ghana on the international level when they had the chance at thee X-factor in the UK back in 2015. This song has been a wedding and engagement anthem from its release to date, and I am pretty sure it will be for a long time, The only problem was that these guys couldn’t replicate the success of this song, which ended up being the only known song of theirs. A comeback album couldn’t even make a difference for them.
Eduwoji-Yenko Nkoaa
It’s safe to say this song was the sole driver of the Azonto craze way back, and it was by far one of the biggest songs of the Azonto era, but sadly we can’t tell where the composer is. The song may be popular, but the composer isn’t, and that’s just how bad it gets. Eduwoji never even made a known comeback as he calmly faded out of the system.
Secure Pabene – “Secure”
The majority of readers will definitely not know this guy, but he was the real deal in the rap circles when he came out of nowhere and outrapped everyone, including Sarkodie, at the speed of light, and it was amazing. I literally jumped when I first heard his Secure song playing on Hitz TV back in the days. I was extremely astonished by his capabilities of viciously dropping tons of bars in a split second, and to my surprise, I wasn’t alone. Everyone was out there on Facebook and 2go talking about him and comparing him to the likes of Busta Rhymes and Eminem, but as soon as the hype cooled down, he was wiped out of existence as if he were never here.
Andy -“Sweetie”
Unless you weren’t a staunch spectator of the famous Tv3 Mentor reality show, Andy was all over our ears from his days at the Mentor show, where he graciously won to cement his popularity and even went as far as getting Samini on his song, which likely catapulted him to instant fame and glory. Sweety was so big that my six-year-old siblings at that time could sing it word for word. Andy tried as much as he could to replicate the success of Sweety, but nothing worked out till he sank deeper and deeper into the underground, never to be discovered, not even by the best mining companies in the country.
Zigi – “You Say Wey Tin”
Putting Zigi on this list literally breaks my heart, but the truth must be told. He was such a great dancer but only managed to compose one hit song, which ended up being his only legacy in the music industry. This song had only one role to play, and that was to get you on your feet. Simple body moves just weren’t enough, and it ended up becoming the best song for dance challenges back in the days at senior high school entertainments and discos. Nobody can tell what really happened, but Zigi just couldn’t cook another banger and suddenly disappeared. For your information, this Zigi we are talking about is not the famous dancer we know as Incredible Zugi.
Yaw Siki – “Wo Pe Dodo.”
Yaw Siki just gave up music, but that won’t take his one hit wonder tag away no matter what. He was one of the hottest rappers that emerged from Tema alongside Sarkodie and Co. and featured on several songs, but individually, he only made one hit for himself. Yaw Siki was proclaimed as one of the finest rappers in his era by critics, and he had the bonus of being an even better singer, but that alone wasn’t enough to keep him main