A review of Sarkodie's single ‘Asante Ni’

 On Thursday, December 10, 2015, multiple award winning rapper, Sarkodie released a tune titled ‘Asante Ni’

In the song, Sarkodie displays his loyalty to his ethnic group of origin which is the Ashanti ethnic group and also delivers a litany of beliefs and practices which sums up the true nature of typical Ashanti’s.

A section of music lovers and entertainment critics have described the song as an ‘afterthought’ following the release of the ‘K’si boyz’ song which featured Okeyeame Kwame, Flowking Stone, Cabum and Strongman. But on the contrary, it must be established that some weeks ago, Sarkodie in an interview with Ebenezer Donkor, popularly known as NYDJ on Y102.5 FM disclosed his readiness to release the song under review. It was therefore awaiting release before the release of the song by the Kumasi-based quartet.

Sarkodie

Sarkodie’s delivery on the tune was very good. His timing was apt and it enabled the bars synchronize perfectly with the beat. His content was also appropriate. Scrutinizing the lyrics, I noticed that he managed to summarize the true attitude of typical Asantes as the concept of the tune portrays.

Climaxing the first verse of the tune, Sarkodie made mention of the following eminent persons; Former President John Agyekum Kufour, Former UT Bank boss Kofi Amoabeng, renowned actor Agya Koo, ace musician Kojo Antwi, and owner of Despite Group of Companies Osei Kwame Despite.

Some entertainment critics are however of the opinion that Sarkodie should have mentioned the names of more renowned personalities believed to hail from Asanteman in the bars to avoid criticisms on the basis of discrimination. But would he have been able to that? On the scale of 1-10, I will rate Sarkodie 8.5/10 on this track.

Production

Magnom as he is noted for dope hip hop beats for songs such as “Illuminati’’, “Bounce”, “Too Raw” etcetera, was in his elements once again.
He displayed creativity by commencing the tune with traditional sounds and continued with a splendid combination of lovely kicks. On the scale of 1-10, I’ll rate Magom 8.5/10.

Tribalistic/Ethnocentric Tag

Following the release of the song by Sarkodie, some entertainment critics and music lovers have harshly criticized Sarkodie by accusing him of playing the ethnocentric/tribal card. I personally don’t see the basis for describing this song as a show of ethnocentrism.

There is nothing actually improper about being proud or showing loyalty to your ethnic group of origin. Some artistes have been expressing how proud they are for being members of their ethnic groups of origin in several songs but I don’t hear those criticisms against them. I therefore describe such criticisms as baseless and hypocritical.