International award winning Ghanaian reggae musician Rocky Dawuni has said that most of the country’s musicians are not going international because they are not original in their craft.
“When you make music, you don’t have to do it like someone else or copy what someone else is doing,” Rocky Dawumi said, adding that “musicians who do that can’t make it international.”
According to him, he has been able to win international awards with three Grammy nominations because he stayed original and never directly copied what others do.
“My style is not pure reggae music, it’s called Afro roots. It is a style that I mix with Highlife, Afrobeat and different mixes. So if you’re making music, you don’t have to do it like someone else or copy what someone else is doing. When you do that, you’re not going to make it,” she explained.
Talking about who inspired his music career, Rocky Dawuni revealed that Highlife legends like Nana Kwame Ampadu and Apofo Agyei greatly influenced his craft.
“When I started, I was inspired by people like Nana Ampadu, Ampofo Adjei, all these people inspired me before Jamaican music came along. So when you listen to me critically, it’s a fusion of all these styles,” she said.
“So what I’m saying is you can’t copy someone else’s style and make it your own. Of course, you can’t do better than the creator of the style, so you have to create your own and that’s what will let people know that you have something unique to offer as well,” he added.