GH Roots Apparel & Co.
GH Roots is a lifestyle brand that aims to tell the story of Ghana through innovative design.
Classic. Always.
7 Sep
2010
The O2 African Music Awards 2010
Vote for your favorite African acts. Personally I'm biased towards all the GH artists...I wonder why
-Nii A.
3 Sep
2010
ahhaaaaaa....this is what I’m talking about! My 3rd favorite of the remixes. The lyrics are definitely very very dirty, but funny at the same time. I like how the track is in Pidgin but it still has the same feel to it as the original. Putting Gyptian’s voice in @ certain intervals is smart ‘cos it adds authenticity to the track. Anytime the original artist’s voice is on the remix, I’m at peace. The hook on this track is killa and if I didn’t work in corporate America, I’d definitely have it as my ringtone.Yaa Pono - Stay Right Here
Next up, everyone’s favorite freestyle rapper on YouTube (mine, at least). Nsem Kua Nana. LOL.
I don’t know if this was supposed to be a remix, but it carries a wee bit of the Hold Yuh riddim and the hook of the track is definitely Hold Yuh-esque. However, the rest of the track is just Yaa Pono in his normal self flowing over the track. I don’t know who he had on the track with him, but Yaa Pono could have definitely done this track my himself without any issue. Like Opanka, I think this track could go with any beat, but I like Yaa Pono’s rendition because he carries some of the original track into his version.Reggy Zippy - Baadman (Hold Yuh Remix)
The self-proclaimed Dancehall specialist. Yea, I beg to differ. This track could have definitely not been made. And on top of that, there’s a video? Don’t get me wrong, I like Zippy, but I don’t think Reggae is for him. I heard him on a recent track with Sidney and he was good. Patwa anecdotes here and there during his songs are okay, but doing a whole track? No sir. He had some good one-liners in there which I can’t overook, but ovreall a weak track. Maybe I would have liked the track if I hadn’t heard others, especially from other GH artistes. Sugar Ranking - Carry On (Hold Yuh Cover)
Hmmm... I’ve never heard of him; I happened to chance upon the video and I was pleasantly surprised. Again, like Nii and Iwan, we have the original riddim on full blast. And the context of the song? Nothing @ all to do with the original, but it still carries along the same feeling of the original. The lyrics are on point and relevant to the GH audience. I don’t know what I’ll change about the track, honestly.Trigmatic - Hold Yuh remix
I’m sure I’ve surprised some of you with my findings so far, but if you’re a true listener of GH music, you know one track is missing. Well, it’s my favorite so I had to save it for last! His version is appropriately titled because this is indeed a remix! When I heard this version, my jaws dropped and I listened to it like 10 times back-to-back. It’s currently my ringtone and I’m smitten with love. Like Nii’s tracks, the lyrics are not so PG-13, but this is definitely something I wouldn’t mind playing at a baby shower. LOL. Even though I don’t think the Patwa comes across as clean as Nii and Sugar Ranking, I love the track regardless...especially with the Pidgin anecdotes within the track. The hook is off the chain, and even though I don’t exactly know what he’s saying (it’s a little muffled), I sing along the same. “You dey cryyyaayyyayaaya.” LOL. So, there you have it. This is by far the longest article or blog post I’ve written in at least 3 years. I hope my rustiness doesn’t show through. If you know of any other GH versions of Hold Yuh out there, definitely let me know. I’d love to listen. As for updating this article though, that’s another story.Nii A.
-it’s a conscious ‘tin
Hold Yuh - The GH Versions
This post might best be reserved for the folks @ Sribuo, Lifestylz GH or Ghana Music, but since it's an opinionated piece, I figured I'd take a crack at it.Unless you've been living under a rock this past summer, you've probably heard Hold Yuh by Gyptian. This track has been blazing the airwaves, all the clubs, house parties, even baby showers, and I'm still yet to get tired of hearing it. Granted Gyptian has been around for a while, I believe this was his breakthrough record for the US market. Before I get into the tons of remixes that have been made using this track, I'll like to talk a bit about the original, and how it became so popular.
It took a bit of Googling, but the first mention of the track I could find is dated 8/27/09 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVkieryC1j0). While not totally accurate, it gives an idea of how long this track has been around and how long it took for it to really “hit” (in the US @ least). According to commentators on different forums, the piano which can be heard throughout the track is actually from an old movie soundtrack. Some have gone as far to call it cheap, crappy and annoying, but I find it delightful and pretty unique. The sound has this vintage feeling which adds a lot of character to the song. Today’s instrumentals are way too polished and lack character. A horrible analogy will be to think of architecture from the Renaissance era to architecture of today (i.e. skyscrapers, etc.). Anyways, I digress. So, the original track surfaced sometime in 2009. I personally had never heard of it, but I’ve fallen off my reggae over the past few years (especially with the huge resurgence of Hiplife), and for good reason. The first time I heard the track was actually the ever-so-popular remix with Nicki Minaj.
I think this is what really set the track on fire. Nicki definitely took a page out of Lil Wayne’s book by spitting over the track with a Caribbean (Patwa?) accent. Apparently she’s of Trinidadian descent (wikipedia), so I’m not too surprised. The track was an instant classic when I heard it, but I think the original version trumps the remix which actually made it so popular. With Nicki’s remixes came a barrage of remixes from other Reggae artists, which is to be expected ‘cos everyone jumps on the same riddim. My surprise however, is when my very on GH artistes started getting in on the action. Below, I’m going to go through all the GH versions of the song I’ve heard, and what makes or breaks them (in my opinion, of course).Iwan - Love is my Religion
Gotta love Iwan. He took the riddim and rode the beat, but the context of the song is totally different from the original. His Patwa accent is on point, and it doesn’t sound like he’s trying too much. I’ve listened to other tracks of his, and he definitely didn’t leave me disappointed. This is my 2nd favorite of the GH remixes.Dadie Opanka - Hold Yuh Freestyle
Tiee Tiee by Force! Okay, this one is okay in terms of freestyling, but it has absolutely nothing to do with the song. The underlying riddim has been tweaked and takes away from the authenticity of the original. Opanka is definitely one of the GH rappers on the come-up and I love a lot of his stuff on YouTube but I think he could have used a different beat on the track and I would have been okay. The fact that it’s supposed to be a remix/freestyle of Hold Yuh puts it a no-no in my book.Nii - Wider Hold Ya (Hold Yuh Remix)
Gotta love Iwan. He took the riddim and rode the beat, but the context of the song is totally different from the original. His Patwa accent is on point, and it doesn’t sound like he’s trying too much. I’ve listened to other tracks of his, and he definitely didn’t leave me disappointed. This is my 2nd favorite of the GH remixes.Dadie Opanka - Hold Yuh Freestyle
Tiee Tiee by Force! Okay, this one is okay in terms of freestyling, but it has absolutely nothing to do with the song. The underlying riddim has been tweaked and takes away from the authenticity of the original. Opanka is definitely one of the GH rappers on the come-up and I love a lot of his stuff on YouTube but I think he could have used a different beat on the track and I would have been okay. The fact that it’s supposed to be a remix/freestyle of Hold Yuh puts it a no-no in my book.Nii - Wider Hold Ya (Hold Yuh Remix)
ahhaaaaaa....this is what I’m talking about! My 3rd favorite of the remixes. The lyrics are definitely very very dirty, but funny at the same time. I like how the track is in Pidgin but it still has the same feel to it as the original. Putting Gyptian’s voice in @ certain intervals is smart ‘cos it adds authenticity to the track. Anytime the original artist’s voice is on the remix, I’m at peace. The hook on this track is killa and if I didn’t work in corporate America, I’d definitely have it as my ringtone.Yaa Pono - Stay Right Here
Next up, everyone’s favorite freestyle rapper on YouTube (mine, at least). Nsem Kua Nana. LOL.
I don’t know if this was supposed to be a remix, but it carries a wee bit of the Hold Yuh riddim and the hook of the track is definitely Hold Yuh-esque. However, the rest of the track is just Yaa Pono in his normal self flowing over the track. I don’t know who he had on the track with him, but Yaa Pono could have definitely done this track my himself without any issue. Like Opanka, I think this track could go with any beat, but I like Yaa Pono’s rendition because he carries some of the original track into his version.Reggy Zippy - Baadman (Hold Yuh Remix)
The self-proclaimed Dancehall specialist. Yea, I beg to differ. This track could have definitely not been made. And on top of that, there’s a video? Don’t get me wrong, I like Zippy, but I don’t think Reggae is for him. I heard him on a recent track with Sidney and he was good. Patwa anecdotes here and there during his songs are okay, but doing a whole track? No sir. He had some good one-liners in there which I can’t overook, but ovreall a weak track. Maybe I would have liked the track if I hadn’t heard others, especially from other GH artistes. Sugar Ranking - Carry On (Hold Yuh Cover)
Hmmm... I’ve never heard of him; I happened to chance upon the video and I was pleasantly surprised. Again, like Nii and Iwan, we have the original riddim on full blast. And the context of the song? Nothing @ all to do with the original, but it still carries along the same feeling of the original. The lyrics are on point and relevant to the GH audience. I don’t know what I’ll change about the track, honestly.Trigmatic - Hold Yuh remix
I’m sure I’ve surprised some of you with my findings so far, but if you’re a true listener of GH music, you know one track is missing. Well, it’s my favorite so I had to save it for last! His version is appropriately titled because this is indeed a remix! When I heard this version, my jaws dropped and I listened to it like 10 times back-to-back. It’s currently my ringtone and I’m smitten with love. Like Nii’s tracks, the lyrics are not so PG-13, but this is definitely something I wouldn’t mind playing at a baby shower. LOL. Even though I don’t think the Patwa comes across as clean as Nii and Sugar Ranking, I love the track regardless...especially with the Pidgin anecdotes within the track. The hook is off the chain, and even though I don’t exactly know what he’s saying (it’s a little muffled), I sing along the same. “You dey cryyyaayyyayaaya.” LOL. So, there you have it. This is by far the longest article or blog post I’ve written in at least 3 years. I hope my rustiness doesn’t show through. If you know of any other GH versions of Hold Yuh out there, definitely let me know. I’d love to listen. As for updating this article though, that’s another story.Nii A.
-it’s a conscious ‘tin
