Ghanaian singer Tiffany Owusu, also known as Itz Tiffany, has recently made remarks on the origin of the Afrobeats genre, contributing to the ongoing discussion.
Stating that music has historically been a Ghanaian thing, she believes that the genre’s global emergence originated from Ghana.
Itz Tiffany expressed that while Nigeria may have focused on the business aspect of music, Ghana has historically been the pioneer of innovative sounds and genres. She highlighted the example of the Azonto dance craze, which originated in Ghana and was later adopted and repackaged as Afrobeats by foreigners for global consumption.
In an exclusive interview with Adomonline’s Dennis Adu, she stated, “I feel like Ghanaians haven’t protected what they had enough. Right now they are making it like Nigeria is Afrobeats, it’s rather from Ghana. Nigerians know the business when it comes to music.” She further lamented that Ghanaians haven’t shown enough appreciation for their creations, citing the example of Azonto, which was later transformed into Afrobeats and is now evolving into Amapiano.
Itz Tiffany also addressed the claim that people are not interested in investing in Ghanaian music. She believes that there are investors, but the environment isn’t clear enough for them to invest as they would require a market and demand for the music to make a profit.
Currently on a hiatus after producing several hit songs from 2010 to 2016, Itz Tiffany has stepped away from music to invest in a more lucrative business.
However, due to pressure from fans, she is contemplating a comeback. Now the owner of Itz Box Bar at Spintex in Accra, she may soon make a return to the music scene.
Itz Tiffany’s comments shed light on the historical role of Ghana in shaping the music industry, and how the country’s contributions have influenced global music trends.
