4x4 is a

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

ian hip hop musical group formed in 2000 by Captain Planet (Sylvanus Dodji Jeoffrey) and Coded, formerly Abortion (Russell Edem Avornyo) with the help of Ronnie Coches and Bright Bling Sparkles (

Buk Bak Buk Bak was a Ghanaian musical group composed of Prince Bright, Isaac Shoetan and Ronny Coaches. They rapped in Ga, Twi, and Pidgin, and were the first hiplife group in Ghana to be successful with Ga lyrics. As of 2006, they were both pursuing ...

). They are reputed to have brought crunk to Ghana. In 2007, Captain Planet and Abortion were joined by a new artist named Fresh Prince (Prince Tamakloe).

Background

Early career

Jeoffry and Avornyo were discovered by Buk Bak as participants in the Kiddafest TV programme showcasing young musical talent. The name 4x4 reflects the four people who led to the creation of the group (Ronnie, Bright, Abortion, and Captain Planet). The duo released their debut album ''Siklitele'' under Buk Bak in 2003. In 2009 4X4 Featured Prince Tamkole (Fresh Prince) in a record call "HotGirls.com. Later that year he was admitted to that group.

Contestant #1

4x4 released their second album ''Contestant No. 1'' in 2007, with the single "HotGirls.com" featuring a new artist, Fresh Prince (Prince Tamakloe). The song is reputed to have introduced crunk to Ghanaian culture, and earned the group a

Music Award nomination in 2008. "HotGirls.com" was a success, and Fresh Prince eventually joined the band.

World Trade Centre

In 2009, 4x4 released another album ''World Trade Center''. which went platinum. The title song went to number one on the singles chart in Ghana and is the first and currently only Ghanaian song to make the Urban Charts in Africa. The single "Waist and Power" has also received over 600,000 hits on YouTube.

Musical style and influences

Captain Planet claims to have pioneered Ghanaian vernacular rap, using Akuapem

Twi Twi () is a dialect of the Akan language spoken in southern and central Ghana by several million people, mainly of the Akan people, the largest of the seventeen major ethnic groups in Ghana. Twi has about 17-18 million speakers in total, includ ...

rap, Ga, Ewe, and Pidgin English. Abortion contributes a

ragga Raggamuffin music, usually abbreviated as ragga, is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music. The instrumentals primarily consist of electronic music. Similar to hip hop, sampling often serves a prominent role in raggamuffin music. Wayne Sm ...

or dancehall style, which fuses

singjay Singjaying is a Jamaican style of reggae vocals combining toasting and singing in an elastic format that encourages rhythmically compelling and texturally impressive vocal embellishments. The performer is called a singjay, a combination of singer ...

ing and deejaying with Captain Planet's rapping to create an innovative form of hip life. The group was and continues to be mentored by Ronnie Coches and Bright Bling Sparkles (Buk Bak).

Discography

Albums

* * *

Singles

* "HotGirls.com" (2007) * "World Trade Center" (2008) * "Waist and Power"

Awards

References

External links

Twitter

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Ghanaian hip hop musicians Musical groups established in 2000 {{hiphop-group-stub