{"id":126040,"date":"2023-09-07T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-07T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/?p=126040"},"modified":"2023-09-21T10:47:52","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T08:47:52","slug":"reggie-osei-asakaa-drill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/reggie-osei-asakaa-drill\/","title":{"rendered":"Reggie Osei, asakaa\u2019s original driller\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Reggie Osei, a leading voice in Ghanaian drill, aka asakaa music, appears as cool and confident as the energy that resonates from his music. Raised in Kumasi, Reggie\u2019s music embodies his&nbsp;community as well as his early exposure to foreign music which has culminated in the artist\u2019s 4th studio project <em>Most High<\/em>. The 7 track EP features the likes of <meta charset=\"utf-8\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/tag\/jay-bahd-2\/\">Jay Bahd<\/a>, O\u2019Kenneth, <meta charset=\"utf-8\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/tag\/kwaku-dmc\/\">Kwaku DMC<\/a>, City Boy,&nbsp;Skyface SDW and ChicoGod. In other words the full gamut of asakaa drillers hailing from Kumasi, or as they like to call it, Kumerica. With smoother cuts like \u201cOh Ma Linda\u201d and back to basics drill jams on \u201c5:55\u201d, this new EP&nbsp;presents a more diverse and experienced Reggie. His candor is exciting to watch and the pacing is as crisp as the collaborations. Reggie\u2019s talent, versatility and dedication to his craft are coming to a new head in a scene that has caught the attention of global audiences.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Reggie - Oh Ma Linda (feat. O&#039;Kenneth, Jaybahd &amp; Kwaku DMC) (Official Video)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/23svAInNp3E?feature=oembed&#038;autoplay=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Reggie&#8217;s musical journey started in high school around 2017, inspired by English rappers Russ Millions and Tion Wayne. But it wasn\u2019t until 2019 that he decided to lean into drill after listening to \u201cKeisha Becky\u201d. \u201c<em>Chief Keef started this thing way back, then I later found out that the Chicago boys were doing the drill too, so I followed up and did the same here in Ghana. I can say I introduced drill music to the gang. We just started doing our thing and it was everywhere. The first drill song we did was \u2018Big Flex\u2019 featuring YGA O\u2019Kenneth and Kawabanga and followed up with \u2018Akata Gang Gang\u2019. Jay Bhad had \u2018Go Get\u2019. The whole gang just kept coming but \u2018Akatafoc\u2019 made us viral.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reggie was introduced to the asakaa gang through YGA O&#8217;Kenneth whom he met after high school. It was O&#8217;Kenneth who first got him to listen to the Ghanaian rappers City Boy and Rabby Jones. \u201c<em>It was like a family thing, he introduced me to City Boy and Rabby Jones and later Jay Bahd joined us. Jay Bhad is City Boy\u2019s lil bro and City was rolling with DMC way back. It was like Kenneth and I were doing the same.<\/em>\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After being brought into Kumasi\u2019s rap scene, Reggie got to work. The artist went on to produce three EPs, <em>Straight Outta Kumerica<\/em>, <em>1 &amp; 2<\/em>, a collaborative project with his longtime friend and asakaa heavyweight O\u2019Kenneth, and <em>2 TIMES A GUY<\/em> which he dropped in 2021.&nbsp;But it\u2019s on this latest album <em>Most High<\/em> that shows a mature Reggie with a collection of songs that span genres. \u201c<em>As a collective we keep trying different sounds. For instance \u2018Oh Ma Linda\u2019 is different from \u2018Condemn\u2019, but they are both drill songs. <\/em>Most High <em>is my latest vibe.<\/em>\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The album opens with the soulful \u201cAlhamdulillah\u201d; his heartfelt raps and thoughtful lyrics create a spiritual connection, inviting listeners to reflect on gratitude and the power of faith. The project turns around themes of brotherhood, faith, and an introspective look at the choices we make in life. On \u201cMaa Abena\u201d Reggie invites Beeztrap KOTM, Skyface SDW and Chicogod. On \u201cMakaveli\u201d he gets Jay Bahd, Jhorrmountain and O\u2019Kenneth to make an appearance reinforcing the collaborative spirit that has come to define the asakaa collective.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thought it wasn&#8217;t always so easy. Asakaa was considered underground until those from outside the Black Star started paying attention. \u201c<em>After our first hit song &#8216;Akatafoc&#8217; we noticed some changes, we started getting some new&nbsp;fans not only here in Ghana but worldwide\u2026there were lots of people who were just giving comments on&nbsp;our videos and that\u2019s how I noticed we had blown beyond Ghana.<\/em>\u201d From performing to nearly empty crowds in the early days to hosting several thousands of people for their countrywide concerts, Reggie and the asakaa boys have passed a threshold for their collective and style. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Kawabanga - Akatafoc (feat. O&#039;Kenneth, Jay Bahd &amp; Reggie) Official Video\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/u2N8Fi8z4oo?feature=oembed&#038;autoplay=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>And despite the language barriers, Reggie and the asakaa boys continue to capture ever more non-twi&nbsp;speaking audiences with their work. The recent Grammy addition of a Ghanaian Drill award in the Best African Music Performance Category speaks to that. \u201c<em>The Grammys just recognized asakaa which means it&#8217;s getting bigger so we appreciate the growth and I heard that Nigeria has started doing drill music too and that was inspired by asakaa. Other countries in Africa like Kenya have also been influenced by us. Asakaa is not only for us, it&#8217;s for everyone, and anyone can hop on it you get me? It&#8217;s for the whole of Ghana and Africa but no one should say Nigerian drill. It\u2019s asakaa everywhere.<\/em>\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The future remains promising for Reggie who has already achieved significant success both individually&nbsp;and as part of the asakaa collective. He urges his fans to stick with him, promising more big things in the works. But the mission remains the same: asakaa to the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PAM caught up with the rap sensation, songwriter and asakaa team member Reggie, telling the story behind the introduction of drill in Kumasi, aka Kumerica, his personal journey and latest project Most High.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123,"featured_media":126223,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7833,7835],"tags":[41339,31437,41250,23741,41338],"location":[7994],"yst_prominent_words":[27124,9879,27115,31342,31336],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126040"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126040"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=126040"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=126040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}