A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE LIVES AND WORKS OF SELECTED GHANAIAN FEMALE MUSICIANS FROM 1980-2010. BY ABENA KYERE (STUDENT ID: 10202542) THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE IN AFRICAN STUDIES. JULY, 2012 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh i DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis is my own original and independent work produced under supervision. All authors, creative materials and resources ha that have been quoted have been acknowledged fully and that, neither in half nor its entity has this thesis been published in any form or submitted to another University for the award of a degree Candidate …………………………… Abena Kyere (10202542) …………………………… …………………….. Prof. Akosua Adomako Ampofo Dr. Edward Nanbigne (Superviso r) (Supervi so r) University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh i i DEDICATION I dedicate this work to Prof. Akosua Adomako Ampofo. Prof, thank you for your smiles and belief in me. I am eternally indebted to you for opening up a world of learning and research to me. She sets about her work vigorously, Her arms are strong for her tasks. …give her the reward she has earned, And let her works bring her praise at the city gate! (Proverbs 31:17; 31) University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh i i i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to God for holding my hands all those nights and whispering to me that I will see another day. I thank my supervisors Prof. Akosua Adomako Ampofo and Dr. Edward Nanbigne for turning this work into readable material. I appreciate your efforts and patience. My heartfelt gratitude goes to all the women musicians, producers and managers who opened their lives and homes to me. This work is successful because of your willingness to share with me. I acknowledge the UK Department for Development (DFID) and Office of Research, Innovation and Development (ORID) which provided financial support for this work under the Women’s Empowerment Project. Prof. Kwadwo Ofori, thank you very much for taking particular interest in my life as a student and for your selfless help and words of encouragement. It is etched in my memory. I am also grateful to my family for all their support and love. I pray I get the chance to show them how much they mean to me. To Mrs. Judith Boateng and her two assistants (Nat and George) I say thank you; you were forever ready to help even when the timing inconvenienced you. Mrs. Boateng, thank you very much for your kind heart. I am also especially grateful to Ms. Juliana Yorke and Solomon Ampadu Frimpong. Juliana for helping me contact informants, Solomon for your words of encouragement and for providing materials. I am also grateful to Gloria Sassah Buabeng for all her assistance. Finally, to everyone who has helped me in one way or another to climb this ladder, I say thank you. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh i v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Declaration i Dedication ii Acknowledgements iii Abstract iv Table of contents v CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 Background 1 Statement of the Problem 4 Goals of the study 6 Methodology 7 Primary data 7 Secondary data 10 Limitations of the study 12 Significance of the study 14 Organization of the study 15 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 17 Introduction 17 Ghanaian Music as Popular Product 18 Traditional Ghanaian Music 23 A Historical Survey of Highlife 25 A Historical Survey of Hiplife 29 Women as Producers and Performers of Music 33 Ghanaian Women as Makers and Performers of Music 38 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh v Theoretical Framework 46 CHAPTER THREE: BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF SELECTED FEMALE MUSICIANS Introduction 52 Older musicians 52 Awurama Badu 52 Mary Naa Amanua Dodoo 54 Bibie Brew 55 Paulina Oduro 57 Akosua Adjepong 58 Younger Generation 59 Dorcas Darkwa (Abrewa Nana) 59 Belinda Nana Akuah Amoah (Mzbel) 61 Rebecca Akosua Acheampong (Becca) 64 Mildred Ashong (Eazzy) 67 Jane Awindor (Efya) 70 CHAPTER FOUR: THE LIVES AND WORKS OF SELECTED MUSICIANS 73 Introduction 73 The Lives of Female Musicians 73 Consumers Perception of Female Musicians 73 Challenges of Female Musicians 86 A Comparative Look at the Lives and Works of Female Musicians 87 Themes in Women’s Songs 98 Love 99 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh v i Sweet Love 99 Sour Love 101 Marital Problems 112 Songs about Women 116 CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION Introduction 127 Summary of Major Findings 127 Recommendations 128 REFERENCES 131 DISCOGRAPHY 133 APPENDIX ONE : Interview Guide for Musicians 139 APPENDIX TWO : Interview Guide for Music Producers/Composers/Managers 140 APPENDIX THREE: Interview Guide for Music Consumers/Audience 141 PICTURES OF SELECTED MUSICIANS 142 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh v i i University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ABSTRACT Ghanaian female secular musicians are underrepresented in the literature on Ghanaian music. This project fills this gap by focusing on the lives and works of some selected Ghanaian female musicians. The work concentrated on the lives of ten female musicians in the secular field. Using qualitative methods such as interviews and participant observations, the study sought to inYestigDte music consumers’ perception of who femDOe musiciDns Dre Dnd how the\ OiYe their lives; the challenges female musicians face as women in a male dominated field and the themes that female musicians raise in their songs. The study also took its objectives further to take a comparative look at the lives and works of selected female musicians. The study thus grouped and selected musicians into two categories, the first group from 1980-1999 who are referred to as µoOder generDtion’ Dnd the second group from 2000-2010 who are referred to as the younger generDtion. The findings indicDted thDt consumers’ perception of femDOe musicians bordered on the negative. This is a replication of historical stigma which has always been present in the lives of women musicians who have taken to the stage as secular performers. However, the study discovered that such perceptions were as a resuOt of ignorDnce on the pDrt of music consumer’s whose only access to the musicians is through information from the media. Perceptions however differed for older and younger musicians. On themes in the songs of selected female musicians, it was found that similar themes such as love which run through the songs of women from 1980- 2010 were handled differently for the two generations. It was also found while themes like marriage and motherhood were present in the songs of older musicians, they were absent in those of younger musicians. In the same vein, emerging themes like fun were discovered in the songs of younger musicians but absent in songs of older musicians. This study will enhance our understanding of women’s work in especially in male dominated field and how such spaces are negotiated. In general, it contributes as an addition to the literature on popular arts in Ghana. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.0. Backg rou n d Music is one of the most important forms of art that cuts across all spheres of human relationships. It cuts across race, gender, class and generations. It may mean different things to different people at different points in time and space, but its effects are similar (Vidzreku, 2002). Music has the ability to enhance the emotional state of an individual while bringing people of similar and different backgrounds together (Awake, 2011; Savage, 2008).1 Music and society have existed side by side since the beginning of the human race. Its value for individuals and societies cannot be underestimated. At an individual level, music soothes and enhances the emotional state of a person. It has been proven to be one of the best therapies administered to the mentally ill and the aged and it improves the learning processes of children and promotes the wellbeing of people in general (Adams & Fuller, 2006). At a group level, music has been known to facilitate group relationships and cultural and national identities (Waterman, 2002). This is achieved through its facilitation of communication which goes beyond ordinary words (Kirkegaard, 2002). Music is a powerful tool for communication and its communicative power gives it the ability to create and challenge the existing social order (Adomako Ampofo & Asiedu, 2012).The power of music could be linked to the fact that it is a product of popular culture. It has been asserted that ³popuODr culture is the site of 1 See http://www.prsfoundation.co.uk/.par University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2 a dynamic process-a zone of interaction, where relationships are made and unmade to produce anything from meaning to pleasure, from the trite to the powerfuO´ &ru] Dnd *uins  . The stDtement DEoYe is indicDtiYe of the powerful nature of popular culture to affect individuals as well as societies. Popular culture provides the platform for people to express and create meanings for themselves and to transmit such expressions and meanings with others. It is therefore important if not imperative for every society to pay critical attention to cultural products such as music. The power of music as a cultural product is not lost on African societies. African societies have a strong tradition of music making. Music in Africa is considered as D ³site of memor\´ 9DmEe :2). This is because town and family genealogies, state histories as well as happenings in societies were and are still recorded in music. Music plays a very important role in life transitions of individuals in various African societies. Initiation rites, nubility rites as well as various secret societies and cults are organised with songs which may be communicated to only initiates or sometimes to the uninitiated (Sarpong, 1977; Quan- Baffour, 2009). 0usic in $fricD is considered ³Ds D sociDO fDct Dnd occurs Ds Dn eYent in sociDO Oife´ such Ds Eirth, marriage and death ceremonies (Annan, 2011:1). Music is also performed for entertainment and recreation. Thus, music permeates every fabric of the African society and Ghana is not left out of this tradition. Music is however, created and performed in spaces and are sometimes gendered. For instance in Akan societies, nubility rite songs are the domain of University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3 women while Asafo (war songs) songs are performed by men (Adjei, 2011). The enduring nature of Ghanaian music traditions lie in the fact that all members of the societal fabric have the opportunity to create music that is meaningful to situations and contexts. There are many traditional spaces available for the creation and performance of music in Ghanaian society. Music is created for political, social, religious and even for entertainment purposes. Like many other African societies, different spaces are created for both men and women to perform music, although there are instances when both men and women perform music together in a communal way. The musical culture of Ghana has created room for the production and borrowing of other forms of popular music in Ghana. Such home grown popular genres include Highlife and Hiplife while borrowing new forms such as Jazz, Soul, Hip pop, Rhythm and Blues and other forms of music. For the purpose of this study popular music will be limited to Highlife, Hip-life . These two types of music is patronized across generations, gender and class in Ghana. Although popular musicians are made up of both male and female artists, the industry is male dominated. Indeed, the few women who were the ice breakers in popular music in Ghana started as background vocalists, members of male dominated bands, mentored by male musicians or had men as their managers (Asante-Darko &Van der Geest, 1983). Women’s entrDnce into the popular music scene in Ghana started with their involvement in the concert party, where they were first recruited to perform on the stage (Collins, 2003). Hitherto, the church served as a breeding grounds for University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4 the training of women as musicians. It was however, the concert part which gave them the needed public exposure which hitherto had been denied them. The ’s sDw Dn infOu[ of women onto the music scene Dnd this hDs continued to date, although the change does not appear to be significant (Fiagbedzi, 2010). But the consolation is that they have come to stay and although they may not be numerous in the secular music arena, they seem to reign in the gospel scene (Collins, 1997; Sutherland-Addy, 2006; Wright, 1995 ). A critical look at songs by both men and women will show a difference in the themes and issues that they are concerned with. Indeed a lot of work has been done on men and their entrance into and participation in the secular popular music field (Collins, 1985; Collins, 1986; Yankah, 2012). However, much less attention has been paid to women musicians and their works. Women’s entrDnce sustenance in the music industry and lyrics are yet to be significantly analyzed in the light of their personal lives as well as the socio-cultural, economic, and political contexts. Also, how these songs have changed or how similar theme s have been handled differently over the years by female musicians re yet to be looked. 1.1. Statemen t of the Problem Feminist scholars especially have argued thDt gOoEDOO\ women’s work hDs not been accorded the attention and value their work deserve (Kabeer, 1994; Folbre, 2001; NETRIGHT, 2009). This is because the kind of work performed by women University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5 is normally viewed as an extension of their reproductive and domestic responsibilities. Due to this erroneous judgment, attention is normally not paid to the kind of work that women do in and outside the home as being productive. The assumption is that most productive work is done by men, with women ³mereO\´ supporting. Women are not recognised as major contributors to most productive enterprises, thus leaving their part of the story untold or under represented. The music industry in Ghana is no exception to this description. The term ³musician´ includes men and women with the only distinction being the type of music that they produce. The argument that is normally put forward is the fact that such terms Ds µmusiciDns’ Dre gender neutrDO and could refer to both male and female musicians. However, due to gender biases in social constructions, the term secular ³Highlife/Hiplife musician ´normally conjures an image of a male performer, pushing women out of the picture, while their participation and contributions remain invisible because they are normally found in areas such as the Gospel genre. Further, most of the works done on musicians also concentrates more on traditional Ghanaian Highlife music as genres of Ghanaian music as these have a longer history. Due to the fact that the development of Highlife is associated with men and described at its inception to be a 'mainly male affair' (Asante-Darko &Van der Geest, 1983: 135), the full participation of women in secular popular music in Ghana remains untold. The problem is not due to the limited number of women musicians in the secular arena but the lack of artistic attention given to their lives and work as worth studying. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 6 There is very little published work on the lives and works of female musicians in Ghana. Collins (2003) takes a look at the factors that hindered the late entrance of women in popular music in Ghana. Sutherland-Addy (2006) also takes a look into the diverse ways in which women are presented and represented in popular products such as music and movies in Ghana. More recent works like Adomako Ampofo and Asiedu (2012) and Asiedu and Adomako Ampofo (2012) analyse the representation of women further by looking at the different ways in which alternative representations could be encouraged in popular music in Ghana. What seems to be lacking in the literature is a look into the lives of women musicians and what they sing about. In view of this gap, the study seeks to take a look at the lives and works of some selected female musicians in Ghana. The work will be centered on the lives of the selected musicians, that is, their lives as women and as musicians and the themes they highlight in their works. This research is interested in knowing about their entrance, consumers’ perceptions, challenges and how they survive in a male dominated music industry. The work is also interested in the various themes and concerns raised by women over the years in their music. Finally, the work will focus on the differences and changes in themes if any, which have occurred over the years in the lives and works of selected Ghanaian female musicians. 1.2. Goals of the Study The major goal of the study is two-fold. The first is to find out about the lives of the selected female musicians both as individuals and musicians, while the University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 7 second goDO of the stud\ is to uneDrth the themes in women’s sogs. The specific objectives are to understand:  Consumers’ perceptions of who women secular musicians are.  Women’s trajectory in the music industry.  Some of the challenges that women musicians face and how that differs for older and younger musicians or how they survive in the music industry.  The predominant themes in works of selected musicians and changes/ similarities in themes over the years. 1.3. Method ology The method that is used in this research is primarily qualitative in nature. This is because this study is basically a social study that looks at the lives of selected women and their experiences in their chosen profession and what they sing about. Data were gathered through primary as well as secondary sources. 1.3.0. Primary data The primary data were collected through interviews, focus group discussions and participant observation. The years under consideration were broken down into two categories: 1980-1999 and 2000-2010. The year 1980 was chosen as a starting point because of the changes which the music industry witnessed in that year. After a breakdown of the music industry and an exodus of many Ghanaian University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 8 musicians abroad, the years 1983 and 1985 saw the formation of MUSIGA2 and the promulgation of the Copyright Law respectively. Then in 1990, private stations were allowed to operate in Ghana. These factors led to a boom in the music industry in Ghana. Selected musicians in the 1980-1999 category are those who had started singing earlier but had become established and well known in the eighties through to the nineties and those who started in the eighties but had become forces to reckon with by the nineties. The selected artistes primarily performed the Highlife genre. In the second group, are those selected musicians who appeared on the musical scene from early 2000s up till a decade after in 2010. The first group I will refer to as older musicians and the second group will be referred to as younger musicians. These musicians from 1980-1999 (older musicians) include Awurama Badu, Naa Amanua, Paulina Oduro, Bibi Brew and, Akosua Adjepong. The artistes in the 2000-2010 category were also chosen because they are at present the best known and popular. They belong to the Hiplife generation. They are Dorcas Adarkwa (Abrewa Nana), Belinda Nana Akua (Mzbel), Mildred Ashong (Eazzy), Jane Awindor (Efya) and Rebecca Acheampong (Becca). The criteria for judging popularity was by asking the audience at random to mention seven most popular current female artistes, and the above five names always came up top out of ten. Music distributors were also questioned on the female artistes that most consumers patronized. Apart from Dorcas Adarkwa (who was out of the country at the time of the study) and Rebecca Acheampong, interviews were conducted with the above mentioned musicians at their residences to solicit 2 Association of Ghanaian musicians. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 9 answers on their individual entrance into popular music, challenges they face as well as the themes they focus on in their works. Selected musicians were questioned on their entrance into popular music, challenges they faced, themes they raised in their songs and perceived changes in themes in the years under consideration. All the interview questions were open ended (see Appendix one). This was to afford respondents the opportunity to express views and concerns which the questions may not capture. In all instances, the purpose of the study and permission of the various respondents were sought before any recording was done. In addition to interviewing the musicians, three songs of each artiste were purposely selected for content analysis to draw out the themes and concerns raised in the songs. The interviews were, however, not limited to the musicians. Music producers and composers, considering that they are mostly male and work in close contact with musicians were also interviewed in order to understand their views on what women musicians sing about. Open ended questions were used to guide the interviews conducted, (see appendix two for questions). Furthermore, music consumers were interviewed to solicit the perceptions they had about female secular popular musicians (see appendix three for questions). The views of music consumers (audience) were also sought on perceived changes in the themes of these musicians. In all, twenty music consumers were interviewed for the work. Ten were selected from various shows the researcher University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 10 attended and the other ten were selected from the University of Ghana. Students who were interviewed were recruited from all levels (level 100-600). The age s of the audience interviewed range between 20 to 60 years. Performances of selected musicians were attended where possible. The researcher attended the much touted Redlipstick musical concert which was held on the 29th October, 2011 at the Conference Centre. This was an all-female concert which was held to raise awareness on breast cancer in the country. Five of the musicians selected (Akosua Agyepong, Belinda Amoah, Jane Awindor, Mildred Ashong and Rebecca Acheampong) for the study performed at this concert. The researcher also had the privilege of attending other shows although these shows did not pull as much audience as the Redlipstick concert. In all, three shows were attended. The main focus was information on areas such as stage craft, songs which the musicians love to perform, the song of the musicians which receives a lot of cheers and approval from the audience and audience response to different musicians. This provided firsthand information on performer-audience relationship and informed the study on why women might sing about particular themes and the part audience plays in influencing such choices. 1.3.1. Secondary data Because this work emanated from a broader project, the study also used data which were collected from earlier research. Th e Changing Representation of Women in Popular Music in Ghana is a broader project that seeks to bring to University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 11 light the negative ways in which women are represented in popular music in Ghana and how alternative representations could be encouraged. This study made use of the data which were collected earlier for The Changing Representation of Women in Popular Music project3. These include: two focus group discussion, one with taxi drivers and students (two important consumers of music who are in constant interaction with music). These taxi drivers were selected from the Legon taxi rank while the students were from the University of Ghana. Selection of these two groups was very appropriate because most of the taxi drivers had ideas of songs in the 80's because of their age distribution while students were familiar with songs from 1990s- 2000 s. These drivers also have constant interaction with students because the taxis are mostly patronized by students who sometimes determined the kind of songs to play while aboard the taxi. Moreover, University students are one of those groups of people who have access to a wide range of music because of the fact that they have access to a wider range of electronic gadgets and the Internet. Students (young people in general) patronize, more than any group of people, night clubs, musical shows, various beauty pageants (where musicians normally perform live) and various parties that they organize in their various hostels or other places. Although the initial idea was not to organize the focus group discussions for the topic under consideration, the views shared in the discussions proved to be relevant for this 3 This is an on-going project carried out by The Centre for Gender Studies and Advocacy with funding from the Uk Department for International Development. (CEGENSA) at the University of Ghana was set up in 2004 to conduct research, develop curricular, provide documentation, design policies, and carry out advocacy and outreach on gender issues. It also provides counseling for sexual assault victims and mentoring of junior faculty. (See Adomako Ampofo and Asiedu, 2012) . University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 12 work. Finally, two workshops which were held for musicians and various music stakeholders were also used to tease out some of the issues that would be raised in this work. Finally, secondary sources in the form of library documentation were used to aid the analysis of the primary data. Data collection took four months. Collected data were transcribed and translated into English to help with its analysis. Ideas generated from interviews and other data were organized into themes. Because the study is comparative; the themes derived from the various analyses were then compared to find out differences as well as similarities that have occurred over the years under consideration. 1.4. Limit at ion s of the Study The study does not intend to give a critical analysis of the lives of musicians but rather to present the everyday life of the musicians, how their consumers perceive them to live these lives and some of the difficulties they face as musicians as well as the predominant themes in their works. To this end, the study will not necessarily draw a connection between their personal lives and the themes in their songs although such passing references would be made where necessary. Again, the study was not able to discuss the whole range of themes in the selected musiciDns’ songs Eut rather concentrated on the dominant and recurring ones which were identified in the works. Moreover, the sample of ten musicians is in no way representative of the universe under consideration. The University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 13 unrepresentative nature of the sample size therefore means that the findings cannot be generalized. However, these selected women are not so unique from other musicians who were not selected for the study that the findings might not be relevant or applicable. Some field challenges were also faced during this research. The first one was getting access to the musicians. As it turned out, the researcher had underestimated this very challenge and assumed that participants would be enthusiastic about the research since it will serve as a form of biography of their lives. Most musicians were willing to grant interviews when first contacted, however, their managers/producers proved to be a barrier between the researcher and the musicians especially among the younger female musicians. Since they were in charge of arranging schedules for interviews some proved to be very difficult and in some instances the researcher had to book appointments for months before she was granted an interview. The second challenge was the fact that in most cases participants were initially not comfortable talking to the researcher especially when they were informed they would be recorded. This is because some of them have been victims of journalists who had interviewed them and manipulated or taken advantage of the information to the detriment of the musicians. They were therefore very shifty about talking to the researcher especially about their lives and in most cases their financial situations. To overcome this difficulty, the researcher had to postpone the interviews and keep familiarising herself with the musicians until they were comfortable to talk. The researcher also had to respect the wishes of respondents University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 14 who indicated that some information which had been provided was to be considered ³off record. ´ Although such information was not included due to ethical reasons, they informed the outcome of the research. All these challenges, however, served as learning ground for this researcher and helped her to establish contacts with respondents in the field for future studies. 1.5. Significance of the Study A study such as this is bound to add to the existing literature on the subject, especially when one considers the limited literature on women musicians in Ghana. The study will help us to understand the position of the Ghanaian female musician and how it differs from the male musician. It will also help to understand the societies in which they produce their art. This is because if indeed songs reflect the societies in which they are produced, then the study, by looking at the themes that these women tackle in their songs will give a better understanding of and especially the position of women in the society. Recently, there have been controversies about the changing pattern of music by young artistes especially women artistes from the ³trDditionDO *hDnDiDn´ form of music to the foreign. It is common knowledge that this is breeding antagonism between the generations. It is therefore my hope that this study will help consolidate the different dimensions of these songs as changes and not aberrations. This acceptance of change, it is hoped, will help to encourage young people to unleash their talents without fear of condemnation and rejection. Lastly, the work will draw the attention of all the female musicians to the fact University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 15 that their individual or group work is important for discourse analysis. This might also improve and enhance their confidence and creativity and encourage them to do more work as individuals and as a minority that needs to unite to survive in their line of work. Theoretically, this work will help to elucidate the power dynamics involved in women’s pDrticipDtion in music and how such dynamics lead to consumer’s perception of women musicians and women as a social category involved in the creation of popular products. The study will further extend our understanding to the causes of different issues raised in songs over time in the songs of the selected female musicians. 1.6. Organisat ion of Work The work is organised into five chapters. Chapter one focuses on background to the study, statement of the problem, the methods used to carry out the research, goals of the study, the significance of this study and the lastly the organisation of the work. Chapter two examines the literature and its significance for the study. The review of related literature takes a look at the historical development of popular music in Ghana, women's participation and contribution in both traditional and contemporary popular music. The literature from this point critically looks at the trajectory, survival and general context in which women musicians have had to produce their songs and how all these factors may have culminated in affecting what they sing about. The theoretical framework for the study is also included in University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 16 this chapter. Chapter three provides a biographical sketch of the selected female musicians. This researcher attempts analyse aspects of their lives that have a bearing on the songs that they sing and vice versa. Chapter four presents a discussion of the interviews, focus group discussions, content analysis of songs and all other data collected for the study. In chapter five, the work is concluded with summary and some recommendations. This chapter has given the general overview of the study under consideration. It has suggested that the very essence of the work lies in the fact that there is a gap in the academic discourse that needs to be filled. This gap is the lack of a body of work on female musicians in Ghana, with specific consideration given to their lives and themes in their songs or its changing patterns. The methodology that was used in the collection and analysis of data, the goal of the study, it's significance as well as the general organisation of the work have all been outlined in this chapter. In the next chapter, I explore the available literature on the study as well as provide the theoretical framework. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 17 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 2.0. Introd u ct ion This chapter is divided into two parts. The first part consists of an examination of the literature about Ghana. The second part of the chapter presents the theoretical framework for the work. The concept music bares itself to a wide range of subjective interpretations. Music in general means different things to different people in different contexts. In the African context, music is performed basically for different specially designated occasions and can also be performed simply for popular entertainment. This work is mainly concerned with the popular aspect of Ghanaian music. The review will begin by delineating what constitutes popular music. The rest of the review will cover the following issues/areas; the historical survey of the development of popular music in Ghana, then narrow its focus to the participation of women in music in both Africa and Ghana including both traditional and contemporary music. Due to the limited work that has been produced over the years on Ghanaian female musicians, I will draw heavily on literature from other African countries and to a lesser extent, global instances to support this project. The concentration here is on the secular music in Ghana. The work will rely heavily on the works of Adomako Ampofo, Asiedu and Collins. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 18 2.1. Ghanaian Music as Popular Product The most important question that should be answered before attempting to look at Ghanaian music as popular music is, what constitutes popular arts or culture, including music? There is no easy or clear- cut answer to this important question. Barber (1987) states that popular arts cDn onO\ Ee descriEed or defined E\ ³whDt it is not.´ By this definition, popular art is seen as a creation that does not fit into the neatly defined traditional forms or the elite forms of arts. The traditional and elite arts are seen as the two most sanctioned and organized forms of art. Traditional art forms are identified as those art forms which Dre ³communDO consensual, embedded in social and ritual practice, and produced according to rigid codes by highly trained, skilled craftsmen´ %Drber, 1987:2). Traditional arts are readily recognizable by members of the society to whom these arts belong. Again, traditional art forms are not readily malleable and one needs apprenticeship of a kind in order to be recognized as an authority. Elite art on the other hand are those ones that have identifiable authors (who are self-conscious educated artists) and are mostly complex, with the trappings of mostly western education or exposure. These two forms are given the needed attention to help them flourish. Traditional art forms are highly patronized during official state functions and elites or high artists have the opportunity to exhibit their works at well-organized galleries or conferences. Somewhere between these two well defined art lie popular art. It has adopted some characteristics of both the traditional and elite art, but also differs radically from both to an extent. Indeed popular art, including popular music, is sometimes seen in opposition to both University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 19 traditional and elite art. It mostly does not require any authority or apprenticeship and artists have a wide range of material to choose from. Hence, they twist and turn materials to suit personal taste or that of their audience. Popular art is indeed considered popuODr EecDuse ³its socioOogicDO roots Dre not in the lite and/or privileged minority sub-cultures but rather in the intermediate and agricultural sectors Dnd the working cODss´ &oOe 2001:2). Anyone who is a fan of popular art can have easy access to them because they are widely available and it flourishes with or without ³encourDgement or recognition from poOiticDO cuOturDO Eodies Dnd sometimes in defiDnce of them´ %DrEer :1). According to Karen Barber ³the most oEYious reDson for giYing serious Dttention to the popular arts is their sheer undeniable assertive presence as social facts (1987: .´ This stDtement by Barber reflects the powerful nature of popular art generally and music particularly. Barber suggests that popular arts and for that matter music serve as a valve for voicing social issues and sentiments. They are more or less the mirror through which society reflects its values, norms and practices. According to Asiedu and Adomako Ampofo (2012) the ability of cultural products and popular culture to reflect and influence society therefore meDns thDt ³these products cDnnot Ee tDken for grDnted Ds the\ potentiDOO\ hDYe the power to shape the consciousness of societ\´ :1). PopuODr music hDs Eeen DcknowOedged Ds ³the most potent DdDptDEOe transferable of arts and the only one to make a noticeable impact on popular University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 20 Dudience outside $fricD´ %DrEer  . *hDnDiDn PopuODr music which is one of the foremost products of popular culture has been identified by Collins (1985) as the type of music which has travelled the full cycle from Africa through the diaspora and returned to the Ghanaian. He explains this to mean that genres which are now recognized and acknowledged as popular culture are those sounds which were originally Ghanaian in roots but were taken to the Diaspora where they exploded and travelled back home and got synthesized with traditional African forms. Thus contemporary Ghanaian popular music is a synthesis of the more organised traditional forms with the elite forms of the western music due to slavery in the new world and brought back home again. But this time those who developed these genres were the ordinary men and women who found a way to proYide D Yoice for their µYoiceOessness’. Thus popuODr music possesses DOO th characteristic of popular art and more. This is because unlike other forms of popular art such as drama or paintings, songs are easily accessible to all and hold the most potent power of easily affecting and influencing the thought patterns of society. A study conducted on the representation of women in popular music in Ghana reflects this assertion. The Changing Representation of Women in Popular Music in Ghana , of which this thesis is an outgrowth, sets out to examine the ways in which women are presented in popular music in Ghana, and how those representations could be transformed if negative. The two papers that emerged out of this project speak to the nature and power of music as a popular art. The authors reveal that popular University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 21 music serve as a powerful tool to influence the thought patterns of both producers and consumers of music (Adomako Ampofo and Asiedu, 2012). Hence an important aspect of the study was its activist edge that sought to µmDrr\’ research with advocacy by taking their research to town and holding conversations with interested stakeholders. This was in a bid to raise consciousness about negative representation of women in popular Ghanaian music and influence the production of more empowering images. In one of their advocacy efforts, a representative of the media personnel is recorded confessing: ³, hDYe neYer thought of music in such terms. This ODunch wiOO mDke me more awDre when , Oisten to music´ $domDko $mpofo Dnd $siedu 16). This power of music and musicians was acknowledged by the Legon O bserver when it assigned a role to music and musicians, more significant even than historians: ³Eut for our compOete treDsur\ of our coOOectiYe humDn stor\ in DOO its fuOO complexity, we must also turn to the singers of our countless songs: our songs of jo\´ Legon Observer , 2000:1-2, cited in Adomako Ampofo & Asiedu, 2012). The second paper also revealed that the negative representation of women in popular music in Ghana was partly due to the fact that the industry was male dominated (Asiedu and Adomako Ampofo, 2012). An alternative representation of women in popular products, specifically music was suggested by the work as being possible through the introduction of more women into the music industry as performers and producers. Through the analysis of two songs by two artistes the authors show, however, that having women in the industry is not a sufficient University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 22 condition to impact representation and the roles assigned to women. Asiedu and Adomako Ampofo (2012) contend that due to the male dominated nature of the music industry, if one wants to encourage alternative representations of women this means bringing men into the discussion. This is necessary because producers are typically men and they advertently or inadvertently produce songs about women that may be denigrating. The power of music as a cultural product is thus undisputable. It embodies the totDOit\ of D peopOes’ OiYes Dnd serYes Ds ³indicDtors of cuOture´