Wanlov the Kubolor – “Dis Be Ghana” is pidgin English, it means this is Ghana. Kubolor is a Ga word which means wanderer, vagabond. Kubolor, whose style is fiercely independent, is one of the most visionary artists in Ghana, he has developed a unique sound and employs very funny, often sarcastic lyrics that challenge the social issues faced by Ghanaians today, and push the borders of Afro-Pop.

diɛ yɛ pɛ sɛ wo bɛ yɛ a ni [what we want you to do is]

copy n paste

Verse 1:

preachers n the bible

pharmacys n tramadol

wot b the difference?

both b better paracetamol

murder is a sin

we say gay is a sin

but we wan murder gays

fuck outta here amoaning

if u rich u get fans

if u poor no get chance

if u die we go dance

taxi be ambulance

useless id card

wan take chop wana moni

we go do u juju

mek u find am funny

medical center

turn am into museum

like u take fix the roads

we go hav Ebony

dis b ghana

dat was madina

atomic explosion

jesus is a winner

we blame kebab seller

but allow mek e sell am

Wanlov the Kubolor uses sarcasm and irony in these lyrics. He expresses his displeasure of how most Ghanaians are not being innovative but always copying what someone else did to succeed.

Armed robbers have much confidence because of links they have with police men, our hospitals are bad especially Korle bu Teaching Hospital. Members of Parliament start to give excuses after they’ve been voted into office, there is no truthfulness among the youth, pharmacies sell unprescribed drugs like Tramadol which is becoming an epidemic.

The rich are regarded more than poor, we use taxis as ambulance, recent gas explosion at the atomic junction was blamed on a kebab[Lyrically named chichinga is a very popular street food, essentially Ghana’s answer to shish kebab: meat that has been rubbed in spice mix, then skewered and grilled] seller instead of the broken system. A medical center at Legon has been completed and abandoned, what a waste of resource that money could have been used to construct good roads which might have saved the late Ebony’s life.

Lala Shishi – explain the song, in Ga.

Every week, we will shed some light on the meaning of current hits in and out of Ghana: many bangers have an underlying message or social commentary, carried out using sophisticated and ever evolving wordplay – an aspect that is vastly lost in translation. The music videos don’t always unlock the true meaning or intricacies of hit songs, and lyrics alone are not always enough to understand the numerous double entendre and wordplays, so… here we go!