Affectionately and deservingly dubbed the Godfather of Hip Life, Reggie Rockstone is a multi-talented rapper, producer and dancer credited with the origination of the hip life genre.

Reginald Osei was born in the United Kingdom on April, 11 in the late 1960s. He started out as a dancer in the early 80s and later trained as an actor before joining a rap group in England during the early 90s. However, he achieved moderate success in UK as a rapper. Upon his return to Ghana in the mid nineties he began work on his debut album which was released in 1997 titled “Makaa! Maka!” The album was innovative as he fucussed the traditional tune of high life with contemporary rap beats intricately woven with Twi lyrics, thus, producing a tune that appealed to mass audiences. The album went on to spin out over five hit singles which include “Agoo,” “Tsoo Boi,” “Nightlife in Accra,” and “Sweetie, Sweetie.”

The success of debut album launched him into the limelight. He was featured in the prestigious “Source” magazine, the first African musician and rapper ever to be featured in the magazine. A series of rumored collaboration between Reggie and Eminem ensued, though none came to fruition, the fact still remains that Reggie Rockstone is the most prominent and innovative Ghanaian rapper.

On the heels of his first album, he released his sophomore album titled “Ma Na Me Kae.” His follow-up album was as also commercially successful. Shelling out hit singles such as ‘Eye Mo De Anaa’ sampled fron Fela Kuti’s hit “Shakara”, ‘Plan Ben?’ and ‘Keep Your Eyes on The Road’ also sampled from a 1970’s highlife tune by Alhaji K. Reggie Rockstone showed his diversity as a rapper and lyricist with this album as it touched on various social issues. He released a follow-up album in 2000 which achieved moderate success.

Rockstone has won numerous awards, including a Kora Award for the best African Video in 2004 and has performed alongside various international artists such as Shaggy and Bennie Man. Following a long hiatus, Reggie Rockstone’s working new album has been released this year.