Palm Wine Music : Intro

So I realized something as I was giving the platform to blog about music… something I love; that it wasn’t actually easy to blog about african music as I thought it would. African music, despite it richness, culture and heritage is difficult to keep track off (for lack of better term), and I’m tired of just the celebrity gossip and news. Why not delve deeper into music itself as appreciated in Ghana and in Africa as a whole; and I have come to appreciate how every little information gained during this process is integral and worth sharing.
The first thing I want to look at is something I’ve known existed, but only recently got to appreciate and actually got to know. Palm wine music.
Now this is a genre of music I have come to love. Not just for the music, but also the communal nature it was birthed from.
Imagine coming from a long hard day of work, meeting your “bros” where the palm wine seller does her market, sitting around, and sharing your stories… through music. This is a basic sketch of what palm wine music started out us. Palm wine music comes with so much history, and tells a story like none other.
Originally known in Akan language as “Nsadwaase Nkɔmmɔ”, this genre of music has paved way to many styles of Ghanaian music, probably even Hi-life music.
Some might wonder how this genre of music can be made available to the masses; evidently due its communal nature. With the first ever palm wine music being recorded by Jacob Sam and the Kumasi 3, it is safe to say palm wine music, just like most of the other genres of music, has commercial value and capabilities.