Top 10 unforgettable Ghana and Nigeria music collaborations

Brewed by a lot of controversies touching on the Nigerian music industry and media seemingly not showing enough love to their Ghanaian counterparts, it had also swirled up in its wake, several discourses, highlighting the many strategies Nigerian musicians and its presiding industry had taken to see to the supremacy of their music.

One of such strategies includes collaboration which essentially amplifies the strengths of all parties involved across their fanbases and is an exchange of co-signs by so doing. To highlight the power of collaborations and how they’ve helped strengthen the relationship between Ghana and Nigeria, here’s a list of some unforgettable Nigerian and Ghanaian music collaborations, from the early 2000s to recent times:

Unforgettable Ghana and Nigeria Music Collaborations;

1. Fefe Na Fe- Tic Tac ft. Tony Tetuila, 2004

An ode to the beauty of a woman, Fefe Na Efecan stand toe-to-toe with the latest African woman appreciation songs out in recent times.

2.Kiss Your Hand- R2Bees ft. Wande Coal, 2009

In present time Lagos state and at a gathering of young Nigerians, a certified way to get them on their feet is to put on the Wande Coal-featured Kiss Your Hand dancehall-inflected hiplife record by R2Bees.

Such was and still is the Black Diamond and R2Bees effect, making a Ghana-Nigerian collaboration that is not only unforgettable but incredibly iconic.

Ironically, Wande Coal himself had before that put out a similarly titled record as one of the masterpieces off his debut album, Mushin 2 Mohits, but as fate would have it, it was the cultural exchange that would be the anthem and the soundtrack of the 90s baby’s childhood.

3. Becca- No Away ft M.I Abaga, 2012

For this, she’d recruited iconic rapper,M.I Abaga, moulding him into a lover boy for their romantic collab onNo Away which was soon followed by equally moving vocals that had shippers rooting for the duo.

4.Slow Down- R2Bees ft. Wizkid, 2013

Hiplife was at the very core of Ghanaian music back in the noughties and 2010s and the R2Bees duo made up of Mugeezand Omar Sterling had greatly blessed the subgenre not only with their talent but with era-defining collaborations.

This is a feat they sealed four years after their Kiss Your Hand smash hit, this time with a slow-paced number that travelled past being for lovers alone to being for music lovers as Ghanaians and Nigerians everywhere crooned along to Wizkid’s laidback lines on the song and then to rap song lines from R2Bees.

The official video of Slow Down which marked Wizkid’s entry into continental currently sits on 21 million views on YouTube as a slight testament to the power that this collaboration holds.

5.Skin Tight- Mr Eazi ft. Efya, 2015

In the late 2010s, a sound had infected the airwaves of Ghana and Nigeria and it was the Ghanaian-bred Banku music, pioneered by Mr Eazi, a cultural hybrid of his Nigerian roots and time studying in Ghana.

The sound had begun its circulation following the release of his Juls-produced and Efya-assisted single Skin Tight, done up in his Banku style which he described as a mix of Ghanaian expressions and Nigerian chord progressions.

Juls and Efyaboth being Ghanaians, had been the perfect collaborators for the track, with Julswho’d reached out to him earlier on in his career, serving as a catalyst to the growth of Eazi’ssound and Efya becoming a long-running Nigerian collaborator afterwards.

Skin Tight by Mr Eazi had not only grown into a smash hit, but was an entire cultural reset and era for Nigerians and Ghanaians, both consumers and creators as it influenced a lot of choices from then on and remains a favourite till now.

6.No Kissing Baby- Patoranking ft. Sarkodie, 2016

Making Patoranking’sfirst international collab, it had given Ghanaians and Nigerians one of the smoothest Sarkodie guest verses even while he enjoyed an insane run in the music scene.

7.Painkiller- Sarkodie ft Runtown, 2017

Years after the cataclysmic success of Runtown’s Mad Over Yourecord, the singer would admit that it was a blessing and a curse. While he meant the latter as a result of the weight of expectations it left behind, it was undoubtedly a blessing in its establishment of the blend of Ghanaian Banku and Igbo Highlife that was soon reapplied to create Sarkodie’s Painkiller.

A leading lady in a male-dominated scene, Beccahad put out Na Washin early 2017 to re-assert her stake in the scene. This time, she’d featured Patoranking and they’d made a hit record that traversed the borders of Ghana to become a hit record in the two countries.

A song satirising the modern standards of showing love, it had been aptly released on Valentines Day with her and Patoranking serving as the perfect music making couple.

9.Forever Rmx- Gyakie ft Omah Lay, 2021

Gyakie’s Forever off her debut EP, Seed was already a huge hit, but she’d been shrewd enough to see the advantage in a collaboration to make a remix that would further strengthen the impact of her breakout hit.

For this, she’d chosen a fellow breakout sensation in the Nigerian Omah Lay who laid a verse so cohesive, it felt like the original and had found even better placement on the charts.

Ghanaian Black Sherifhad been steadily making a name for himself and growing a cult following from Ghana and Nigeria with his hard-hitting iteration of Ghanaian drill, his Second Sermon being a favourite thrumming beneath the mainstream.

His status soon changed after Nigerian megastar Burna Boy jumped on the record and gave it a befittingly rage-filled verse that soon became its remix.

Known for his energetic performances and high expectations from his audience, Burna Boy had instructed fans to learn the lyrics for the remix of Second Sermon prior to his Lagos headline show, further helping to convert his fans to believers in Black Sheirf’s sermon.