Renowned traditional artiste Sherifa Gunu has expressed deep concern over the persistent negative perceptions surrounding traditional Ghanaian music.
According to her, the genre is often wrongly labeled as outdated or “colo” (colonial), despite being a true and vibrant representation of Ghana’s cultural identity.
Speaking in an interview, Sherifa, whose real name is Osman Sherifatu Gunu, lamented the lack of appreciation for traditional music among Ghanaian musicians.
She contrasted the situation with Nigeria, where artistes are proudly embracing and promoting their heritage through traditional sounds.
“It’s disheartening that while Nigerians are proudly pushing their culture through traditional music, many Ghanaian artistes are turning their backs on it,” she said. “Traditional music is not ‘colo’. It is who we are—it reflects our roots and our story.”
Sherifa further revealed that the long-standing stigma attached to traditional music has made it difficult for her to secure collaborations with fellow Ghanaian artistes. Ironically, she noted, these same musicians who ignore traditional sounds at home are quick to incorporate local instruments into their performances during European tours to boost their global appeal.
She called for a shift in mindset, urging Ghanaian artistes to embrace and uplift traditional music as a powerful tool for cultural preservation and global recognition.
“It will interest you to know that many Ghanaian artistes don’t want to work with traditional musicians because they think our music is too outdated and too ‘colo’. They act very big here, sounding like foreigners, but go abroad and suddenly play kora and drums. That’s just hypocrisy.
“Our brothers and sisters in Nigeria have seen the light and are seriously promoting their traditional music, and we sit back here and want to sound more original than the owners of the sound.
“Nigerian artistes are leading because they know how to sell their culture. But here, when you even sing in your mother tongue, people describe it as too ‘local’ and ‘colo’, like it’s a bad thing. Until we fully embrace our sound, we’ll keep falling behind,” she said.
While admitting that following music trends is attractive, Sherifa also cautioned young artistes not to be swayed by ‘fast food’ music but to be authentic and walk in the paths of music greats such as Osibisa, Amakye Dede and Angelique Kidjo, who are still relevant after many years because of their style.(Read also:
“I don’t and never follow trends and the result is that my music is timeless. So I want to entreat our artistes to be themselves as Ghanaians.
“Unfortunately, it appears many of our artistes forget where they come from just to gain quick fame. But look at legends like Osibisa, Amakye Dede and Angelique Kidjo—they stayed authentic and still made history. If you copy too much, you’ll disappear,” she added.
The showbiz path hasn’t been without thorns for Sherifa Gunu, who made her first appearance on the scene when she came second at the then-1998 Embassy Pleasure, a popular national dance championship in the 1990s.
In 2017, she released Salamatu. She also boasts of a number of albums, including Dagbon, Akwaaba Wo Africa and African Woman, as well as several awards.
