Enjoy the Factory 78 interview with 5Five, another hot group from Ghana.
“5FIVE is a pop fusion group with an inclining for experimental genres that have cross over appeal. 5FIVE is a simply code for 50/50 without the zeros, literally meaning 50/50 of all round music. Be it HioHop, Jazz, R&B, Zouk, 5FIVE has a little bit of everything embedded in their style of genre of music. The contemporary group from the Accra suburbs released their debut single (4 better 4 worse) which featured Batman Samini (Mobo Awards Winner) on the Appietus compilation a few months ago after what seemed like forever in the urban underground circuit. The music world is constantly evolving and looking for exciting fusions to promote and 5FIVE might just be the ones to show the way to continent’s phenomenal contemporary talent with this first effort.
Raised in the centre of Accra Luther Azamati a.k.a Papi and Jeffery Opoku Agyekum a.k.a Killy grew up around a lot of music and were exposed to a plethora of genres which still influence their song writing and flow. Papi is a typical Hip-hop head going back to the mid 90’s with countless cameo appearances on several mixtapes that never got mainstream radio rotation. His music is inspired a lot of the times by abstract thoughts that he either translates in his paintings or lyrics. He’s mostly hanging with his boyz in the hood or at his manager’s (Bulldog) crib writing and listening to music. Killy on the other is a rap/singer scholar of sorts. He teamed up with Papi about three years ago after he managed to overcome the love-hate relationship he had with the underground. They later met Lawrence Nana Asiamah ‘Bulldog’ Hanson, manager of 5FIVE and started an album together.
“Making beautiful music is about experimenting with different stuff and piecing them to make a whole. We didn’t want anybody to pigeonhole us into a spot that will cut us off from what we were trying to do and it has payed off in a major way” Currently a freshman at Central University College, Killy is studying Business and Accounting but his passion for music he says overrides everything else. Like most Hip-hop infected artistes, 5FIVE put a lot of groove and texture out front—and groove and texture is the primary obsession of most music lovers. The duo has no formal songwriting training but were able to pen great hooks like ‘Girl if u really wanna party, come share drinks with me in the club tonite’ for Diojo on the dancehall/ R ‘n’B cut currently enjoying mainstream rotation. “ We think what makes a good album is diversity in subject matter and variation of musical styles. A summary of the current state of Hiplife points to the fact that everyone wants change, and that’s what we are here for. There are tracks on the album like ‘Lamiokor’ and ‘No.1 Fan’ cover topics that relate to the streets, love and urban deprivation.
I mean we grew up and still in quasi-hoods but we don’t see the point in constantly making songs about the ghetto unless we are bringing some truth and positivity. The media seems to home in on artists glorifying promiscuity and nonsense” Those are the words of a group determined to break every rule bending them over to a system that has held them back for too long. 5FIVE says they want to be clearly distinguished from the signature three-month burnout cuts floating on urban radio lately. Their Afrikan Gurlz received rave reviews and attracted over 500 shows country wide. It’s the number one ring tone on most mobile phones in Ghana, and the female population are in love with it. Their video shot straight up to playlist A on MTVBase and a feature was done on the group. Currently they have been nomited for 5ive categories in the 9th Edition of the Ghana Music Awards(GMA’s), Discovery of the Year(2008), Song of the Year(2008), HipLife Album of the Year(2008), HipLife Artiste of the Year & Pop Song of the Year(2008). They walked away on the glamorous MTN Ghana Music Awards night with two(2) trophie, Discovery of the Year(New Artiste) & Pop Song of the Year respectively.
They currently have a single out there that has taken over the streets, the Afrikan Gurlz Remix ft. Kwaw Kesse (MTN GMA Artiste of the Year) and 4×4(MTN GMA) Nominee. In the studio cooking the next album for their fans. Gyino – The young man with the moniker, Great Young Hustler, is the newest addition to multiple award winning duo, 5five. For someone who has been singing since 13, Gyino is definitely confident about his singing ability having spent several years honing his skills at various underground gigs like Lyricists Lounge and on the decks at a couple of Accra radio stations. With his spine-tingling, soulful voice, the Great Young Hustler still manages to sing with that edgy street sound that has made 5five, the new kids of Ghanaian Urban Music.”
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