Obuoba J.A. Adofo & City Boys International – Medo Wiase

J.A. Adofo’s City Boys was one of Ghana’s great late-period highlife bands. This is a tape from the 80s (I think). Much of the music you hear around town—riding public transit (these over-stuffed trucks and vans called trotros), blasting from radios in shops—sounds like this. Perhaps an acquired taste. I like how J.A. Adofo (aka “The Black Chinese of Ghana”) and his band draw from non-Ghanaian influences like reggae and soul. Stretching the boundaries of highlife during 80s helped set the stage for the hiplife explosion of the mid-90s. Thank you City Boys.

This band was so impossibly prolific, I could post a different City Boys tape each week for the next six months and we’d probably still be able to dig up a few more.

 

Side 1
Medo Wiase
Abrebrese

 

Side 2
Odomo Ayikoo
Onyunu Adwo

21 Comments

Join the discussion and tell us your opinion.

  • August 18, 2008 at 6:52 pm

    This comment has been removed by the author.

  • August 19, 2008 at 8:11 am

    excellent tape! it reminds me to a tape i bought 1996 in Accra a late highlife but not yet hiplife style with a house (!) beat by singer SAM T. please upload more of that. its just great!!!!i also enjoyed Allan Familiy Cultural Troupe, whose tape i also bought in 1996. but its another version of yours here.
    best wishes, malam bala

  • August 19, 2008 at 3:55 pm

    dude quit TELLING us about this alleged ghanaian house music cassette by Sam T…. SEND TO US FOR LISTENING :)

    let me know if you need advice on how to digitize, etc.

  • August 20, 2008 at 2:36 pm

    please post a diferent City Boys tape each week for the next six months

  • August 21, 2008 at 3:50 am

    well, for the sake of variety perhaps we could make it once a month?

  • August 28, 2008 at 3:55 pm

    thx to you mate
    you’re doing a great job. keep it up love you

  • August 29, 2008 at 6:56 am

    kwabena, i would upload, but truly i dont know how to digitize tapes…

    malam bala

  • August 29, 2008 at 12:52 pm

    no worries, you may post it to me and I will send back to you or you can download this program or a program like it: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

    feel free to email me for specific instructions, brianshimkovitz@yahoo.com

  • November 5, 2008 at 10:23 pm

    You can really hear hte regaae and soul.

  • November 6, 2008 at 3:40 am

    first time listening, very interesting

  • November 19, 2008 at 1:34 pm

    Malam, are you the one who is regretting that you cannot download tunes from VOA?
    Well actually you _can_: use your mouse button+key combination that will open it in another window/tab (apple+click on Mac, middle button with unix). You’ll then be able to save the new page (the song itself)!

    • July 21, 2016 at 11:46 am
      In reply to: Anonymous

      thanks I’ve been doing it the hard way. Your method works easy

  • January 11, 2010 at 9:58 am

    nice. so cool.

  • August 17, 2015 at 3:26 pm

    Awesome. Thank you.

  • March 8, 2016 at 1:11 pm

    Love it – that synth is deliciously out of tune!

  • May 16, 2016 at 3:05 pm

    city boys your touff

  • May 16, 2016 at 3:06 pm

    i love soooomuch God bless

  • July 21, 2016 at 11:37 am

    I was just all agitated from some racist history rewrite attempts I saw on facebook. But then I started listening to this splendid album and I think I am relaxing.

  • July 21, 2016 at 1:31 pm

    antawele2@gmail.com

  • November 26, 2016 at 7:33 am

    Greetings from Brazil, my friend, thank you for making this material available ..
    health and peace!

  • December 4, 2017 at 1:42 pm

    gd evening i am the beg fan for adofo

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