Abigail Burland, professionally known as Abigail Asante is a Ghanaian rapper based in the United Kingdom. Abigail was originally a dancer and would post her videos on Instagram. She made her first debut by releasing collaborations with Ivorian Doll, another UK rapper. Asante is well known for her song/collaboration, “The Situation.” Although she is recognized for her drill-like music, Abigail still manages to incorporate things from her country in some of her songs.
[Interlude]
Hello?
Yes, Mum?
Abigail… agh
You are trending on Twitter again
It’s okay!
All my church friends are sending this on Whatsapp, oh
Wait (Ah)
In Asante’s interlude, she inserts a conversation between her mother and her. Her mother mentions Whatsapp, which is something prominent in Ghana because it all people use to communicate with each other and their families that live outside of the country. While talking to her mother she also sucks her teeth, which in the Ghanaian culture means you are either dismissing the statement said by the person or that you do not care about what was being said. In another one of Abigail’s songs, “Stupid,” she refers to her cultural food such as rice and stew as well as jollof and chicken.
As for the relations between the diaspora and hip hop, that is seen throughout the entire song. The beat and the aggression with which she raps seem to replicate some hip-hop artists and songs. For example, a rapper and song she immediately reminded me of were Chief Keef and his song “Love Sosa.” Both songs begin at low volume and gradually become louder as the artists’ rap with what seems like anger.
Compared to Ghanaian rappers who are based in Ghana, Abigail Asante does not use the language and sticks more to English. Regardless of whether or not she incorporates the Ghanaian language she still manages to include her culture in some of her music. Listening to her songs overall, I enjoyed them and I am happy to have found another musical artist from Ghana who dipped into a slightly different genre than found in Ghana. Cannot wait to hear what else she releases.
You can check out the rest of her songs and videos by clicking on the icons below.
Works Cited
“Abigail Asante – BIG FACTS.” Genius, genius.com/Abigail-asante-big-facts-lyrics.