SummaryA combination of Fante percussion and seperewa music with the melodies and finger plucking style of the Kru people.
HistoryThe Fante people of Ghana created a special way of playing the guitar called cross-fingering, which later helped shape Ghanaian Highlife music, Sierra Leone’s Maringa, and Juju music from western Nigeria. The Kru people, who lived along the West African coast, were known for being strong and independent. Unlike many others, they managed to avoid being taken as slaves on European ships. While working as sailors, the Kru learned to play portable instruments like harmonicas, accordions, and especially guitars from European sailors. When the Kru visited the Gold Coast (now Ghana), they met the Fante people, who lived along the coast in places like Accra and Sekondi-Takoradi. The Fante played a traditional harp lute called the seperewa using a plucking technique. The Kru sailors imitated this finger-picking style on Portuguese guitars, creating a new sound called osibisaaba. Over time, this guitar style evolved into palm-wine music, with Kwame Sam, also known as Jacob Sam, becoming one of the first to develop and popularize it.
Elements The cross-finger plucking technique was adapted to play Seperewa melodies on the guitar, giving it a unique African flavor.
The themes of Fante Osibisaaba often reflect the social, cultural, and everyday life experiences of the Fante people.
Fante Osibisaaba was shaped primarily by the Fante people of coastal Ghana, whose traditional rhythms and seperewa harp-lute melodies heavily influenced its sound. The Kru people from Liberia also played a role, as they introduced European instruments like guitars and harmonicas during their seafaring voyages, blending the local techniques with the European style of playing.
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