OgeeTheMc takes a different approach to hyping. He performs alongside Stonebwoy and infuses his hype with a poetic slant. He talks to OkayAfrica about how he does it.
Nelson C.J.NelsonC.J.Lagos-Based West Africa Correspondent
“Ogee takes hype a step further by infusing his hype with something more poetic, something more original.”courtesy of OgeeTheMc
On paper, Bright Fosu Danquah (aka OgeeTheMc) is one of Ghana’s most prominent hype men and MCs. But really, he is a storyteller. His work seems simple: show up on stage ahead of an artist’s performance (most often with Ghanaian dancehall legend Stonebwoy) and charge up the crowd with his words and energy. This is often helpful for many African artists whose performances require maximum audience energy.
But where hype and MC culture rely solely on using popular catchphrases and repetitive lingo to charge up a crowd during or before a performance, Ogee takes it a step further by infusing his hype with something more poetic, something more original. In many ways, he serves as an oral storyteller, providing energy while giving the crowd narrative context for the performance they’re about to witness.
“I draw influence of the spoken word from rap music and rap battles, but I also enjoy commentary when watching football,” Ogee tells OkayAfrica. “The choice of words really matters to me when watching football, and a name that comes to mind all the time is Peter Drury, and with voice narration I admire Sir David Attenborough.”
Ogee has performed alongside the late Ebony Reigns and has developed a close creative rapport with Stonebwoy.courtesy of OgeeTheMc
As an MC, Ogee has worked with the late Ghanaian superstar Ebony Reigns and has built a long creative relationship with Stonebwoy. You may have heard Ogee’s voice in the intros of Stonebwoy’s Torcher 1 and Torcher 2, offering a taste of the themes the projects cover.
Ogee has also featured alongside some of Stonebwoy’s onstage performances, not just before it.
Hypeman culture has gotten popular around the continent. From Lagos to Accra, hypemen are often as popular as the performing artists they are hyping. Sometimes, they operate solo, commanding thousands of people and driving the energy of the room. Sometimes, a hypeman can do more than build expectant energy in a crowd ahead of an artist’s performance. They can serve as an energy mirror for the artist.
Ogee’s work has taken him across continents, and it has made him believe in the power of the spoken word. He says his work as an Mcee mirrors DJ Khalid's, serving as a strong accompaniment to any project.
Below, Ogee talks about starting as a hype man, making hype popular in Ghana, and the thrill of combining hype with spoken word.
Back then, I started off hosting rap battles and was influenced by BET’s Big Tigger, who hosted Rap City. He inspired me because I love rap and poetry. I didn't just wake up one day and decide I wanted to be a hype man. I did radio for YFM in Accra, then TV and traditional hosting at events. If you ask anyone who went to school with me when I began this journey, they won’t be surprised by what I do now. During my time at YFM, I met the late Ebony Reigns.
She was the first artist who gave me the confidence to be a hype man on stage with an artist. Before then, I often worked solo, hosting events. While working with Ebony, I was also hosting shows for Stonebwoy, but I wasn’t his official hype man yet. But he knew my potential. After Ebony’s passing, it was a massive blow, and I lost interest in what I was doing, so I left for Canada for a while. Stone used to check on me, and soon he convinced me to come back to Ghana and fight for the industry with the passion I have.
Ogee’s process begins with writing his material and figuring out what story he wants to tell onstage.courtesy of OgeeTheMc
While it started with Ebony, Stone is the one who put me out there to the world because we traveled together, and he gave me a lot of chances for people to also see my potential. That led to me recording intros for his albums. Establishing myself as a hype man wasn’t easy. The Ghanaian wasn’t initially receptive to me while I was working with Ebony. Sometimes I got trolled on Facebook; during performances with Ebony, my placement overlapped with her singing. I had so much to learn, and because there wasn’t really a template in Ghana, I had to figure it out through experience. When hyping with an artist, I had to learn the art of being in the right position, making sure the audience isn’t confused about who is performing, and essentially being a source of energy for the artist. When you hype an artist and work with them for a while, creative chemistry naturally develops over time.
It’s in things like knowing how the artist operates. With Stone, I already know that for every performance, I need to be 30 minutes ahead of him before he arrives on stage. So sometimes, when he's about to jump on stage, he sees me and tells the people to give me the mic to join him. Mind you, we haven't rehearsed. I have no clue about the performances he's about to do, but we have built a strong rapport over the years. It also helps that I pay close attention to his performances. My hype has evolved to not just be something that gets the crowd charged up; it adds color to what the crowd is about to experience, so much so that I now see tweets of people looking forward to my hype session before a Stonebwoy performance because it offers something interesting beyond just hype.
“I write my intro, which is also a poetic piece about the artist and what we are doing”courtesy of OgeeTheMc
Everybody is always waiting to hear what I'm about to say this time. During preparations, I write my intro, which is also a poetic piece about the artist and what we are doing. I write it to cover what we've been through all year because we are always in the news, and most of the time I address every critic and everything that's been thrown at us. I talk about how God has been blessing us and protecting us, then I end up talking about the show and the artist coming. Afterward, I rehearse it back-to-back because I need to remember everything I’ve written.
One memorable performance was at the Ghana Music Awards two years ago when I came up with this, my style of intro that took over the internet. I love poetry. I love rap music. I love intelligent rappers; I like listening to rappers that say stuff that makes me want to decipher what they’re talking about. Now the goal is to keep expanding the legacy through workshops, and there might be some personal projects coming in the near future.
