Ghana: A tribute to Castro D’destroyer

What happened at Ada Beach, where he is believed to have drowned during a jet ski incident, was an accident, but the beloved Ghanaian hiplife artist’s career wasn’t.

Right off the bat, with the release of ‘Sradenam’ in 2003, the singer stamped his authority as an unshakable force on the country’s mainstream music scene. He was a vocal wizard, a crafty storyteller, a crossover king and a master of melodies that sparked instant parties or provoked quiet reflection – in perfect doses and often on the same record.

A double-edged sword, Castro could sing and rap in multiple tongues and styles. The Jay Q-produced record, for instance, honours the jama tempo typical with the fishing communities of Accra’s coastline. But there’s also ‘Odo Pa’ – archetypal highlife featuring Kofi Kinaata and football star and long-time friend Asamoah Gyan. There’s also ‘Eye Mo Fe’, a track encased in hardcore hip hop. Such was the man’s musical range: fearless and without limit.

Hiplife has the likes of Jay Q and Hammer of the Last Two to thank for its huge impact on the local urban culture, but Castro, whose riveting penmanship and silver voice can be heard on hundreds of songs, was very much a linchpin of the genre, too.

At a time when musicians belonged to producer factions and scoffed at the idea of collaboration with other music makers, Castro flourished everywhere. He hatched classics with Jay Q, and then with Kwik Action, Appietus, Richie Mensah, and Kaywa. He was known as an astonishingly quick songwriter. This shows in his dense discography that includes Toffee, Fakye and Back 2 Sender, the project on which Gyan made his debut, on the ‘African Girls’ single.

Until he was last seen, he maintained a continual presence in the country’s pop charts – if not by himself then as a guest. ‘Toffee’, ‘Comm Centre’, ‘Seihor’, ‘Personal Person’, ‘African Girls’ and ‘Odo Pa’ all continue to shine with his passionate touch. His craft was a huge source of inspiration to the new generation of pop singers, notably Kofi Kinaata and Nero X.

At 81 million YouTube views, ‘Adonai’ is currently the biggest song by rapper Sarkodie, arguably Ghana’s biggest music export today. That Castro co-conspired the track further corroborates his legacy. Tales of his early days are filled with testimonies of modesty and service – playing errand boy and car washer. Even after fully blooming into stardom, Castro was constantly praised for his selflessness and humanity by many of his contemporaries. “Castro's rapid rise boiled down to his humility,” veteran producer Anane Frimpong, who produced Castro's first few albums, says about the musician. Jay Q, who discovered Castro maintains that “his being an artist comes second to him being a man.”

His disappearance is the stuff of tragedies. On 6 July 2014, Castro, who was vacationing with Gyan and a few other friends, disappeared during a jet ski ride with a woman named Miss Janet Bandu. While the jet ski was recovered, its occupants weren’t. He was said to be an expert swimmer who had rescued a person on at least one occasion. Now, seven years after the incident, the artist has been pronounced officially dead in line with Ghana’s Evidence Act.

At the just-ended Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMAs), Sarkodie led a tribute performance of ‘Adonai’ alongside Kurl Songx and Kofi Kinaata in honour of the missing musician. The act, energetic and emotive, invoked Sarkodie and Castro’s performance at the 2014 VGMAs.

“When I started my verse, usually it is him and I on stage,” Kinaata, who left the stage halfway into the performance, told the Accra-based TV Africa. “I didn’t know what was happening so I just got off the stage,” he said, admitting that he shed a tear backstage.

Annually, since the Ada incident, social media is replete with Castro tributes. While some music fans are slowly coming to terms with the reality of the musician’s disappearance, others are still hoping for his return. But the tongue is immune to decay. Because Castro’s legacy resides in his music, because he was a master of reinvention and a well of enduring hooks and verses, there’s hardly any debate that his name will be associated with the best artists Ghana has given birth to.