Hammer of The Last Two - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Hammer of The Last Two, born Edward Nana Poku Osei is a record producer in the Ghanaian music industry. He is the founder and CEO of The Last Two Music Group and is also known for grooming some of the best artists Ghanaian Hip Hop

Hip hop

Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...

or Hiplife

Hiplife

Hiplife is a Ghanaian musical style which fuses highlife and hip hop. It is also influenced by dancehall and reggae. Recorded in Ghanaian languages such as Twi, Ewe and Ga, hiplife is rapidly gaining popularity throughout West Africa and abroad, especially in the United Kingdom, United States,...

has ever produced such as Obrafour, tinny, Kwaw Kese, Sarkordie, Ayigbe Edem

Ayigbe edem

Denning Edem Agbeviadey , is a Ghanaian recording artist and entertainer who performs under the name Ayigbe Edem or Edem for short. Edem is his middle name and Ayigbe is a local Akan word with reference to the Ewe ethnic group that occupies most part of the Volta Region of Ghana...

, etc. as a producer, he is credited as one of the pioneers and key figures in the popularization of Hiplife

Hiplife

or Hip Hop

Hip hop

made in Ghana.

Separation of The Last Two

Hammer began his career in music accidentally when a friend of his (Yaw Opare Anoff, aka Way Deep), a gifted keyboardist at the time encouraged him to take up the career because he realized Hammer had the ability to dissect and analyze music in the most unusual ways, as a professional does. He also had the habit of finding faults with world class professional music which he thought could be better. This friend and Hammer then formed a production unit called The Last Two, meaning the only two left to put Ghana on the world map musically. Together they groomed and produced an album for a young artist called Obrafour which went down on record as the highest selling Hiplife

Hiplife

album in Ghana to date. This album was called “pae mu ka.” Way Deep however left to the United States while Hammer remained as ‘one of the two’ left alone with the task of fulfilling the dream of two. Hammer however decided to maintain the name THE LAST TWO as a tribute to his friendship with Way Deep.

Liberating the Tribes in Hip Hop

After Obrafour album, Hammer took up a new dream to spread Hiplife

Hiplife

or Hip Hop

Hip hop

in Ghana through all dialects instead of the stereotypical “Akan” language which was and is the most popular language in the country. After Obrafour (who rapped in the Twi dialect, typical of the Ashanti people), he challenged himself by risking the production of albums in other unpopular dialects, musically and made history again with the recording of Tinny, who raps in the “Ga” language, typical of the people of the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. He went down in history as the best selling “Ga” act to date. He then challenged himself again with Kwaw Kese ending up as the biggest “fante” act to date. The “fante” language is typical of the indigenes of the Central Region and parts of the Western Region of Ghana. The story followed with Ayigbe Edem

Ayigbe edem

adding to Hammer’s credit as the biggest “Ewe” rapper to date. The “ewe” language is the mother tongue of the Volta Region of Ghana and neighboring Togo and Benin.

Compilation Albums

Hammer also releases occasional compilation albums which give the numerous artists who flock to his camp, a chance to be on wax without releasing an album. The compilation albums include the Execution Diary (2003), which was in partnership with Obrafour, Sounds of Our Time (2004), The Crusade of the Lost Files (2006) and the ongoing Evolution Recruits. A known perfectionist and a very passionate musician, Hammer’s methods of grooming his artists have come into question and controversy but the results of the unearthing of iconic stars seems to shut negative observers up. Hammer also does occasional scoring of movies, including the American movie “Bloody Street.”

Growing Up

The third child of Jones A. Osei and Marian Osei, Hammer was born Edward Nana Poku Osei on March 27, 1976. His father was a banker and his mother was in the fishing industry. They both had six children consisting of three boys and three girls, in order, Albert Osei, Angela Osei, Edward Osei, Elizane Osei, Karen Osei and Jones Osei jnr. He is also a descendant of the late Otumfour Opoku Ware II, one time King of the Asanti Region. The family lived in North Kaneshie and later moved to East Legon, a wealthy neighborhood in the capital in the late eighties. Hammer attended Yellow Duckling nursery school, St Theresa’s School, Achimota Primary School and finally the Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School, Legon. However his passion for music became a distraction from active academics and so he could not further his education to the university level. Occasionally in his adolescent, the family lived in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

and he also lived in the United States of America during his late teens. Although his father was heartbroken as Hammer’s grades fell, the family realized he was a born musician and eventually supported him. Hammer was known to drum on any surface available to him anywhere he found himself and was also known to patrol his neighborhood with a boom box sound system while playing loud music with friends.

Inspiration

Growing up on his father’s musical collection (such as Bonny M, the Bee Gees

Bee Gees

The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...

, Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

, The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...

, Pavarotti, Bonnie Tyler

Bonnie Tyler

Bonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer, most notable for her hits in the 1970s and 1980s including "It's a Heartache", "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart".-Early life:...

and several television and movie theme instrumentals such as James Bond

James Bond

James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

, Dynasty

Dynasty (TV series)

Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado...

, Neighbors

Neighbors

Neighbors is a 1980 novel by Thomas Berger. A film adaptation was made in 1981. The novel was adapted into a play by Eve Summer and premiered in Worcester, Massachusetts in 2007 ....

, Dallas

Dallas (TV series)

Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...

, etc.), Hammer digested works from these great icons as early as age seven and this gave him an unusual perspective over his peers, equipping him with skills that would eventually shape up his musical career. After the Hip Hop

Hip hop

revolution, Hammer then became a fan of Special Ed

Special Ed

Special Ed is the performing name of Edward Archer , an American hip hop musician of Jamaican descent. Hailing from Brooklyn in New York City, he was raised in Flatbush before moving to Canarsie, and is identified with East Coast hip hop...

, A Tribe called Quest

A Tribe Called Quest

A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...

, EPMD

EPMD

EPMD is an American hip hop group from Brentwood, New York. The group's name is a concatenation of the members' name "E" and "PMD" or an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referencing its members, emcees Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith...

, De La Soul

De La Soul

De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...

, Craig Mack

Craig Mack

Craig Mack is an American Grammy nominated rapper, who gained fame on Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Entertainment record label in the 1990s. Although his first single was released under the name MC EZ in 1988, he is best known for his 1994 hit single "Flava In Ya Ear", which was released under his real name...

, Guru

Guru

A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...

, Rakim

Rakim

William Michael Griffin Jr. , known by his stage names Rakim , Rakim Allah, R.A.K.I.M., and The Master, is an American rapper. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and most skilled emcees of all time. Eric B...

, Das Efx

Das EFX

Das EFX is an American hip hop duo. It consists of emcees Skoob and Dray...

, Jay Z, Dr. Dre

Dr. Dre

Andre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...

, etc. But his real inspiration came from Osibisa

Osibisa

Osibisa is a British Afro-pop band, founded in London in 1969 by four expatriate African and three Caribbean musicians. Osibisa were one of the first African bands to become widely popular, leading to claims of founding World Music.-History:...

and Quincy Jones

Quincy Jones

Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...

and Bob Marley

Bob Marley

Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...

. Hammer is known to be a very reserved person and avoids nightclubs, parties and other social gatherings. The name “Hammer” initially came from a mock performance of MC Hammer

MC Hammer

Stanley Kirk Burrell , better known by his stage name MC Hammer , is an American rapper, entertainer, business entrepreneur, dancer and actor. He had his greatest commercial success and popularity from the late 1980s until the mid-1990s...

’s “Here comes the Hammer” back in school as a fresher but now the Hammer name is related to the raging heavy drums associated with his music production. Hammer lives a simple life far from the celebrated person he is. Fans have credited him for being very down-to-earth.

Obrafour

In 1997, as the young Hammer and Way Deep started their music production career, a friend (Edward Adu Mensah) introduced them to Obrafour, a potential rapper with unusual singing abilities and after vigorous grooming from Hammer, his debut album produced by Hammer and Way Deep was released on the Home Base Record label owned by Daniel ‘Masoul’ Adjei and was later managed by Noise Management, owned by Abraham Ohene Djan in August 1999. After Obrafour’s album, a disagreement between Way Deep and Hammer split the two producers but they have since remained friends outside their production differences and still keep in constant touch. Way Deep however has since evolved into a singer and plays several more live instruments such as saxophone

Saxophone

The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

, guiter, etc. Obrafour has remained a multi award winner to date at the Ghana Music Awards and other parts of Africa.

Tinny

Tinny was also a full beneficiary of Hammer’s grooming and entire production which earned him a classic for a debut album. In order to reduce the risk of the release of Tinny who was emerging with the ‘Ga’ language, very unpopular then in the music industry, Hammer decided to feature him on Obrafour’s third album hit single ‘oye ohene’ remix, which shot Tinny up to stardom even before his debut was released. There was also a dispute between Hammer and Tinny during the recording of his maiden album called ‘Makola Kwakwe.’ Apparently, Tinny was caught up in the ‘twi’ revolution and despite being a ‘Ga’, he wanted to force himself to rap in ‘twi’ because of a wider market. Hammer however believed Tinny would popularize the ‘ga’ language in the industry and would not allow him to rap in ‘twi’ as he believed Tinny would be ousted by the ‘twi’ speaking rappers. The issue was settled finally as Tinny’s family agreed that the ‘ga; should dominate the album with snippets of twi and the result was a pride for the ‘ga’ people and a number one spot for Tinny. He went on to win several awards at the Ghana Music Awards in subsequent years and other awards in parts of Africa.

Kwaw Kese

In 2004, Hammer took up yet another challenge with an artist called Kwaw Kese, an indigene of the ‘fante’ language who hailed from Agona Swedru in the Central Region. Kwaw Kese came to the capital purposely to look for Hammer through one of Hammer’s artistes “Dogo”and upon his first audition, Hammer confirmed his potential and started grooming him. Within three months of training, Hammer released a single, ‘oye nonsense’ from him which immediately made him eligible for concerts and appearances. Demand for this artist was so high that Hammer had to release the second single ‘kwakwa” which certified Kwaw Kese as the best ‘fante’ rapper Ghana had ever seen. His debut album however was delayed until the following year and in the 2007/2008 Ghana Music Awards, Kwaw Kese went on to win about seven awards.

Ayigbe Edem

In 2005, Hammer got married and had his first child. He eventually took a break from production for more than two years until the middle of 2007 when he took up the project of yet another artist from another part of the country. This artist, Ayigbe Edem

Ayigbe edem

, was introduced to Hammer two years earlier by Jay Foley, an advertising agency owner who used to be a production student of Hammer back in 2002. Edem’s potential was obvious from the word go and Hammer started grooming him immediately. The result was the landmark album titled ‘The Volta Regime’ which immediately put the Volta Region on the Ghanaian hip hop musical map. The album earned Ayigbe Edem

Ayigbe edem

seven nominations with one win at the 2010 Ghana Music Awards. Edem is still recording his second album and lives away from the noise of the city in the outskirts of the capital Accra.

Sarkodie

During the recording of The Volta Regime album in 2009, a young potential rapper named Sarkodie approached Hammer for a recording deal. After auditioning, Hammer branded Sarkodie as a rap encyclopedia due to the various styles he could conjure on impulse. He then tagged Sarkodie as a special case and encouraged him to master one particular style of his which was tongue twisting. This artist also proved himself to be the only local rapper with the ability to freestyle off the head with intelligent rhymes mixed with logic. Hammer did not want to waste time on Sarkodie so he quickly signed him for a five year contract and created spaces on two of Ayigbe Edem

Ayigbe edem

’s songs (u dey craze and give it up) to introduce him before the recording of his debut album. However, after the release of Ayigbe Edem

Ayigbe edem

’s album, Sarkodie’s demand soared and the promotion of Ayigbe Edem

Ayigbe edem

’s album seemed to conflict with the timing of the recording of Sarkodie’s album. This resulted in a dispute that could have delayed Sarkodie’s recording. Hammer later agreed to let Sarkodie go as he wanted to focus all attention on Edem at the time. Sarkodie moved on to win the Artiste of the year 2010 at the 2010 Ghana Music Awards with his debut. Relationship between Hammer and Sarkodie was never affected by this as Sarkodie went on to name his album ‘makye’ which was given to him by Hammer upon their first meeting. Hammer is currently producing a song for him on the upcoming Rapperholic album.

Offcamp production

Hammer is also responsible for the big break of New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

based Ghanaian Hip Hop

Hip hop

artist Blitz the Ambassador

Blitz the Ambassador

Samuel Bazawule , known by the stage name Blitz the Ambassador, is a Ghanaian-American hip-hop artist and visual artist based in Brooklyn, USA.-Early life:...

, when he featured Blitz on a couple of his productions like Deeba, and Obrafour's (who born u by mistake).
In between the recordings of Hammer’s groomed iconic artists, he was occasionally contracted by executive producers to produce two or three songs on various albums of artists such as Deeba

Deeba

Deeba is a Pakistani film actress and one of the leading film heroines during 1960s and 1970s. Deeba's real name is Raheela. She was one of the iconic film actresses during 1960s and 1970s. She is well known for her romantic tragic roles in Urdu and Punjabi films. She started her career as an...

, Jay dee, Joe Frasier, KK Fosu, Okyeame Kwame, Kwabena Kwabena and several others. These songs were produced by Hammer outside The Last Two camp.

Main|Hammer Of The Last Two compilation album discography|

Discography

Studio albums

2003: The Execution Diary
2004: Sounds Of Our Time
2006: The Crusade Of The Lost Files

Personal life

In 2005, hammer was married to one Lydia Konadu Boateng. They were however divorced a year later. They had one child, Mary-Ann Nana Yaa Osei. In another relationship with a television presenter, Nana Aba Asante, two children, (Edward Nana Poku Osei Jnr and Andrew Nana Kojo Osei )were born. This relationship did not end in marriage. Later on, Hammer dated one Adeline A. Stephens and had one child, Allison Maame Yaa Afriyie Osei. He is currently single. In a radio interview in 2009, when Hammer was asked why he had not settled down yet, he said he seemed to be married to his music and this always affected his relationships. He has decided to wait until he meets someone who feels the same way he feels about music.
At a press conference for one of his artists, Hammer was arrested for failing to appear in court on delay of child support maintenance payments. It is not clear which of the women caused the arrest but upon arrival at the police station with his lawyer, Nana Asante Bedi Otuo, the arrest was reversed and he was asked to appear in court on the next assigned date. Hammer currently lives in his retreat home in the outskirts of Accra where he is currently working on Ayigbe Edem’s second album as well as new artists Agyekum and Joey B.

External links

http://www.odadee.org/home/spotlight.php?u=10
http://www.modernghana.com/.../hammer-of-the-last-two-forgotten-legend.html
http://www.ghanacelebrities.com/.../hammer-of-the-last-two-forgotten-legend/
http://www.ghanaweblive.com/.../hiplife-last-two-jas-killing-da-hammer-beat.html
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage//audio/artikel.php?ID=193043
http://ghananie.com/profiledetails.php?id=1
http://www.modernghana.com/music/10465/3/last-2-reacts-to-hammers-arrest-story.html
http://showbiz.peacefmonline.com/music/201004/41518.php
http://www.ghanabase.com/obrafour/biography.asp
http://thehiplifecomplex.blogspot.com/2006/04/hammer-makes-serious-beats.html
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/audio/artikel.php?ID=191836
http://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=hb_tab_home_top
http://www.ghanacelebrities.com/2010/03/25/hammer-lashes-at-kweisey-pee-for-disrespecting-ayigbe-edem/
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/audio/artikel.php?ID=193043
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=82474 ghanaweb.com] article: "The HIPLIFE story"
http://beemp3.com/index.php?q=sounds+of+our+time+compilation+by+hammer&st=album
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/audio/artikel.php?ID=191607
http://awesometapesfromafrica.blogspot.com/2009/01/sounds-of-our-time-compilation-by.html
http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92265726&trk=tab_pro

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Separation of The Last Two

Liberating the Tribes in Hip Hop

Compilation Albums

Growing Up

Inspiration

Obrafour

Tinny

Kwaw Kese

Ayigbe Edem

Sarkodie

Offcamp production

Discography

Personal life

See also

External links