HomeGrown: Hiplife in Ghana

58 Minute Running Time
Additional Countries: Ghana
Genre/Subjects: African-American, Documentary, Music

West Africa has a long-standing tradition of traveling storytellers known as Griots (pronounced GREE oh), who combine poetry, music, and oral history. In Ghana, a group of young Africans are continuing this legacy and have captured the attention of international audiences.

Over the past decade, Hip-Hop music has merged with High-Life, the traditional music of West Africa, and this fusion has led to the birth of a new musical genre called HipLife. Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi’s new film, HomeGrown: HipLife in Ghana, is a feature-length documentary about V.I.P. (Vision In Progress). The film documents ten years of their journey from the ghetto in Accra to their first international tour. They grow from being teenagers with a shared dream to musicians with fans around the world. The tension between traditional values and international stardom unfolds in the film’s dynamic story-line.

The final footage shows V.I.P. on tour in Europe, South African, and the United States, being received by enormous crowds. The viewer is given an intense experience of the excitement surrounding the group’s success and from witnessing the international explosion of HipLife music. The striking visual content of HomeGrown is underscored with an original sound-track that has the audience watching the film and not wanting to miss a beat.

DIRECTOR: Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi