Ghanaian reggae musician and broadcaster Blakk Rasta has paid an emotional tribute to veteran bassist Umar Baba Ahmed, remembering him as an extraordinary musician whose career connected Ghana to one of the most influential periods of Nigerian reggae.
In a Facebook post announcing Ahmed’s passing, Blakk Rasta recalled meeting the musician more than three decades ago, when he was just 20 years old.
According to Blakk Rasta, Ahmed was then a member of Nigerian reggae legend Ras Kimono’s Massive Dread Band, and the two developed a friendship that survived the passage of time.
“I met him in 1994 as a 20-year-old,” Blakk Rasta wrote, recalling how the two musicians “gelled” after their first encounter.
A Musician Behind Ras Kimono’s Sound
Although audiences naturally remember the singers standing at the front of legendary bands, musicians such as Umar Baba Ahmed were part of the machinery that created the sound behind them.
Ahmed’s association with Ras Kimono is documented beyond Blakk Rasta’s tribute. In a 2020 interview with Nigeria’s Vanguard, he was described as the bassist responsible for some of the distinctive bass work behind Kimono’s music. Ahmed himself recalled joining Kimono again in 1991 and performing with the Massive Dread Band during a period that included extensive touring. Vanguard News
Ras Kimono became one of the prominent voices of Nigeria’s reggae movement, with Under Pressure establishing him as a major name in African reggae.
Blakk Rasta specifically remembered Ahmed’s contribution to the famous “Under Pressure” song, writing that the bassist played on the recording as well as several other works.
A Serious Accident Changed His Journey
Blakk Rasta also recalled a painful episode in Ahmed’s career: a serious road accident involving members of Ras Kimono’s band in Nigeria.
His account is supported by Ahmed’s own recollections years earlier.
In his 2020 interview, Ahmed said the band had performed at an engagement in Port Harcourt and was returning to Lagos by road when their vehicle was involved in a serious crash on the Shagamu Expressway. He described the incident as one of the most difficult experiences of his musical career and spoke about the lengthy recovery that followed. Vanguard News
Blakk Rasta said Ahmed eventually returned to Ghana after recovering from the accident.
The experience, however, did not end his relationship with music.
Returning Home to Ghana
Ahmed told Vanguard that after the Massive Dread Band eventually went its separate ways, he returned to Ghana and revived his own musical projects, including Kutashe and Ogya Band. He described their music as “Kusuntu beat,” combining traditional rhythms with other musical influences. Vanguard News
His musical journey had actually begun in Ghana long before his years with Ras Kimono.
Ahmed said he started playing music during secondary school in the 1970s before eventually moving into Nigeria’s music scene. He also recalled working around musicians and bands associated with figures including Sonny Okosuns and, for a period, Fela’s musical environment. Vanguard News
That history made Ahmed part of a generation of musicians whose careers crossed national borders at a time when West African reggae was establishing a powerful identity of its own.
Blakk Rasta Remembers a Man Who “Lived and Ate Music”
For Blakk Rasta, however, Ahmed was more than a name in African reggae history.
His tribute remembers the person behind the bass guitar.
“He lived and ate music,” Blakk Rasta wrote.
It is a short description, but one that captures how deeply Ahmed’s life was connected to his craft.
Blakk Rasta identified the late musician as Umar Baba Ahmed, born on October 22, 1957, before bidding farewell to the bassist he had known since the 1990s.
“Journey well, UMAR BABA AHMED, extraordinary bassist and musician.”
He concluded by reflecting on the loss not only to Ghana but to the continent’s wider musical community:
“Ghana will miss you… Africa will too…”
Remembering the Musicians Behind African Reggae
Ahmed’s passing also provides an opportunity to remember the instrumentalists who helped construct some of African reggae’s defining recordings and performances.
The history of reggae on the continent is often told through celebrated frontmen, but behind those voices were bassists, drummers, keyboardists, guitarists and backing singers who created the rhythms audiences ultimately came to recognise.
Umar Baba Ahmed belonged to that tradition.
From his beginnings in Ghana, through his years in Nigeria and his work with Ras Kimono’s Massive Dread Band, to his eventual return home, his musical journey crossed borders and generations.
Now, more than 30 years after Blakk Rasta says they first met, the Ghanaian reggae musician has offered his old friend a final farewell:
Journey well, Umar Baba Ahmed.
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