Hiplife Movie Greenlit & in Development with NEXT400, Khoale Films & Reggie Rockstone (The Godfather of Hiplife) with J.P. Haynes tapped as Writer & Producer (EXCLUSIVE)

“Reggie Rockstone’s story is more than music; it’s a legacy that bridges generations and continents. As the pioneer of Hiplife, he didn’t just create a genre—he laid the foundation for a cultural movement that continues to inspire and unite the African diaspora.” – Kweku Aburam (full quote in article)

Reginald Yaw Asante, known globally, professionally and in the Hip-hop world as Reggie Rockstone is a Hip-hop artist most notable for originating and labeling his brand of Hip-hop popularly known as HipLife.
Now a long-awaited HipLife film is in development with NEXT400 Bound, Khoale Films, Infecting Change Productions, Rockstone and a team of producers from Hollywood to New York, West Africa and Atlanta. This coming of age film will tell the story of HipLife and a hip love. J.P. Haynes has joined the team as writer of the screenplay and a producer of the film and says “I am so hype about this film! Reggie, Kweku, Khoa and the entire team of producers have been a joy to creatively collaborate with these past few months. I can’t wait for the world to experience what we are birthing.” Haynes continues, “Reggie is one of the pillars of Hip-hop and considered the Godfather of HipLife which can be directly traced to AfroBeats (which the film will certainly highlight and explore). You can’t accurately tell the story of Hip-hop without HipLife and that means you can’t accurately tell the story of Hip-hop without Reggie Rockstone. It’s an honor to continue to be entrusted as someone to tell culturally relevant stories that uncover the history of not only Black culture but African and American culture. And I want to be clear, this is not a documentary. This will be a cinematic piece of art that tells a story for the ages.”

Kweku Aburan, the founder of NEXT400 and one of the film’s producers says, “Reggie Rockstone’s story is more than music; it’s a legacy that bridges generations and continents. As the pioneer of Hiplife, he didn’t just create a genre—he laid the foundation for a cultural movement that continues to inspire and unite the African diaspora. NEXT400 Bound is honored to be a business partner in this film, celebrating a life story that redefines what it means to connect art, identity, and purpose across borders.” NEXT400 is a business initiative driving diaspora investments in West Africa fostering the black economy globally. NEXT400 is bridging gaps, creating opportunities and unlocking potential while creating legacies of wealth and community.

Filmmaker & Director Khoa Le joins the team with extensive experience in films, commercials, and corporate branding. He directed and co-executive produced the full-length feature film, “Walt Before Mickey,” distributed worldwide by Voltage Pictures (domestic) and Mission Pictures (foreign). It was also released on most OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon. In 2021, he directed the upcoming live-action business movie about Jeff Bezos (“Bezos”). Khoa is the CEO/Founder of Kvibe Studios, Live Picture Studios, and Sutudu. His companies are built as verticals for his long-term strategies. In 2014, he was recognized as the fastest growing business in the Tri-state area by the SBDC / SBA. He has over 100 employees and is a studio owner of an 8000 SQ FT building in a highly congested city next to Manhattan in Jersey City, NJ.

Reggie’s peers and fans consider him the all-knowledgeable gatekeeper of the Hip-hop and Hiplife culture in Ghana and throughout the African continent. His music style can be found in most if not all African music historically, which incorporates and reflects his signature call and response approach. Rockstone’s musical DNA and thumbprint is embedded into the fabric of Hip-hop music and can be traced directly to the globally acclaimed genre of AfroBeats. The film will tell a Hiplife, Hip-Hop story of truth and triumph with theatrical and cinematic grace and brilliance. One producer says, “We expect this to be a film of a lifetime! You can feel the excitement around this project.”

Reggie was raised in the metro areas of Accra & Kumasi, Ghana as well as New York, and London. With over 30 years in Hip-hop, Rockstone remains as relevant as ever and will be etched into the history books of African & American music culture. Reggie has recorded 6 studio albums as a solo artist, and states, “Fundamentally I am a storyteller. I have attempted to tell the story of contemporary Ghana from an urban perch: the struggles, contradictions, our relationships, our triumphs and our hopes while infusing our zest for life, parties, and immaculate vibes. There is nothing like West African culture.”

The collaboration of Rockstone & Haynes seemed destined and their passion for this project palpable. J.P. is the creative mind & visionary behind the Infect Change (IC) brand with subsidiaries such as Infecting
Change Productions, ICTV, IC Podcast Network and IC Theatre Co. Infecting Change Productions, the eldest of all of the companies, has produced nearly hundreds of live events, theatre productions, podcasts, television shows and talk shows since its inception in 2016. Haynes is currently writing 6 new projects from television to theatre and film, with several others in development and says the untitled HipLife project is one she is definitely excited about.

“To be able to spend time in Africa to write and film this project is a dream for a storyteller and filmmaker like myself. I can’t express my excitement or gratitude to Reggie, the producers and to those who mentioned my name in rooms I was not in simply because they believed in me and my gift. Reggie has trusted me with his legacy story. I won’t rest until we do it justice and deliver something special to the world that will live long after we are all gone.” Haynes

Hiplife consists of African-American rap lyricism, cadence and beat making creatively mixed through electronic technology with older proverbial speech and urban highlife rhythms and vocals in his native tongue Akan “twi” (and other Ghanaian languages). Rockstone is known for his witty humor and creative punchlines or call and response hooks with an incredible personal touch. Reggie Rockstone’s personality blends through the tales of urban living as he navigates the tenuous life of a Hip Hop superstar in a postcolonial Africa. His pairing of top-notch production makes his sound appealing to the most discerning ears of music fans. Rockstone is also affectionately and respectfully referred to as “GrandPapa” as he continues to elevate Hip Hop/hiplife culture in Ghana and ultimately around the world. Most recently, Reggie was a celebrity ambassador for Glo Ghana and a mentor on the Syco Prod. Franchise – Glo X Factor Africa.

Reggie is currently the CEO of a successful entertainment complex in Accra known as Rockstone’s Office/Django Bar/Aftawerk. In addition to his musical and entrepreneurial journey, Reggie’s philanthropic work shines just as bright. Today, Reggie Rockstone and his wife Dr. Limman runs a very successful food joint, ROCKWAAKYE.

“Reggie Rockstone’s story and life has all of the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster and that’s just what we are going to make” is what one producer lamented. When asked about the development of this project Rockstone said, “I am not only excited but very anxious to see and peep how my story is told to all. Yes, it is indeed a great story and to capture all feels is nearly impossible. But, we aspire to inspire and as my father would always say there is always something new out of Africa son, ALWAYS!
I can’t wait for you to see what comes out of Africa this time!”

Photos Courtesy of: Reggie Rockstone and Rockstone’s Office/Django Bar/Aftawerk, Khoale Films, Kvibe
Studios, NEXT400 Bound & IC Productions

To connect with Reggie, follow him on IG @reggietockstone711

To connect with J.P. visit www.janahaynes.com or follow her on
IG @jphaynes31

To connect with Kvibe Studios visit www.kvibe.com

To connect with NEXT400 Bound visit www.next400bound.com

To connect with IC Productions on IG follow @Icproductions1