The first time we made a bet it was over who the final wildcard performance would be at Tidal Rave, a festival that was held in Accra in mid-November. Looking at the heavy hitters that were already on the lineup, Thomas-moore speculated that it could be Sarkodie, whilst Danielle wondered if it could be AratheJay, given the then-recent release of his album. When we both discovered our predictions were incorrect and the wildcard performance was actually Shatta Wale, there was a comfort in knowing that neither of us were right; nothing lost, nothing gained. But above all, there was a comfort in knowing that we had both found a conversation partner in each other for our observations about Ghana’s music industry.
The period between 2021-2025 has held some substantial economic benefits with hotels and transport operators reporting high occupancy and patronage. In December 2022, international arrivals reached 105,214, generating $10.6 million in tourist expenditure, a 24% growth from the 84,965 arrivals in 2021. Remittances also peaked during this time, further benefiting the economy. However, the beginning of this December felt different. The air was slightly-less charged with the expectant buzz of the first wave of diasporans working out the best spots to be, and trying to stay out to meet the sun. Getting around town was significantly easier than it usually is at that time of year, whilst securing paid bookings had become a little bit harder. By the second week in December, tweets wondering if Detty December was dying, started to emerge on X.com with people offering reasons ranging from a lack of intentionality and preparation, to an inauthenticity coming from the emphasis on profit over experiences. The topic of Detty December’s future soon found its way into our conversations, and another bet started to form. In this article, we walk you through the logic of our assessments of Detty December at present and our predictions for the future.
As a British Ghanaian ethnomusicologist and DJ, Detty December has always fascinated me (Danielle). We all know that Ghanaians enjoyed Christmas long before Mr Eazi’s Detty Rave and the Year of Return (2019). However, the last six years or so have projected Detty December from a local and regional waxing of the micro-entertainment industries of nightlife, live music venues, and festivals to a global Afrodiasporic phenomenon with music at the centre. This also means that although Detty December takes place in Africa, it is a site where there is a constant interaction between geo-politics, and the local issues that inform black life in the enclaves and communities at home as well as in the diaspora.
Since the era of independence, Ghana has prided itself on being a ‘gateway to Africa’ with Detty December in Ghana being one organic, people-led phenomenon that earned Ghana this sobriquet for a new generation. It was this experience-first, indigenous approach to nightlife that attracted people to Ghana. It made people want to come back after successive years, and even repatriate. But this year it felt a little bit like the contract was broken. Detty December had finally abandoned the unfussy, authentic, and egalitarian nightlife in order to extract as much profit from people as possible and we have all noticed; the dealer should not have to resort to stacking the cards, and instead remain confident that the house always wins.
“the dealer should not have to resort to stacking the cards, and instead remain confident that the house always wins.”
2025 was the year that ‘grassroots theorising’ on what is happening to nightlife became a huge topic of discussion. Dancefloors across the Global North had felt a shift and we were all trying to work out what exactly had happened. Gentrification, a cost of living crisis, and the post-effects of COVID-19, made it harder to go clubbing. If you managed to make it into the club against such odds, dancefloors, which were once a space to release your inhibitions, exchange intimate moments with strangers, and be introduced to new music, started to feel unfriendly, standoffish, and performative. Detty December once offered diasporans some respite from these issues, but somehow this year they felt unavoidable and shaped by the Ghanaian context. If we want to save Detty December, we must remember its roots. Before its outdooring as Detty December, before Detty Rave and the Year of Return, December reflected a kind of harvest season for enjoyment where you reward yourself for the hard work you put in throughout the year, and it flourished in an entertainment ecosystem that had something for everyone.
“Before its outdooring as Detty December, before Detty Rave and the Year of Return, December reflected a kind of harvest season for enjoyment where you reward yourself for the hard work you put in throughout the year, and it flourished in an entertainment ecosystem that had something for everyone.”
I (Thomas-moore) have been fortunate to work with various artists in the space for the past nine years, from Kuvie, B4bonah, Gasmilla, Kwesi Arthur, La Meme Gang, to Pure Akan, The Asakaa boys, Gonaboy, Panji Anoff amongst others and one thing that seems to always resonate with a lot of these projects is that once you find something that works, you stick to it. You never change a winning formula. That is how I feel about this “Detty December” conversation and some of the opinions of Ghanaians who feel we should not associate with the term and should rather move towards the “December in Ghana” moniker.
“once you find something that works, you stick to it. You never change a winning formula.”
As of 2025, the Ghanaian government’s tourism initiative was officially branded as “December in Ghana” to promote a broader range of cultural experiences beyond just parties. Officials have voiced discomfort with the Detty December label, which means “dirty” in West African Pidgin, due to its potentially negative connotations. I personally have never met a Ghanaian or diasporan associate “Detty December” with “dirt” of any kind. The word “Detty” was derived from a twi phrase ‘yɛ wo ho fi’ which describes letting loose and ignoring any form of judgment. In Detty December, a night out is never just a simple affair; you’re talking about a marathon not a sprint. Your plans might start at 8pm, but trust me the night is only just getting lit. You’ll probably hit multiple spots, maybe a day party transitions into an art exhibition, followed by a pop-up event, and before you know it, you’re enjoying yourself at a club or a beach party. There’s always something popping off that you didn’t even know about and you have to be able to roll with it because the night can go from 8pm to 8am. It’s about the energy, the people and the vibes.
We are now experiencing the whole ‘Detty December’ craze stabilizing after it hit a peak. If the government wants to capitalise on December as a peak season for tourism, it needs to find practical ways to evolve the name, rather than distancing itself from it. Truth be told, Ghana does have some of this infrastructure in place but we need to focus on being intentional about how we project Detty December in Ghana. Music festivals like Detty Rave, AfroFuture, Zaama Disco, Asa Baako need support because they play a vital part in attracting tourists. However, we also need to keep exploiting the other aspects of our rich culture aside from nightlife. There are individuals and scenes doing amazing work in the area of film and media, preserving our musical heritage, and even spotlighting our local cuisine and indigenous food culture. There are networks of archivists preserving and showcasing our histories both inside and outside museums; these are all resources the government needs to engage if they want Detty December to move beyond just parties. Bob Marley’s death and the decline of reggae music did not affect the tourism potential it initially created for the local economy. The Jamaican government instead found ways to evolve the phenomena from being focused around the genre and the artist to the country and its culture. This is exactly what Ghana should be doing at this point, because you never change a winning formula.
As the festive season closes for another year, making our prediction for what next December could look like is not so simple. The problems that people have begun to identify will not be fixed by a simple name change to ‘December in Ghana’. If Ghana wants to keep its winning streak we must all seek to understand what exactly made Detty December so great in the first place. The global appeal of Detty December was not a stroke of luck; Detty December offered Ghanaians a level of enjoyment that people from across the world wanted to experience for themselves. So, what was our winning formula and how do we apply it to the new situations we will face as the world continues to change? If Ghana is able to answer these questions, and make the necessary investments in preserving this part of the culture, the winning streak is sure to continue.
Written by Danielle Welbeck and Thomas-moore Ayamga.
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