How Rockstar Chooses the Music for GTA, and a Ghanian Great

As we recently reported, Rockstar announced the six radio stations for GTA 6 in early October.

These include AfroBank FM, Back Country Radio, The Chamber, Cocoteo FM, Dirty South Classics, and Flash FM.

The stations on GTA 5 were one of the most beloved features of the game and introduced countless players to music they fell in love with. But how does Rockstar choose the music for the series?

How the music for GTA is chosen

MusicTech once called Rockstar’s focus on music in GTA “revolutionary”. Famed DJs and artists like Gilles Peterson and Flying Lotus recorded new mixes specifically for GTA 5.

Ivan Pavlovich, the company’s director of music and audio, spoke to Red Bull in 2018. Pavlovich was previously a Chicago house DJ and producer. He said the GTA radio stations are intended to reflect the specific time and place of each game.

Rockstar wants players to be exposed to new music. Pavlovich said they aim to “surface artists” who have a connection to the city, but also spotlight artists that they think people will love and that Rockstar loves themselves.

The company uses music to make its fictional worlds feel alive. Casino music, such as that on SweepSpot Casino, serves a similar purpose, helping build an atmosphere before the player has even interacted with the environment. Where Rockstar is unique is the depth of its music curation, with carefully selected tracks helping to capture the cultural identity of a location.

Ghanian great

One of GTA 6’s radio stations, AfroBank FM, mixes modern genres – Amapiano, 3-step, and gbedu – with African classics. One of those classics is “Gye Wani”, a 1984 Pat Thomas track that features Ebo Taylor.

Taylor sadly passed away in early 2026. The song featured on the new GTA is a chance to celebrate his wonderfully energetic music.

The guitarist and singer was one of the most influential highlife, Afrobeat and jazz musicians of the 20th century. Along with other stars like his friend Fela Kuti, Taylor combined American jazz and funk influences with African styles.

Influence of James Brown

Taylor once told the BBC that James Brown and funk music gave African musicians a chance to develop their own sounds.

The musician gave credit to Fela, as he is commonly known, for introducing funk into traditional Yoruba music of Nigeria. Taylor said he did “almost the same thing” in his own country.

Taylor was also influenced by the Czech composer Dvořák, the jazz great Miles Davis, and music from Malia (his grandmother was Malian).

Greatest rhythm guitarist

Passion of the Weiss said that Taylor was arguably the “greatest rhythm guitarist” ever, crediting him for incorporating the rhythms of Ga, Ewe, Dagomba and Akan peoples.

Taylor said that an old philosophy of the Akans, his people, inspired his famous song “Love and Death”. The original “Odo o Yewu” means that if we love, we can die; death and love go together. Taylor often sang in Akan.

“Gye Wani” is one example of his frequent collaborations with fellow Ghanaian legend Thomas. GTA 6 players get to enjoy a splash of their unique sounds on AfroBank FM.