The fast growing hiphop/hiplife artist showed magnificent dexterity throughout his performance and the applause and response he had from the audience was proof enough. Although Sarkodie may not have a hit single yet, he was able to sustain the attention of his audience through the 20 minutes or so of his performance. This is something some other artists with several hits and awards cannot even do. He did it so well that his audience were willing to watch him perform the same songs over beats and without beats. This certainly isn’t an easy feat with Ghanaian audience…remember that not too long ago, the ‘King of the Streets’ was booed off stage. Sorry I had to go back to the Zain 026 Experience; I guess it will take a while for me to shake off the experience. BTW did you know that it is now googleable? Lol.

Anyway Sarkodie was remarkable on the night. I only wish he could rap over the brass band he called on stage. I saw the band alright but I couldn’t hear them. Nonetheless, I enjoyed his oratory…I wish I could call him floetry…without sounding repository. That’s a Jaded Renegade rhyme right there!

Related:

• Joy FM Night with the Stars on Saturday
• Fans thrilled at Joy FM Nite with the Stars
• Sarkodie crowned best and fastest lyricist in Ghana
• Sarkodie devotes his whole time on rap music
• Joy FM brings on the stars

Kwaw Kesse was initially billed to perform at the MAMA in Abuja on Saturday November 22 but rather chose to stay home for the other Zain sponsored event. The MAMA which will premiere on MTV Base, November 29 will also air on all MTV networks around the world (at least that’s what Alison Reid, Head of Communications for MTV says). The benefits of such an exposure to Kwaw Kesse’s career cannot be overemphasized or bought with all the Zain millions. Not forgetting that he was also nominated for best New Artist…of course we all knew he wasn’t going to win that when the likes of Naeto C, who understands the business of showbiz was also on the list.

I may not be an economist but let look at the opportunity cost or rather opportunity lost through Kwaw’s decision. The Zain 026 experience was largely unimpressive and Kwaw Kesse ended up being booed by a disappointed or frustrated crowd. When I asked Kwaw Kesse his reason for choosing the Zain 026 Experience concert over MTV, he said he is the ‘King of the Streets’ and he needed to put his people first by showing them love. These same people ended up booing him away. That doesn’t do much for his street credibility if you ask me!

Perhaps Kwaw’s reason for staying in Ghana was to grab the opportunity to collaborate with Wyclef…no wonder he asked Wyclef publicly for a collaboration during a press conference ahead of the concert. We haven’t heard anything on that yet instead Wyclef did a song with Reggie Rockstone and even shot a video for the single.

In a nutshell, Kwaw Kesse had the opportunity to be famous across Africa and the rest of the world but rather chose to be a local champion. I think he lost out!

Related:

• Okra, Kwaw shoots new video
• British Council brings different shades of music
• It’s official – “If Kwaw Kese apologizes we will redraw diss song”
• Video: Afrikan Gurlz remix by 5Five feat. Iwan, 4×4 & Kwaw Kese
• Wyclef, Mario, Eve & 2 Face to rock Accra
• Samini, Abodam and others to join Game on MTV concerts
• MTVBase premieres Abodam
• Quata, Kwaw Kese wage new rap war
• MTV Making the Video Challenge with Shell - Ghana Kicks off with Kwaw Kese
• My Video Award Contest at the MTV Africa Music Awards

Music also adds spice to life, is considered food for love and the philosopher’s companion.

The canary bird for example is usually caught and caged because of its melodious music; dogs have some kind of music that indicates that they are on heat. Music can be used for wooing and marriage.

I have heard some Ewes break into song that delivered messages to their colleagues in the midst of mixed groups; the enslaved black Americans used song to publicise secret meetings and passing on messages through the lingo the whites could not understand.

Music spans the globe now that the world has become “a global village”. Indeed, music can be said to have globalized the world even before ICT.

Music has been in Ghana for ages and in modern times, people like the late Mr. A. A. A., Amakye Dede, Daddy Lumba, and Nana Kwame Ampadu I, musician turned contractor turned evangelist but now also a “moving forward” political prophet, have all used music and song for love, philosophy, mourning, comment and analysis to a varying degree.

In other instances, Barrack Obama of the U.S.A. is riding high on his presidential campaign hopes on a song using his name; Jewel Ackah has done it in the past for the NDC, and now Nana Akufo-Addo is enjoying a T.V. musical that says he is the right man for Ghana.

Jimmy Cliff, the Jamaican Reggae star, was once in Nigeria and was thrown in jail. Listen to what he says;

Have you heard the news? (2x)

I was in Africa

Down in Nigeria

Oh they threw me in jail

I had one hell getting bail

Here, Jimmy Cliff, who is of African descent, complains about how his “motherland” treated him badly by throwing him in jail on a trumped up charge.

Bob Marley’s music, though reggae, concentrates on politics, exploitation and the raw deal the Black Man is dealt by the white race. He should by now be saddened by what is happening in Zimbabwe where he performed live on the country’s attaining independence.

Good old James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, was more interested in the dignity of the Black Man and shot to fame world wide with his “Say it ‘Loud: I am Black and proud”. Last year, during the African Footballer of the Year Awards, Batman now Samini and Yvonne Chaka Chaka performed at the venue of the ceremony, the National Theatre in Accra.

But, what is the current situation of the Ghanaian musician when he grows old? Does he have a goat?

A musician in Kumasi says Ghanaian musicians would continue to slip down the deep trenches of poverty if they continued with selfish interests, lack of cooperation, coordination and unity. Wide-eyed but soft and gentle Joe Takyi-Boateng, a general music consultant and leader of the GPRTU band, the Transport Melodians, in Kumasi, was, in comment, particularly insistent on the disunity among musicians in Ghana over the decades. The division in the leadership of MUSIGA as a result of leadership ambitions is one of the problems.

Speaking to me in his modest but inviting office, and quoting the Holy Scriptures, he said, “A house divided among itself cannot stand,” therefore, “Musicians divided among themselves can not survive”.

“In Ghana, every musical band or group usually comprises at least five members,” adding “if we came together we could, therefore, access insurance companies in the country and benefit from the opportunities provided by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust, SSNIT, for example”.

The general music consultant and leader of the Transport Melodians was sure that Ghanaian musicians would not turn miserable in their old age, lacking retirement age benefits. He recalls, “K.A. Adusei of Starlite Band fame died in a kiosk, a miserable pauper! How about S.K. Oppong of Osofo Dadzie fame; Kwame Attah of F. Micah’s Band? They all died without recognition when they should have reaped riches and wealth from their musical careers. He cited Kiki Gyan of Osibisa, Ghana’s youngest, very talented, millionaire organist who unfortunately succumbed to narcotic drugs and died in a church toilet.

Asked what Ghanaian musicians should do to avoid “penniless last days”, Mr. Takyi-Boateng insisted that “planning” was the watch word. “You see,” he cried, “most musicians in Ghana tend to chase a lot after women, even married women, and are generally spendthrift. Thus, within time, they lose their talent to alcohol; get drained of their physical strength and their money goes to waste due to frivolous spending.”

He was sure that if Ghanaian musicians marketed themselves properly, married not only women of substance but women of character, their last days in life would be enjoyed. “Without that,” he maintained, “there would be no future for us.”

Mr. Joe Takyi-Boateng, who is also the Ankobeahene of Akoawei, Adukrom-Akwapem, in the Eastern Region of Ghana, advised his colleagues in the industry, “We should not champion our own downfall. We must rather unite and plan, contribute to SSNIT for a retirement in comfort and happiness”. He added quickly that the youth today are cruising at breakneck speed to acquire riches and wealth; engaging in drug and narcotic addiction which merely catapults them to a life of misery either by incarceration in prison or becoming insane, roaming the streets of our cities and towns, becoming denizens of our streets.

That, to Joe Takyi-Boateng, was unacceptable; he rued the situation and waxed political, “We must ‘change and move forward;’ music is not poor; it is rich; why should musicians in Ghana be poor?” Well, do Ghanaian musicians have a goat?

Related:

• Joy FM Night with the Stars on Saturday
• ‘Believe In Ghana’ concert hits Tamale
• Concert to raise funds for children
• Nduom meets musicians
• Ghanaian artistes perform for peace
• Nacy’s new deal for artistes
• Hypocrisy will kill us - Slim Buster
• MTN to hold two big yellow parties
• MUSIGA honours musicians
• Mad rush for NPP

No one can dispute the fact that, the producers of 4Syte TV on TV3, Allo Tigo on Metro TV, Rhythms and Sound City on GTV are doing a pretty good job bringing television fans up to date visuals of entertainment news, events, personalities, new music videos and to an extent live DJ-ing.

In fact, the variety of such programmes have created options for fans of such shows and this is where the inspiration for hard work of the various producers lies always wanting to be on the number one spot of viewers.

They make the necessary contact with players in the entertainment industry, show relevant and new music videos and even go to the extent of traveling outside Ghana to cover public entertainment events.

Though there are numerous entertainment oriented shows on tv, these four uniquely stand out from the lot partly because they are produced outside the television stations with the exception of Allo Tigo that has it roots in Metro TV and also because of the competition at hand in their circles of operation.

Though the producers of the other shows may seem to disagree, the major inspiration for their work emanated from 4Syte TV, which at its initial stages, represented a massive change in television entertainment magazines drifting completely from what already existed in the then Showtyme and Smash TV and later Allo Tigo and Hitz Video.

4Syte TV came with a massive television technological innovation adding more flavour with regard to graphics and montage, presentation and delivery and what we may call television jingles made for them by numerous international artistes that visited Ghana.

It represented more than just a television show going ahead to organise events and gigs such as the Celebrity Birthday Bash for its cherished viewers.

This proved to Ghana that television shows go beyond just presentation but any creative idea that will keep the viewer in touch with the programme whether the programme is being aired or not. No wonder 4Syte remained on the lips of viewers for a very long time.

However, the other shows are now giving 4Syte a real run for their money, showcasing the best of graphics, montage, picture quality and camera shots as well as presentation and also giving viewers the chance to meet their favourite Ghanaian celebrities at dinner and awarding viewers who text into the show.

Also top DJs both home and abroad DJ live on one of the shows. What else could be said of a joint presentation by Showtyme claim to fame Chris Attoh and Pam on Rhythms and the longest entertainment presenter on TV Jon Germain on Allo Tigo.

The overall delivery of all the four shows are different and superb and has made television production more like a reality making it obviously hard for any real critic to pin point any one of them as the best because of the uniqueness of all the shows. Television is indeed exciting watching any of such shows.

However, there are many more entertainment shows on TV than the producers have knowingly or unknowingly decided to package unprofessionalism and boredom into tv shows for viewers.
They should learn from the four and repackage their productions to put it up to the standards set by the four especially Hitz Video.

Also Yaw Sakyi and his crew at TV Africa who were operating entertainment issues should obviously gird up their loins and live up to expectation since himself and the likes of Okyeame Quofi have been in this business long enough to know what is good for viewers.

Related:

• Allo TiGO: Not just for fun
• Where is Ignace driving 4syte TV?

Frankly, I believe that music should always have a progressive message that reflects the social issues of our times and not just self-absorbing gibberish!!! I know a lot my readers may disagree with me but hey that isn’t going to change my swagger.

So, it was a refreshing and lovely experience when I first heard and watched A Plus’ new single “Letter to the West”. By the way the video is amazing thanks to the absolutely magnificent “Phamous People”. Before I delve into the apparent politics of the song…let me give you a brief musical background of the man popularly known as “A Plus”

Kwame Asare Obeng aka A Plus entered the Ghanaian music scene like a volcano when he unleashed his first politically incorrect song called “Mesuro mpo na merekeka yi o”, which means “I am afraid as I am saying this”. He then followed with his famous “Letter to the Parliament”. I particularly loved the letter to the parliament because he raised some very important issues.

These issues bordered on how our honorable members of parliament make fabulous promises that they can’t keep only to come back during campaign season to do a patch job and dole out coins. Basically, A Plus has raised awareness among the populace about politicians and their shenanigans. I am sure a lot of people are now much wiser!!! Well…I hope so!!!

However, today, it’s his new single a “Letter to the West” that has got people talking. He has taken his passionate campaign continental and it seems he has started ruffling a lot of feathers. The song starts by encouraging westerners to take note of how their tax money is being misused, misapplied and misappropriated by Africa’s political class.

Then he goes on to highlight the varying amounts of abuses in most countries in Africa and of course he mentions the situation in Sudan, past conflicts in Sierra Leone, Liberia and famine in the horn of Africa and last but not least dearest Zimbabwe lead by comrade, Robert Mugabe, the political titanic!!! He also questioned the nature of the so-called peace deal in Kenya. The thrust of his letter was to highlight the devastating effects of misrule and corruption on the livelihood of African people.

The “Letter to the West” is a significant contribution by an entertainer who is just sick and tired of incompetent political leadership that has made poverty a way of life in Africa. News from the grapevine that happened to seep into my ears indicates that he is about to launch a unique anti-corruption campaign.

According to reliable sources, he has planned to undertake various humanitarian projects as part of this campaign and embark on a world tour to spread the word.

I am excited about this because it is about time we realize that as young Africans our destiny depends on the sum of the choices we make today. We must become the change we seek and like Obama Barak says not just change for change sake but “change we believe in”. A Plus believes it’s his destiny to make our political establishments in Africa transparent and accountable!!!

Related:

• A-Plus attacks radio presenters
• Video: A Letter To The West by A Plus
• A Plus releases first ever music video
• A-Plus new album out soon
• Is A-Plus a musician or politician?
• A-Plus dares critics
• A-Plus again!!! Latest single stirs up NPP aspirants
• A Plus shows his otherside
• Ghanaian artistes perform in UK
• Agegon to Parliament

The likes of Sony Belly, Solomon, T’Blaze, Keteke, Nkasei, Buk Bak, Sony Achiba, Bandana, Joty, Deeba, Debrah, Mary Agyepong, Yoggy Doggy among others are no where to be found and I am wondering what they are doing and their whereabouts. These are talents, who in a good day undoubtedly can churn out good hits but almost all these crops of stars have vanished into thin air. My investigations shows that most of these guys after coming out with one or two hit albums, they recoil into their shells feeling big instead of concentrating on their God given talents to make it to the international level.

The problem stems from the fact that there are no producers in the system to invest in the industry coupled with piracy and payola makes the industry not attractive enough for them to invest in it. Actually there is nothing called “music industry”. And it has affected the musicians who no longer enjoy the benefits of their predecessors and continuing languishing in abject poverty and when they find life difficult, the last thing is to relocate.

As a result of this disturbing phenomenon some of them have decided to sojourn in UK and USA to seek greener pastures but to do what? Working? At a time of writing this piece, Ronny, Bright of Buk Bak fame, Mzbel are in USA, Sonny Belly, Nkasei, Yoggy Doggy, Debrah, T’Blaze, Deeba are in the UK, doing what I can’t exactly tell. The question is what at all is driving our musicians whom we know are doing well in their field of endeavor to foreign lands for greener pastures.

Is Hiplife no more attractive or is it the usual unavailability of system and structures? If something is not done sooner or later the “industry” will collapse. What are the government, MUSIGA and National Commission on Culture doing about this? These are things the musicians have to fight for than mounting platform to campaign for politicians. Eyes are watching.

Related:

• UK to host Hiplife Festival 2008
• Dancing to a new afrobeat
• Hiplife’s last breath
• Hiplife!!!
• Fusion honours Stars
• Araz releases single dubbed “Hiplife (Oseyie)”
• Concert gives preview of Hip-life’s future in the U.S.A.
• Ben Brako: Hip-hop is not good for Ghana
• The richest hiplife musician (Part II)
• “Home Grown Hip-Life” launched

The Accra File has noticed that most producers of music have adopted a new style, in the selling and promotion of musical discs/cassettes, which is becoming a public nuisance with its accompanying cacophony of noise.

These musicians organise some young men, hire vans and pickups, put in generators with large speakers, and play their music with the volume turned to the maximum, all in an attempt to promote and sell their productions.

This does not only cause a public nuisance with the noise, but also cause traffic chaos with their indiscriminate parking and distracting music.

This has resulted in a number of road accidents, especially on the Darkuman road leading to the motorway. These sellers line up in their numbers on some parts of the road, with their products in different vehicles, disturbing the whole atmosphere.

Information reaching the Accra file indicates that these noises also distract the attention of drivers.

These mobile music sellers, in the process of doing business, drive very slowly in the middle of the road holding up traffic, and when their attention is drawn to the inconvenience they are creating, they rather hurl insults and taunts on other drivers, who are caught up in the situation, and dare to complain.

On why they did not display their cassettes and CDs in shops, as was in the past, some complained about the low patronage in the shops and the fact that there was more competition in the business, so they had to come up with other ways of advertising and selling their products.

“There are so many different musicians in town, and we need to make money, so we must maintain that,” he added.

Some also say when the products are in the shops, since they are not played, they are not recognised, and people find it difficult buying them, so they do not sell.

Some sources in the metro assembly told The File that there was a law covering noise levels and especially where these mobile music sellers could operate - market places and lorry stations - yet you are sure to find them even in the residential areas,

These people have ignored the law but rather move about disturbing the city, as well as being an inconvenience to residents.

But are we to sit and watch these musicians and their sellers do business on the streets of Accra? No, the police should intervene and do something about all this noise with its accompanying traffic holdups.

Related:

• Accra becoming the hub of noise making

However, surveys conducted by The Saturday Statesman have established that in spite of the fact that the gospel songs are reigning on air, majority of the people buy more of the secular songs like hip-life, than the gospel ones. Not withstanding that alone, the number of people who attend hip-life shows and album launching outnumber that of the gospel.

The paper yesterday visited Accra, around Despite shop area, to interview some people, including shop owners as to which of the two categories of songs they prefer buying and listening to. Most of their responses were in favour of Hip-life music’ and indeed, it was amazing to see how people were purchasing the hip-life CDs in bulk (to go and retail) and those who were just going to listen to them.

Kwasi Agyemang, a shop owner, was asked how many copies he was purchasing and why?  He responded, ‘”I am purchasing 500 copies in all -100 of Ofori Amponsah’s CD, 100 of Kwa Kese’s, 100 of Samini’s, 100 of Daddy Lumba’s and the rest are compositions of some selected gospel artistes like Christiana Love, Phillipa and a few others. Majority of the customers who come to buy at my shop prefer more of the hip-life than the gospel, and it makes my business very faster for me.”

“As for me, my main artistes are Esther Smith and Philiipa Baafi, so if I purchase like 100 copies for them then the rest goes to the other songs because the secular songs are what majority of the youth nowadays like to buy and listen to”, Kofi Konadu of Kings Music Shop disclosed.

Gabriel Nyarko, a student at he University of Ghana, Legon, who was buying Ofori Amposah’s CD, underscored, “I like gospel songs a lot and I do listen to them very often on radio, but if I want to buy a CD I will prefer to buy either a hip-life or high-life one because we have some radio stations which play gospels only, and so I can always tune in there and listen.”

Another vendor, “I’m Samuel, as you can see, I’m a CD vendor I think they (referring to gospel musicians) do not know how to market their stuffs that is why other songs are selling more than theirs. They make too much noise on radio and I also think that they are the ones who pay huge sums of ‘payola’ to DJs for their CDs to be aired. And when that happens, people turn to buy the hip-life since they will always have a feel of the gospel on TV and on radio. So my advice to all gospel artistes is that they should hide themselves a bit for people to reach out to their CDs”. .

A student at Accra Polytechnic (who did not want to be mentioned) posited, “I myself I’m a Christian but I prefer buying other songs than the gospel because I always listen to them freely in church and on radio too. Even when there is a gospel rock show I will rather use my money to attend other entertainment shows by secular musicians and comedians, where I can really get more fun”.

One respondent said frankly that some of the gospel artistes are not creative enough. “Instead of them to sit down and compose creative songs, they try to emulate others. Why is it that almost all the gospel tunes are reggae? Not until they diversify their music, patronage will always be low because the tunes are monotonous”? he quipped.

Related:

• Pastors ‘killing’ gospel music - Ohemaa Mercy

Aside of the four official competitors, there were also better known acts in the persons of Tinny, Becca and Asem on the bill. They were there to give the audience doses of more familiar stuff and they rode well on the waves of audience enthusiasm.

Becca interacted with the audience in a way almost not seen of her before. It was as if she meant to tell all present that she had been learning and that her confidence level has been consistently rising.

“In my view, it was Becca that turned the place upside down with her performance,” said a young lady who simply described herself as a Becca fan. “I see her perform whenever I can but she showed me she was an artiste on a well-defined mission last Saturday.”

Becca’s manager, Kiki Banson, said he was highly pleased with her output at the show. “She likes to raise the bar for herself all the time and always wants to prove that she is getting better all the time. She did a lot of spontaneous things on stage and I felt really proud of her on the night.”

Tinny, also known as Aletse Kankpe, is relatively a more experienced performer than Becca, having started making an impact on the scene five years ago with Makola Kwakwe. He opted to offer snippets from his well-known songs.

That trick worked well for him because the audience already know the tracks and they delightedly helped him to deliver them. He also displayed some appreciable dance skills.

“I wonder how he is able to keep all those ‘wicked’ Ga expressions in his head,” said a young lady at the show, referring to Tinny’s peculiar fast rhymes in Ga.

Branded as one of hiplife’s latest sensations, Nana Wiafe Asante Mensah aka Asem has managed to turn attention to himself with just one song: Give Me Blow. The latest hiplife kid on the block received a very, very warm welcome to the stage and he was helped along at some points by other artistes including Irene Logan, Bradez, Tinny and Richie.

He obviously has a lot of potential but seems he can learn more about some of the little tricks that do magic for performers on stage including how to establish effectual eye contact with the audience. He is undoubtedly, a star of the future.

Related:

• Stars of the Future winner gets his VW
• Stars officially awarded
• Justice Owen crowned winner of SOTF Season II
• Irene and Jane suffer TV3 snub
• Irene and Jane ready to release debut album
• Eve and Wyclef save the Zain experience
• Tinny releases ‘Ringtone’
• Becca sets Nigeria ablaze
• Video: Flashe by Bradez feat. Richie & Asem
• Wyclef, Mario, Eve & 2 Face to rock Accra

Shimkowitz originally set out to discover the roots of “high life”, a genre of African tribal forms and European music popularised by ET Mensah and SE Rogie, which combines big band, gospel, calypso and reggae. But Africa gave him another story instead, that of hiplife music. Highlife is seen as “supper club” music for older people, whereas hiplife is the opposite - Africa’s version of hip-hop.

Hiplife shares similarities with highlife. Both are variations of Western popular music and African tribal sounds. Hiplife artists originally stole the beats from Western hip-hop artists and rapped about their own experiences over the top. These stolen samples eventually morphed into the creation of homemade beats and thus hiplife was born. Making the music is still a struggle as the high levy on musical instruments in Ghanaian culture (with the government doing its best to eradicate live music for political purposes) forces many Ghanaian musicians to rely on cheap keyboards, pirated sequencing programs and computers. The limitations of these instruments often gives hiplife an unintentionally otherworldly sound.

Hiplife thrives in Africa - Shimkowitz writes of it being played everywhere from cabs, markets and street corners, and all on cassette. Although pirated CDs are making their way through the streets of Ghana, the cassette still reigns within their own burgeoning music industry. When a hiplife star is made, a producer (strictly in the monetary, not creative, sense) puts up the cash to record the album. Musicians work on the beats and sometimes the hiplife album can do upwards of 100,000 copies in Ghana.

Interestingly, Awesome Tapes from Africa doesn’t focus mainly on hiplife, it takes from all sorts of music throughout the continent, from highlife, ethnic and gospel, which is still hugely popular in Africa. It demonstrates that, even in the poorest of conditions, music lifts the spirit infinitely.

What I love about the blog is Shimkowitz’s descriptions of finding new music in Africa. You can feel the pure joy of discovery, almost like an internet version of Harry Smith, as he collects and highlights a unique musical journey. The blog is a portal into another world and demonstrates the healthiness of the MP3 blog (beyond the RIAA/Music Industry viewpoint that all of it is an unholy evil destined to destroy music). Awesome Tapes from Africa is just that - awesome.

Related:

• UK to host Hiplife Festival 2008
• Where do our hiplifers run to?
• Hiplife’s last breath
• Hiplife!!!
• Fusion honours Stars
• Araz releases single dubbed “Hiplife (Oseyie)”
• Concert gives preview of Hip-life’s future in the U.S.A.
• Ben Brako: Hip-hop is not good for Ghana
• The richest hiplife musician (Part II)
• “Home Grown Hip-Life” launched