ALBUM REVIEW

Many gospel musicians enter the music industry by instincts and through the desire to spread the message of Christ but for Alfred Biney, it was a matter of sheer destiny.

Currently out with his second album, "Ma Me Ahobrase", the young man began singing as a chorister and worship leader at the International Central Gospel Church at Koforidua in the Eastern Region where he was born. “I got fully involved in the singing ministry after completing my Auto Engineering course at the Koforidua Technical School. I had then never thought of doing music on a professional basis”, he said.

In his fourth LP, Samini exhibits the maturity that may have been lacking in “Dagaati.” Unlike his previous project, C.E.O sheds most of the reggae in favour of soothing highlife, semblances of hiplife, hiphop fusion, club and dancehall joints..

Samini has been known for churning out anthemic dancehall/ slow jam joints to lead each album, but C.E.O doesn’t have that and listeners may not miss it.

Ghanaian MOBO Award-winning singer/songwriter Rhian Benson has taken eight years to release her brand new album, Hands Clean – the follow-up to her critically acclaimed debut album, Gold Coast (2003).

A lot has happened in those eight years – music has evolved, cycles have come and gone and come again – and while others had already resigned to remembering Benson as a “one album wonder,” the eternal question on many lips was whether Benson still had that certain something she blessed us with on Gold Coast to be able to command an audience in 2011. Hands Clean goes a long way in answering all those questions and more.

Gospel Music has undergone somewhat of a transformation over the last decade. Whilst the traditional choirs, worship groups and Kirk Franklin are still commonly referred to when mentioning the genre, here in the UK, the recent wave of Christian rappers (both in Hip Hop and Grime), has swept the genre into a frenzy.

Amidst the various names who are pushing the sub-genre of Gospel music, Guvna B stands as the most prominent of the group.