Newly elected President of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) Bice Obour Osei Kufour, has already attracted the attention of armed robbers after being in office for barely a month.
Peacefmonline.com has gathered that the “Konkontiba” hit maker’s new Jaguar saloon car was vandalized by daring fully armed robbers, after having information that Obour has received an amount $100,000 given to MUSIGA by Dr. Kofi Amoah as seed money, to restructure the union.
Spokesperson for MUSIGA, Okyeame Kwame, confirmed the incident on Peace FM’s “Entertainment Review”. According to Okyeame Kwame, the armed robbers thought the $100,000 was in Obour’s car so they broke into the car but fortunately or unfortunately, they were disappointed because the money was not in the car. Though Obour was not in the car during the operation, his car was badly damaged.
The incident took place at the Labone Coffee Shop in Accra, on Wednesday September 14, 2011; the same day, Dr. Kofi Amoah officially presented the cheque of $100,000 to the MUSIGA executives at Citizen Kofi in Osu. “They broke into Obour’s car immediately we left Citizen Kofi, but by the grace of God Obour, our new MUSIGA President was driving brand new Jaguar, so immediately they hit the glass the alarm sounded very loud, and they run away and people rushed to the scene. If it was not the alarm, they would have succeeded in their operation”, Kwame narrated.
Okyeame Kwame confirmed that Obour and his executives have received the money from Dr. Kofi Amoah, adding that Dr. Amoah advised them not to think that they know all the solutions to the problems of MUSIGA. “He advised that we should use some of the money for research about music and musicians in Ghana and all over the world, to be able to know how things are done in other countries where music is well developed, and how we can inculcate their system into Ghana to make Ghanaian musicians rich, and give our music more value”, Kwame explained.
In another development, MUSIGA President Obour led an entourage of MUSIGA executives and musicians to visit imprisoned popular music producer and artiste manager, Isaac Abaidoo, popularly known as Goodies at the Nsawam Maximum Prison.
Okyeame Kwame revealed that immediately Obour won the election in Tamale, he (Obour) said one of the first things dear to his heart was to visit Goodies in Prison, so he only fulfilled his heart’s desire, and his vision to support prisoners all over the country. Goodies who seemed surprised on seeing Obour and several musicians, expressed his excitement at the honour done him by the visit of the MUSIGA leadership, and thanked them for the visit.
Okyeame Kwame noted that MUSIGA intends to collaborate with the Prisons service to organize entertainment for the prisoners in a form of soccer matches between musicians and prisoners, in addition to other musical events. This is part of efforts by MUSIGA to help reorient the prisoners and also encourage them to be positive about their lives whilst in prison.
According to Okyeame, the visit was also to change the perception about prisoners and also encourage families of prisoners to support them while in prison, and to welcome them wholeheartedly when they are released.
Goodies had been very supportive in the strengthening of MUSIGA in the past. He single handedly saw to the establishment a Hiplife office within the MUSIGA office to specifically see to the welfare and issues concerning Hiplife musicians. Goodies is presently serving a thirteen year-jail term for narcotics offences.
Peacefmonline.com has gathered that the “Konkontiba” hit maker’s new Jaguar saloon car was vandalized by daring fully armed robbers, after having information that Obour has received an amount $100,000 given to MUSIGA by Dr. Kofi Amoah as seed money, to restructure the union.
Spokesperson for MUSIGA, Okyeame Kwame, confirmed the incident on Peace FM’s “Entertainment Review”. According to Okyeame Kwame, the armed robbers thought the $100,000 was in Obour’s car so they broke into the car but fortunately or unfortunately, they were disappointed because the money was not in the car. Though Obour was not in the car during the operation, his car was badly damaged.
The incident took place at the Labone Coffee Shop in Accra, on Wednesday September 14, 2011; the same day, Dr. Kofi Amoah officially presented the cheque of $100,000 to the MUSIGA executives at Citizen Kofi in Osu. “They broke into Obour’s car immediately we left Citizen Kofi, but by the grace of God Obour, our new MUSIGA President was driving brand new Jaguar, so immediately they hit the glass the alarm sounded very loud, and they run away and people rushed to the scene. If it was not the alarm, they would have succeeded in their operation”, Kwame narrated.
Okyeame Kwame confirmed that Obour and his executives have received the money from Dr. Kofi Amoah, adding that Dr. Amoah advised them not to think that they know all the solutions to the problems of MUSIGA. “He advised that we should use some of the money for research about music and musicians in Ghana and all over the world, to be able to know how things are done in other countries where music is well developed, and how we can inculcate their system into Ghana to make Ghanaian musicians rich, and give our music more value”, Kwame explained.
In another development, MUSIGA President Obour led an entourage of MUSIGA executives and musicians to visit imprisoned popular music producer and artiste manager, Isaac Abaidoo, popularly known as Goodies at the Nsawam Maximum Prison.
Okyeame Kwame revealed that immediately Obour won the election in Tamale, he (Obour) said one of the first things dear to his heart was to visit Goodies in Prison, so he only fulfilled his heart’s desire, and his vision to support prisoners all over the country. Goodies who seemed surprised on seeing Obour and several musicians, expressed his excitement at the honour done him by the visit of the MUSIGA leadership, and thanked them for the visit.
Okyeame Kwame noted that MUSIGA intends to collaborate with the Prisons service to organize entertainment for the prisoners in a form of soccer matches between musicians and prisoners, in addition to other musical events. This is part of efforts by MUSIGA to help reorient the prisoners and also encourage them to be positive about their lives whilst in prison.
According to Okyeame, the visit was also to change the perception about prisoners and also encourage families of prisoners to support them while in prison, and to welcome them wholeheartedly when they are released.
Goodies had been very supportive in the strengthening of MUSIGA in the past. He single handedly saw to the establishment a Hiplife office within the MUSIGA office to specifically see to the welfare and issues concerning Hiplife musicians. Goodies is presently serving a thirteen year-jail term for narcotics offences.
| Mobile Telecommunication Giant, Vodafone, left a sour taste in the mouth of some journalists when it openly discriminated against Ghanaian artistes billed to perform at the 020 Live Concert alongside International acts Trey Songz and “Kokomaster” D’banj from Nigeria. Vodafone deliberately treated Ghanaian local stars as though they were nobody and worshiped the foreign artistes like thin gods. At the pre-event launch on Tuesday September 20, 2011, at the Golden Tulip Hotel ahead of tonight’s big show, Vodafone officials clearly exhibited their disregard for Ghanaian musicians. The sitting arrangement at Golden Tulip’s Upper Terrace said it all, with the three foreign stars -Trey Songz, Dbanj, Amber Rose- and a Vodafone official fully decorated and branded with Vodafone colours. The four sat on confortable red seats, with a 020 backdrop limited to just the four of them and a red carpet just for the four of them. The Ghanaian hip-life stars; VIP and 5Five, sat on ordinary seats, bare background (no Vodafone branding or decoration whatsoever) and no carpet for them. When Peacefmonline.com’s Entertainment Reporter, Eugene Osafo-Nkansah asked for some explanation (If was any), as to why the organizers decided to make such an “arrangement” during the Q and A section, Vodafone’s Chief Marketing Officer, Uche Ofodile, (who was one of the four enjoying the red carpet treatment), curtly dismissed the question. “I don’t understand your question… I don’t know, I don’t really understand what you are talking about,” she said. Eddy Blay, who was the MC at the press conference, asked Ms. Uche if Eugene can be allowed to re-phrase the question, but a clearly riled Uche Ofodile insisted that they should “forget about Eugene and move on”. |
| The harsh sun burning Ghanaian artistes (VIP and 5Five) with their bare background making it difficult for journalists to get clear pictures The press conference which was the only platform for the media to have access to the artistes billed to perform at the 020 Live concert, lasted for less than 30 minutes and the organisers permitted the asking of only five questions from the over 20 media houses invited to the function. Furthermore, the MC stated emphatically that nobody was to be allowed the opportunity of a one-on-one interview with the artistes. Vodafone has also banned any media person from videoing the event or taking pictures as stated in a media brief circulated by the organizers. Meanwhile, other Ghanaian artistes including D-Cryme, Stay Jay, R2Bees and Vodafone Icon winners RnM expected to perform tonight (Tuesday), were absent at the press conference. After the press conference, the same media practitioners who publicized the event were seen virtually struggling for media accreditation to cover the program. A similar incident happened during last year’s maiden edition of the event, when fastest rapper Sarkodie complained about how organizers pay Ghanaian artistes peanuts but pull every financial string to bring down foreign-based artistes to perform on the show. Sarkodie even described the money Vodafone paid to him as “coins”. Well, having recently taken over the sponsorship of major musical events in Ghana such as the 4Syte Music Video Awards, Ghana Music Awards among other major events and entertainment programs on Television and Radio, it is only prudent on the part of Vodafone to respect the country’s stars and the media who also play a significant role in the same entertainment industry they are trying to support. |
Nadia Buari’s Brother Releases Single
Former athlete, musician, producer, and the father of Ghanaian star actress Nadia Buari, Alhaji Sidiku Buari certainly gave his artistic genes to his children.
Nadia’s younger brother, Majeed is next to claim his shine in the artistic family, pursuing a possible career in music.
Majeed has been rapping on the low under the name Jeed Rogers for some time now but has finally released his first major single titled ‘Tell Em’ featuring Mugeez of R2bees fame. Van Vicker Moves Into Music
Actor cum producer Van Vicker will in no time prove to Ghanaian musicians that he is capable of singing as he is currently working towards releasing a 12-track album.
Even though Van had reportedly denied reports that he was recording with Stay Jay of ‘Shashiwowo’ fame, NEWS-ONE can say that the fine actor is currently in the studios.
According to a NEWS-ONE source, he was recording with Lynx Entertainment and had so far recorded a number of songs. “The album will be a collection of different genres of music including Pop, Afro pop and Hip Life. He is not sure how he will call the album yet. But all will depend on the final product,” the source said.
The music is being recorded at a time when there are a lot of media reports about him, especially on his alleged brawl with actress Tonto Dike.
It is most likely his lyrical content will highlight some of his experiences with the media and also clarify issues on how he wants it to be.
Some entertainment observers said it would be suicidal if he took on the media through his songs. Meanwhile his decision to sing follows a trend in Nigeria where almost every actor wants to sing.
Omotola Jalade, Genevieve Nnaji, Patience Ozokwor, Jim Iyke, Nkem Owoh, Stella Damasus and a number of others have albums to their credit. In Ghana, Agya Koo, Mr. Beautiful and Mercy Asiedu are known for their singing prowess.
Van just wrapped up the shoot of his latest movie. He told Citi FM he would change the working title,’ Distance’.
He also said his eight-year-old daughter also shocked him in the movie with the way she handled a crying scene, noting she made him realize that she would become a chip of the old block. His son is however not gifted with acting so he wants him to play football.
The new movie features some of the crème de la crème of Ghana’s movie industry like Kofi Adjorlolo and Van himself who is also the producer and director. The movie is the third from the stables of his Orange Productions, after ‘Friday Night’ and ‘Raj’.
Dbanj: There’s Nothing Special About Omotola’s Buttocks!
Nigerian singer, Dbanj has denied rumours in Ghana that his buzzing new single, ‘Oliver Twist’ was banned by the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) because he may have referred to the backside of Nollywood star actress, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde.
Responding to a question by a journalist in Accra, during a press interaction for the Vodafone 020 Live Concert, DBanj stated that there was no such reference to Omotola in his song and that he didn’t see anything too special about Omotola’s bum anyway. He joked, “wey tin dey for Omotala yansh we e no dey on the streets of Accra?”
Dbanj further explained that ‘Oliver Twist’ was never banned and that the news came about as a result of the machinations of social media. He said he hadn’t gotten the chance to react to it because he was busy travelling and doing promotions abroad, and also the controversy was good publicity for the song.
“I never really said anything because it was just helping the whole song. The song has not been banned. ‘Oliver Twist’ is a simple song that means what I believe everyone of us -- whether man, woman or animal -- stands for, what we are, and what I have seen. I don’t know where the propaganda started from but it has been chaotic on social media recently and people have been spreading rumours or people dying and things happening.
I was in London heading to Miami and I saw the news. So I called my management and they called the NBC and they said they aren’t aware of it being banned. My people say they have been hearing it everywhere, radio stations are still playing. ”
Atumpan, Stay Jay, R2bees & Chase For Mario/J Holiday Concert
233connect has announced that four of Ghana’s buzzing acts will be performing alongside American R&B singers Mario and J Holiday at the Dome of the Accra International Conference Centre on July 30. The four, a carefully selected mix of artistes whose music has become increasingly popular amongst Ghanaian rave heads in recent times, are expected to put up excellent performances complimenting the trademark avant-garde style of their American counterparts.Leading the pack is Atumpan whose club banging hit track The Thing is going to set the venue on fire. Following closely in audience appeal will be Stay Jay who will wow the crowd with tracks such as Sue and Shasheewowo. Other electrifying performances will be staged by R2Bess and Accra’s most sought-after R&B crooner Fianko Bossman, otherwise known as CHASE.The organizers have hinted that more local artistes are expected to perform on the night, details of which will be made known soon.Tinny calls fellow musicians foolish
He told News-One in an exclusive interview last Saturday that his colleague musicians are being foolish by refusing to unite and support each other to grow. He said some are rather helping foreign artistes to dominate the Ghanaian market to the disadvantage of the country’s musicians.
“From way back, our people have never believed in made-in-Ghana goods and that mentality has entered the music industry. People believe in whatever product comes from outside and that is very bad. Our own musicians, my own colleagues can do ‘Oleku’ remix while we have a lot of better Ghanaian songs available. There are songs by Amakye Dede, Daddy Lumba and others and it will be classic if we decide to a reload of them. We don’t cherish our stuff.
“Do you think a serious Nigerian musician will take a Ghanaian song and do a remix? Do you think Shaggy will take a Bandana song and do a remix? Or Lil Wayne will take a Tinny song and do a remix? No, what are you talking about? He will take James Brown’ song, so the industry still keeps growing. They don’t go off, they worship hip hop like a religion. We don’t see hip life that way. Now when you do a good music, you will sell it yourself. People don’t even buy CDS again.”
“The mix-tape singers, they should go and see Mr. Ayoade of Charterhouse because his Stars of the Future is really helping the future of this industry. They should go and join Stars of the Future to learn and stop the bullshit mix-tape they are doing. I salute Okyeame Kwame for his ‘Faithful’ song. He has been himself since. He sounded himself in that song. I respect him for that.”
Sexy Tinny had other issues to complain about: “My colleagues are fools because we can’t come together and I always salute the Tema rappers. Tema guys cherish their artistes and if that is how Ghanaians cherish our musicians, no other song from outside can penetrate and even dominate industry.”
Tinny has dropped his latest single titled ‘Again’, which would be followed by a video and an album very soon. He last released his ‘Kaa Bume’ album in 2005 and has since been riding on singles hits.
“If you do good song, people don’t realize it. You have to do what they are doing. You have to follow their trend and now I am following. If the game changes, I will change. I will show Ghana that I am versatile. If the game changes to gospel, I will sing gospel and many Ghanaians will be shocked. My management has been advising me for about two years now and now I have accepted it because I want to be me,” he added.
Producer, Coptic gives talented rappers a chance to feature on new mixtape
In February this year, Coptic released the much-awaited ‘Black Star Line Mixtape Vol 1’. The mixtapes which was hosted by DJ Black (Ghana) and Lee Kasumba (South Africa) was available to members of www.TheBlackStarLine.com for listening and downloading. ‘The Black Star Line Mixtape Vol 1’ features songs from some of the best rappers from Africa and America as well as several collaborations between a number of the featured artists. . It features: Raekwon, Kwaw Kesse(Ghana), DBlack(Ghana), Havoc, Prince Eddie Atlas(Uganda), Black Rob, Iwan(Ghana), ModeNine(Nigeria), Abass Abass (Senegal), Lufu(Tanzania), Smif-n-Wessun, Makhtar(Senegal), Dead Prez, Dumi Right(Zimbabwe), M.anifest(Ghana), Memphis Bleek, Wanlov & M3nsa(FOKN Bois), Mugeez (Ghana), Mr Veezy(Zambia), Arabian Knightz(Egypt), Trigmatic(Ghana), Abass Abass(Senegal), Don Klemente(DRC), Gibril Da African(Ghana), Meta & The Cornerstones(Senegal), and Asem(Ghana).
‘The Black Star Line Mixtape Vol 1’ is a precursor to ‘Close to My Roots’, s a project dedicated to creating great music featuring African and American artists and exposing the “true” African sound and its musicians to the global music market. Eric “Coptic” Matlock, the producer of this album, who was born and raised in Ghana believes that Africa has a strong Hip Hop, Reggae and Cultural Rap presence that is often overlooked in regards to its worldwide musical influence. “The continent has many talented artists that need to be exposed to the rest of the world,” he comments.
Ghana-born Eric Kwabena Mattlock migrated to the U.S. at 13 and started producing music years later. He since has produced records for The Notorious B.I.G (If I Should Die Before I Wake & Living The Life), Puff Daddy aka “Diddy” (I Need A Girl), Jermaine Dupri (All That’s Gotta Go), Ma$e, KRS-One, Shyne and countless other successful artists on their platinum plus albums.
Musicians Can’t Buy Food: Abodam
According to Abodam, most Ghanaian musicians, especially those who fall within the hip hop category, are living a false life. He said they pretend to be okay by dressing in expensive designer clothing when they appear in public but actually have nothing in their bank accounts because their songs are not doing well on the market and they have no other means of income.
Speaking to Delores Frempong Manso on her Delay TV show, Abodam said there were many times he had to buy food for well-known musicians whose songs are enjoying some good airplay.
He explained that having “your song played on radio does not mean there is money in your pocket” because Ghanaians generally do not buy original CDs as most people rather prefer to pirate the songs.
“So they rely on shows but how many shows are even held for a whole year in Ghana and at each show, how many musicians can be invited. So that is the problem. They wait to be invited to shows and if for a year there is no show, then they start to hustle but cannot openly admit this in public,” Abodam explained.
“The problem is that they do songs that do not last and we tend to copy foolishly. We always copy the Nigerians and they laugh at us and ask us to be original. How can a Ghanaian musician sing a song in Ghana and say ‘I dey kolo’? That is rubbish because it is a Nigerian expression and the Ghanaian fans would not fully understand the actual meaning of your song. If you are singing in Ghana, just go straight to the point and say ‘I dey craze’ or ‘I dey mad’ and your people will like you because you are original,” Abodam added.
When asked to mention the manes of the musicians he was referring to, Abodam said there was no need to drop any names because that would be below the belt.
He however said the musicians doing hip-hop and twi-pop are the most affected.
The host then mentioned the names of VIP, D-Cryme, Zigi (U say Wetin) and Stay Jay (Shashii wow o) for him to choose which of them fall within his category.
Abodam responded that VIP and D-Cryme are very good musicians who he has lots of respect for. Abodam said he has never heard of Zigi and his ‘U Say Wetin’ song because he does not listen to such songs. With regard to ‘Shashii Wowo’ by Stay Jay, Abodam said the ‘Shashii Wowo’ is a people’s song that would not last.
Becca To Launch Album On Water
A Source close to Becca revealed to Peacefmonline.com Entertainment, that Becca who is still pursuing her education at Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), was putting finishing touches to her second album but the album titled “NAKED I CAME” is presently ready to be released and the sexy songstress intends to officially launch the album on water. “She wants to launch her new album on water but I don’t know where and how she intends to do this” the source disclosed.
When Peacefmonline contacted Becca’s manager Kiki Banson of EKB Records, he confirmed that indeed Becca’s management is currently planning a world class album launch to unleash her second studio work and also mentioned that they are considering several venues for the upcoming historic album launch and doing it on water is one of the options but they are yet to conclude on it. “Becca has achieved a lot with just one album and we really want to bring something that she has never experienced in her music career and something Ghanaians have never seen before to match up with the kind of musical work on her new album”.
Becca’s much anticipated album has generated a lot of expectations among the within the media and among the general public. Few Radio Presenters, Arts Writers, Producers, media men and everybody who have been privileged to listen to some of the songs from Becca’s new album, all find it hard to describe what to expect.
Abeiku Santana of Okay FM is a big fan of Becca and he told Peacefmonline.com that he really liked every single song on Becca’s first album but from the few songs he heard from her upcoming album, he doesn’t even know what to expect next from Becca “This is phenomenal for a young singer like Becca I am very impressed”.
This will be Becca’s second album after she released her first album titled “Suger” in 2007. The 13 track album out of which about three hit singles including; “Forever”, “Fire”, and newly released “Push”, features South African International singer Yvonne Chakachaka, Nigerian Super star 2Face Idibia, Ghanaian born UK based singer Jay Ghartey, Rapper Trigmatic, King Ayisoba, Samini among others. Credible information gathered by Peacefmonline.com indicates that Becca also has a gospel song on the album which features talented and multiple awards winning gospel artiste Ohemaa Mercy. Peacefmonline.com is reliably informed that Becca will launch the album in Ghana in a few weeks time and subsequently launch it in Nigeria which will be sponsored by City People.
With just an album to her credit, Becca has won for herself several awards including: Ghana Music Awards “Album of the Year” for two years continues 2009 and 2010, “Record of the Year” 2009 and 2010 and ‘Best Female Vocal Performance’.
Becca also won the ‘Best African Prospect’ at 2010 Kora All Africa Music Awards in Burkina Faso. The silky voice singer is a graduate from Wesley Girls' High School and she is trained in Child Psychology from Croydon College in London and worked as a child care worker. She is presently featuring her education at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).
ATUMPAN - Are you feeling “The Thing” ?
Either you love it or you hate it, and most people I’ve ran into….. Love it.
It’s The Thing by Atumpan and it’s one of the more popular songs on the radio right now. I’ve seen people on facebook are posting the lyrics, girls are singing the song without realizing… There is something about catchy beats and easy to remember lyrics that will grasp hold of you once you hear it and be almost impossible to get out of your head. It reminds me of America’s house music where you have an uptempo beat paired with a particular phrase repeated over….and over…. and over again. Luke Campbell comes to mind.
I have to admit, after hearing it the third time or so, I was thinking about “That Thing” while laying in bed, lol. I’ve got to catch up with Atumpan and ask him the meaning behind…….that thing.
Till then, check out the video, and be warned: it’s an addicting lil thing ; )
“My fans, forgive me I will crack jokes no more” - Sarkodie
The current king of Ghanaian rap Sarkodie has apologized to his numerous fans over some remarks he made last week which have given him a lot of bad press.
The Konvict Africa rapper who made a statement at a press conference in Accra that “People listen to him more than, the president of Ghana, John Evan Atta Mills”, said he meant it as a joke and not as the media and the public have sought to explain.
Speaking on Peace FM’s “Entertainment Review” programme, Sarkodie made reference to a statement someone made to him during this year Ghana Music Awards, that if he wins the “Artiste of the year” award he would face a lot of problems “I made a funny statement with smiles on my face that people listen to me more than the president himself.
That is Sarkodie’s sense of humour and I thought anyone who hears this will laugh but Ghanaians and the media have intrepreted it wrongly”, he said. He said.
He expressed shock at how his humorous statement has been blown out of proportion and wondered why no media man asked for further classification. “If they thought it was wrong someone should have questioned me on that, but nobody said anything during and after the press conference. I only heard people discussing me on radio on my way home”, he stressed.
The public outcry has pushed Sarkodie to release a new single track title “Sorry”. He used chorus from Akon “I tried so hard” and rapped along with it. The song’s intro goes like this: “This is a letter to my fans, I just wonna show you that I love you all. My fans please forgive me I will crack jokes no more”.
Touching on media report that he snubbed the organizers of the Ghana Music Awards, at the MUSIGA headquarters on Tuesday May18, 2010 when Charter House was presenting cash prizes to the GMA 2010 winner. Sarkodie denied to have snubbed that he refused to receive his GH¢4000 cash prize until Theresa of Charter House intervened.
“What happened is that, I was there with my management when I had a call so I went out to receive the call and told Dr. Duncan to receive the cheque on my behalf, not knowing that my name had been mentioned several times. They refused to present it to my manager, Dr. Duncan because Theresa said since I was there it will be a privilege to present it to me in person”, he explained.
According to ‘Obedeponbede’ since he won five awards at this year’s Ghana Music Awards, people always try to find fault with whatever he does and says. He dismissed reports that arrogant and snobbish.
“This is the mentality and perception of some Ghana which kills a lot of budding artistes. I am not arrogant; I speak with confidence and humor. The people who smile with me are the same people trying to bring me down”, he said with so much emotions.
'I am not ladies' man - Dr. Cryme
He tells NEWS-ONE in an exclusive interview that he respects the accolade as a compliment. However, he is for everybody, both guys and ladies. This is because his music is for all and sundry who like his music, irrespective of gender affiliations.
“I respect it as a compliment from other people. I think that is what they see in their eyes and I am free person. I am Kwasi Darlington and Kwasi Darlington is for everybody.
He is for all. He is a general person. They call me general and nobody understands it. People don’t really understand it. I leave it for the people to follow. If we all have to go for the ladies; who will go for the men,” he said.
Cryme also denied claims that he was usually harassed by female fans because of his charisma.
“I don’t know about ladies’ reaction towards me, if it is harsh or not. They always say Cryme I love your song. I don’t think somebody will go the extra mile like can I do something crazy with you. No, they are respectful. They love me because of music. I think it is touching them.
They don’t love me because of me. You know how many nice men they have? If they walk up to me and say hey! Cryme I am in love with you, it is not me; it is my song they are referring to,” he explained.
Dr. Cryme came into the limelight last year after the release of his ‘Kill Me Shy’ single. He has since been rocking stages with the crème de la crème of the industry. He put up a marvelous performance at this year’s Ghana Music Awards. Currently, he is among the crème de la crème who are billed for Empire Entertainment’s Ghana Meet Naija concert on July 1.
According to Dr. Cryme, he has been around for a long time and a lot of the big boys in the game, he claimed, would attest to that.
A former pupil of Detus Preparatory School in Tema and Somanya Secondary Technical School, the chap who, hails from the Ashanti region, started singing at a tender age.
However, he began writing his rhymes and raps from 1999 while in JHS 3. After several years, he is now ready to show the whole world his music talent.
Hence, he released ‘Kill Me Shy’ which is followed by ‘Mene Woa’. In July, the entire album which he said would be titled, ‘Finally Finally’, will be out.
Dr. Cryme said he won’t allow fame to get to his head, noting, “I see fame as a compliment and respect it. I don’t leave by it. People come and go. I don’t embrace fame like. It is nothing new.”
GMA, a night of looking for love and body exhibition
Musicians, Trigmatic, Cecilia Marfo and Kwabena Kwabena lead the pack with more nominations for this year’s MTN Ghana Music Awards released Friday at the Poolside of the Golden Tulip.
Young musician Trigmatic had seven nominations including Hip Hop Song of the Year, Best Rapper of Year, Record of the Year and Song Writer of the Year.
Cecilia Marfo also had seven nominations; Artiste of the Year category, Gospel Song of the Year, Most Popular Song of the Year and Best Female Vocal Performance of the Year.
Kwabena Kwabena on the other hand has six nominations; Best Collaboration of the Year and Songwriter(s) of the Year with D-Black in the song Somebody and Highlife Song of the Year with Cash Unit in the song Yaa Amponsah.
Other artistes who had nominations include Eazzy, Castro, No Tribe, D-Black and VIP who had 5 nominations each and Samini who had 4.
This year’s awards ceremony will be held at the Dome of the Accra International Conference Centre on Saturday April 9 but preceding that will be the Ghana Music Awards Dialogue/Workshop and the Ghana Music Awards Nominees Party.
Each winner at the awards will get GH¢1, 000 with the Artiste of the Year winner walking away with a cash prize of GH¢5, 000 Ghana Cedis, an increase from last year’s GH¢3,000.
Other special awards to be picked up include Best Music for Development worth GH¢3,000 and the newly introduced special category, Life Time Achievement Award where the winner will get a plague and a cash prize of GH¢ 2,000.
Below is the detailed list of nominations:
Trigmatic also has seven nominations
Public Voting Categories
Artiste of the Year
No Tribe
Cecilia Marfo
Samini
Castro
VIP
Kwabena Kwabena
Hiplife/Hiphop Artiste (s) of the Year
D-Black
Eazzy
VIP
Trigmatic
Castro
R2Bees
Highlife Artiste (s) of the Year
Daddy Lumba (DL)
Kwabena Kwabena
Adane Best
Bless
Gospel Artiste (s) of the Year
Herty Borngreat
No Tribe
Ernest Opoku
Cee
Florence Obinim
Cecilia Marfo
Discovery of the Year
Jay Ghartey
Eazzy
Iwan
Nana Boroo
Trigmatic
Herty Bongreat
Bless
Best Collaboration of the Year
D-Black feat. Kwabena Kwabena – Somebody
Castro feat. Asamoah Gyan (Baby Jet) – African Girls
R2Bees feat. Wande Coal – Kiss Your Hands
Cecilia Marfo feat. Ernest Opoku
Tinny feat. Donaeo – I Need It
Florence Obinim & Princess Ifeoma – God Never Fails
Cee feat. Ampong & Isaac – Halleluyah
Hiplife Song of the Year
Guru – Democracy
Castro feat. Asamoah Gyan (Baby Jet) – African Girls
Akoo Nana – Guru
Nana Boroo – Aha Ye De (Bedia Ewu)
Reggie Rockstone feat. Quabena Maphia – Female Friend
VIP – Away
Highlife Song of the Year
VIP – Gyata Bi
Bless – Meda Enda
Kwabena Kwabena – Dadea Anoma
Daddy Lumba (DL) featuring Sarkodie – Anadwo Ye Die
Cash Unit feat. Benji & Kwabena Kwabena
Daasebre Dwamena – Megya Apem
Most Popular Song of the Year
R2Bees feat. Wande Coal – Kiss Your Hands
Castro feat. Asamoah Gyan (Baby Jet) – African Girls
VIP – Away
Cecilia Marfo – Afunumu Ba
Eazzy – Wengeze
No Tribe – Bohye
Nana Boroo – Aha Ye De (Bebia Ewu)
Afro-Pop Song of the Year
Jay Ghartey – My Lady
R2Bees feat. Wande Coal – Kiss Your Hands
5Five – Move Back
Samini – Sweet Mistake
Eazzy – Wengeze
4×4 – Miss Doctor
Hip Hop Song of the Year
D-Black feat. Dr. Cryme
Trigmatic – My Life
Richie feat. Sway – Intoxicated
Eazzy – Bo Wonsem Ma Me
Asem – No More Kpayor
J-Town – Guns and Roses
Gospel Song of the Year
Herty Borngreat – Odo Ben Ni
No Tribe – Bohye
Ceccy Twum – Nhyira Ba
Florence Obinim & Princess Ifeoma – God Never Fails
Cecilia Marfo – Afunumu Ba
Ernest Opoku – Onyame Di Hene
Cee feat. Ampong & Isaac – Halleluyah
Reggae Song of the Year
Rocky Dawuni – African Reggae Fever
IWAN – Thanks & Praise
Samini B – Tongue Tied
Samini – Trigga
Na U – Independence Day
Sonni Balli – When You’re Gone
Best Rapper of the Year
Sway – Intoxicated
J-Town – Guns and Roses
Guru – Democracy
Trigmatic – My Life
Reggie Rockstone – Female Friend
Committee Voting Categories
Album of the Year
Trigmatic – Permanent Stains
Jay Ghartey – Shining Gold
No Tribe – Three (Father, Son and Holy Ghost)
D-Black – Music, Love & Life
VIP – Progress
Cecilia Marfo – Faithfulness
Samini – C. E. O
Best Male Vocal Performance (Solo/Group)
Kwabena Kwabena – Dadea Anoma
Knii Lante – Bo Noo
Ernest Opoku – Onyame Di Hene
Morris D’Voice – Sanku
Nana Fynn – Santrofi
Nacy – Di Kan
Best Female Vocal Performance (Solo/Group)
Efya – Little Things
Herty Borngreat – Odo Ben Ni
Ceccy Twum – Nhyira Ba
Cecilia Marfo – Afunumu Ba
Christiana Love – No Fears
Cindy Thompson – Nhyira Nie
Record of the Year
Samini B- Tongue Tie
Kwabena Kwabena – Dadea Anoma
Efya – Little Things
Jay Ghartey – So Wild
Knii Lante feat. Leboo – Lagos To Vienna
Trigmatic – My Life
African Artiste of the Year
2 Face
Asa
Uche Agbo
K’naan
Meiway
Songwriter (s) of the Year
Asem and Efya
Pastor Boamah
D-Black and Kwabena Kwabena – Somebody
Trigmatic – My Life
Bless – Meda Enda
Kwabena Kwabena – Dadea Anoma
Industry Categories
Traditional Artistes of the Year
Instrumentalist of the Year
Music for Development
Music Video of the Year
MUSIGA Merit Awards
Producer of the Year
DStv audiences can also tune into Channel O to watch as O Africa Xpress showcases African artists and African videos non-stop for 30 minutes at midnight and 04:00 CAT; a full hour at noon, 15:00 and 22:00 CAT, making for hours of proudly African viewing. Viewers can also watch Top Mais featuring Yola Semedo at 21:00 CAT, where all things Angolan and Mozambican are showcased on this popular show. So tune in to Channel O on Wednesday 25 May for a taste of why Africa is seen as the music world’s most exciting, diverse and innovative continent.
Africa Day celebrates the 1963 foundation of The Organisation of African Unity, now known as the African Union. This Africa Day expect some fresh, specially made productions straight outta Africa on MTV base. DStv audiences can tune into MTV Base all day Wednesday 25 to watch the Base Special Leaders of the Afrikan Nu Skool which highlights a new generation of African stars popular all over the continent and going global too. Another Base Special will focus on Kwaito Legends, whilst there will be a Select 10 chart breaking down African Leading Ladies and another Select 10 chart of African Collabos. Plus, MTV base VJ and music expert Sizwe Dhlomo brings you the Official African Chart with the latest and hottest international and African tracks straight from the streets.
