Wednesday, April 15, 2009

CREATIVITY IN THE MIDST OF CHALLENGES


A first time visit to Amorko Gravity Studios in Osu, will make one to quickly draw a comparison between art galleries or studios in Ghana and other parts of the developed world, but that comparison, cannot take away the innovative and creative works that come out of this studio. The brain behind this ‘everything art’ studio is versatile artist, Nicholas Nii Amasah.
Nii Amasah says “art has been my talent from infancy. Naturally it is in the family as my mother used to sew and my sister as well”. He started this art business ten years when he was working with an NGO called Ever Images at Nungua. This NGO which is owned by his aunty specializes in teaching street children and kids beads-making and also gets volunteers from different parts of the world to help in sustaining their cause.
His brilliant paintings were spotted by one of the volunteers who came from Canada. This volunteer took the painting to Canada for exhibition in an international show which Nii Amasah says brought good responses from people who were impressed with his work. This feat earned him an invitation from a French friend to exhibit in France recently but he was unfortunately denied a traveling visa.
Holder of a Diploma in Arts and a certificate in Graphics from the school of Ultimate Art in Mamprobi in Accra, Nii Amasah honed his art at Opportunities Industrialization Centre (OIC). He says painting has two major components - graphics and normal painting. The graphics, he indicates, has more to do with advertising and has been relegated to the background as Nii Amasah continues to execute the painting talent with perfection.
Most of the paintings on display in Amorko Gravity Studios are both abstract and figure works (abstracts being paintings you cannot readily understand on the face of it and figure works are pieces you can really see and quickly appreciate). The paintings, many of which have human interest undertones portray kids, ‘kayayei’ and general life in Accra. Nii Amasah is also into fashion as he sews costumes for both ladies and gentlemen. He developed this sewing interest when he was in the first year in art school as he took fashion designing lessons.
Nii Amasah has held major exhibitions in different art galleries over the years. As a member of the Ghana Artists Association, he has exhibited with the Contemporary Artists Association at the Goethe Institute, the Junior Art Club at the British Council, and also some major hotels in Accra including Novotel. Talking about his future projects, Nii is collaborating with the Director of Ever Images to do an exhibition at Alliance Francaise on the 14th of April, an event which he says will display at least twenty-five of his works. He also plans to hold another exhibition at the National Museum in July this year.
Wondering whether to call Nii Amasah an all-rounder? Go ahead and you won’t be wrong. Doing a little bit of modeling in school, Nii is a member of Exopa Models and uses calabash to do jewelleries like earrings. He has also been in batiks and textiles for a while now to which he says he taught a volunteer from Spain who is now doing well in the textile and batik industry in Spain. However, he does not see himself as a versatile as he said, “As an artist, you should be able to do a lot of things. Arts do with creativity therefore an artist should be able to cut across”.
The paintings which some Nii Amasah says can sell over $2000 seem good for the business but, however, he was quick to point out how bad the market is in Ghana. “In Ghana, people are not really interested in painting. I am not really thinking about the money but to carve a niche for myself.”

SAMMY FORSON


He has one of the sleekest of voices on radio currently. He drives the ‘city’ home on his popular late afternoon programme on Citi 97.3 FM called ‘Citi Drive.’ He has a swagger that can be compared to a rapper, but Sammy Forson was quick to point how down to earth he his when he granted What’s On this exclusive interview.
Sammy is a full fledged Information Technology (I.T) expert, having trained at NIIT and IPMC in networking and hardware. So how did it start for an Information Technology graduate to become one of the popular voices on radio? “When I finished my computer courses, I lived in Kumasi for four years where I learnt how to assemble computers for radio stations. Anytime I finished installing the equipment, I tested them on air and based on this experience, I was made to stand in for a sick presenter at Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) station in Kumasi.
Radio was meant to be a part time job for Sammy Forson, but he is now into it full time. The six years he has spent in radio has been switched between Accra and the ‘Garden City’, Kumasi. He spent two years in Kumasi where he played jazz music and hosted the “Drive Time” at Garden City Radio. He is currently the anchor of “Citi Drive” on Citi Fm. This show, which starts from 3 to 7 pm, Mondays to Fridays is interlaced with personality interviews, playing of both local and foreign hits as well as listeners’ favourite, “Sammy’s Court” where he acts as a judge.
Born outside the shores of Ghana,—he was born in Zambia—Sammy Forson returned to Ghana at age sixteen. He attended Swedru Secondary School and also studied some courses at the Ghana Institute of Journalism. Even though he officially trained as an Information Technology engineer and he is now in radio, Sammy never dreamt of these two jobs when growing up. “I wanted to be a pilot when growing up. Even now when I have the chance to visit the airport I try to find out more about the profession. If I get the chance I will pursue it.”
Managing artistes alongside their radio work has been the hustle for presenters in Ghana in recent times, with popular presenters like Kofi Okyere Darko, Bola Ray, Dr. Duncan just to mention a few managing artistes in Ghana. Sammy Forson is also on this trail as he is the manager of the maiden “Appietus Idols” winner, Teelee Jay. He has also worked with Adez of “Mentor 2” fame and now defunct Ga rapper Kaseem. He says his job, when working with these musicians, is to help them to promote their albums and to counsel them on how to break into the music industry.
When he is not on air doing what he does best, sleek Sammy Forson loves to go to the beach to relax. Music has always been part of Sammy Forson’s life as he said: “I can sing, especially, in the shower.” Directing is also part of Sammy’s repertoire as he was part of his school’s drama club as a director. Despite his busy schedule, he does not trade his affection for his parents as he finds time to spend with them.
He might be on top of what he is doing now; he might have many younger ones looking up to him yet he also has mentors. Having been inspired by Joojo Lemaire, formerly with Joy Fm and now the Programmes Manager of Sky Power Radio in Takoradi, , Sammy also liked listening to Komla Dumor when he was the anchor of Joy Fm’s “Super Morning Show.” Bearing the same surname of ace broadcaster Tommy Annan-Forson (no family ties though), he describes Tommy as a father: “Tommy is more like a godfather to me. He keeps in touch with me and corrects me anytime I make a mistake on air.”
Where does Sammy Forson want to be in the next five years? “Hopefully married with my own company and I want to be bigger than what I am now by God’s grace.” Money they say motivates everything in this world but Sammy Forson’s love for radio is unflinching. “When you love what you do, you love it. For me if it’s about money, I will be in a different profession.”

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

GMA 09: THROUGH MY EYES


Since I couldn’t get my accreditation for the main show, I sat patiently behind my 21-inch Sharp television to monitor events at the Dome at Accra International Conference Centre on the station with nationwide coverage—GTV. Though it started late than I thought (that’s Ghana for you), my fingers were tightly crossed for a perfect night since another highly publicized awards event—the 4Syte Video Awards—didn’t create the buzz it was supposed to create.
Anchoring of the show has been a problem to me for the past two years, so I engaged myself in an intriguing mind battle trying to guess who will present this anniversary edition. This guessing game was compounded by the sight of the two guys – KOD and Chris Attoh—I thought would anchor the show being on the Y’ello Carpet rather. Arguably the two best young presenters in the country now, Chris and Kofi made the Y’ello Carpet their ‘own’ and one of the high points on the night.
As I stated in an earlier article titled “GMA 09: An Open Letter to Charter House”, I decried the non-usage of an astute presenter by Charter House in recent memory. To go by this popular adage “You don’t fix when it’s not broken”, it therefore beats my imagination why ace broadcaster Kwame Sefa-Kayi was replaced as the host. And if Kwame is replaced perhaps due to fatigue as rumoured in many entertainment circles, are musicians the best we can get to wear his ‘big’ shoes?
My worst fear became a reality when the indefatigable DJ Black mentioned Samini as the host for the night. I might be wrong but I strongly believe MTN are the brains behind Samini’s anchoring of the show for the past two years. Since the telecommunications giants are the headline sponsors of the awards, projecting their music icon who has been dormant for sometime now won’t be a bad idea to them I guess. (But it’s a bad idea for us the viewers)
To add insult to injury, the co-anchor for Samini on the night was the exuberant yet uninspiring Dentaa. She has been doing her thing in the UK, yes I agree, but her few outings in Ghana are far from impressive. Here was someone who constantly showed sheer naivety during the just ended TV3 popular Mentor show. Is this the best female presenter we can get to complement a novice anchor for the 10th Ghana Music Awards? A big no!
Enter in Obuor who single handedly saved the show from flopping regarding presentation. He showed a side which is not familiar to Ghanaians as he put up a performance that will rival veterans like Kwesi Kyei Darkwa. From him being articulate to the veteran- like introduction of the performing artistes, he showed his versatility—you have earned my respect Bruv.
Another big surprise that swept me like a tsunami was the winner of the ‘Hiplife Song of the Year’. Czar’s award is definitely a big surprise considering the songs and talents in that category—Asem and the overall winner Okyeame Kwame were in that category. I don’t know whoever made that possible—is it the judges or the voting public?—but it sounds ridiculous to me. Also I have a problem with Christiana Love and Kwaku Gyasi winning the best collaboration. That award should have gone to the late Michael Dwamena hands down as his song ‘Ngozi’ with Nii Lante dominated the charts week-in and week-out until his demise.
Even though it has now become a perennial problem, the sound quality this year was far better comparing to previous years. That is not to say there weren’t one or two hitches here and there (There was echo in the room). These notwithstanding, this year’s Ghana Music Awards will go down as one of the best awards show in the history of the awards in Ghana if not West Africa.
The interior of the Dome was totally transformed the Y’ello way to suit the magnitude of this year’s. Even though the artistes who performed on the night were many, every one was splendid. (What happened to Dela in her performance with Lord Kenya?) Also on a night dubbed “Fashion meets Music”, costumes on the night were a notch higher especially the ladies and it made me wonder if I was watching an event from the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles or in Accra. Whatever the case may be, Ghana is moving in the right direction fashion wise.
A lot of opinions were made by both artistes and their fans on who should be the “Artiste of the Year”. I guess some were happy whilst others were surprised. But were you surprised? For me, a big no! Kwame’s triumph on the night won’t be a surprise to well meaning music fans (I use well meaning advisedly). This is a well deserved recognition long overdue since Kwame has excelled track after track after becoming a solo artiste.
The odyssey of the GMA’s has not been easy—a very tough one. Therefore from the planning committee to the lighting men, I mean anyone who contributed to make this an eventful adventure, I say big kudos. You have proved your doubters wrong to some extent, at least with this year’s event. Lest I forget, I wrote this piece without any prejudice whatsoever and it was a big deal—to me!


Friday, April 3, 2009

CHRIS ATTOH


Few popular radio and television presenters have had the wide-ranging success of Chris Attoh in the entertainment industry in Ghana, but it might amaze you to know that in entertainment, Chris’s first love is movies. “That’s where it started for me but it wasn’t acting, I direct. I am getting to acting more now because it will make me a better director” he exclusively revealed this passion to What’s On!
Chris honed is acting skills in the United Kingdom where he live for four years after University education. In London, he worked as a television presenter with Origin of Black Entertainment Television (OBE-TV) where he secured himself cameo roles on popular series running on television in the United Kingdom. These cameo appearances kindled his interest in acting in big budget movies which he has done with perfection so far.
His big screen debut came in Sparrow Productions hit movie ‘Life and Living It’. A movie that starred notable and experienced Ghanaian actors and actresses like Brew Riverson Jnr, Adjetey Annang (Pusher), Rama Brew and a few others; his performance belittled the fact that he was just making his big movie debut. Starring as ‘Ray’, a playboy character that take delights in bed hopping with women both old and young; Chris’s performance in the movie will get him plaudits from producers and movie critiques in Nollywood or perhaps Hollywood.
After ‘Life and Living It’, it became inevitable that Chris Attoh will be heading for acting stardom but not so soon. MNET came out this September with its first ever West African soap opera which marries all the elements of drama, intrigue, romance, deception, betrayal and triumph into one thrilling series. This series, Tinsel, stars major Ghanaian and Nigerian acts like Gideon Okeke of Big Brother Nigeria fame, Omar Captan, Juliet Asante amongst others. Surprisingly, Chris is on the cast of this historic series which paints a story of a corporate war between two film companies trying to out power each other.
Shot on location in Lagos, the energetic and outgoing Chris plays the role of a rich, handsome and egoistic Kwame Mensah. “Kwame became physically handicapped and had to rely on a wheelchair after he had a horrific accident with his sister which was played by Juliet Asante. Because of that, he thinks of committing suicide but that perception changed after he found love in Dami played by Nigerian actress Thelema”, he said about his role in the intriguing series.
The new crave for acting seems unlikely to stop for Chris Attoh now. Exclusively, he is in a new movie which will hit the screens later in the year. ‘Life and Living It’ was produced by his brother and Sparrow Productions and they have collaborated again to produce a new movie called ‘Scorned’. In this new and upcoming movie, Chris didn’t play the role of a sweet tongued Casanova but rather a character he calls ‘evil’.
Talking about the finest television presenters in Ghana, Chris is up the ladder with the crème de la crèmes of presenting or perhaps the best. A career in television presenting for this Accra Academy Old Boy began nine years ago when he presented his first TV show with Albert Kuvodu (Daavi) called Showtime on GTV. This led to stints with Metro TV where he hosted the now defunct Smash TV before he emplaned for London to work for OBE-TV.
Having spent four years in the UK, Chris returned to Ghana to work for Shirley Frimpong Manso’s Sparrow Productions—organizers of the Miss Ghana Pageantry. At Sparrow Productions, he was the director of the Miss Ghana pageant and the presenter as well. In between this busy schedule, he hosted the first edition of TV3’s hit reality show Mentor and many other events. “Everything was alright with Sparrow Productions but I needed a bigger challenge”, speaking of his move to event and entertainment powerhouse, Charterhouse!
Seeking bigger challenges require bigger responsibilities and that’s exactly what the job at Charterhouse has been for Chris Attoh. Being the production executive, Chris does not only initiate concepts but also present and produce programs. He is the producer of the award winning entertainment show ‘Rhythms’ and also presents Charterhouse’s musical talent show ‘Stars of the Future’. The popular pageant ‘Miss Malaika Ghana’ is co-hosted by himself and Jessica Opare-Saforo of Citi Fm.
For the third time, sleek Chris Attoh is the field presenter for Ghana in the MNET continental acclaimed television reality show, Big Brother Africa. The show brings twelve housemates from different African countries to live together for in which eventually there will be an $100,000 winner and Chris ‘s job is to find people’s views on the Ghanaian housemate and how he or she is faring in the Big Brother House in South Africa. “I am presenting Big Brother Africa for Ghana for the third time running and I think it’s a laudable feat since all the presenters that represented their countries in the maiden editions are no more the anchors.”
Are you wondering whether to call Chris Attoh an entertainment all rounder? Yes you will be right! Chris is also a radio personality and has been in radio for twelve years. A career in radio started at now defunct Groove FM when he stepped in for a sick colleague now has him at Citi FM. He had short stints with Fox FM in Kumasi and Choice FM in Accra. His show on Citi, called Room 973, provides the platform for people who are in serious relationship problems to get help from resource persons and marriage counselors.
The urban entertainment fraternity is more familiar with Chris’s physique, good looks, presenting skills, popularity with women and many others. All these have put into the background his artistic side—Yes Chris Attoh is an artist! Holding a degree in painting from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, he plans to do an exhibition later this year for his art works. Another hidden talent of Chris Attoh is he can speak in different voice tones. “I am very good at voices. On my show at Citi, I did twelve of my jingles and people can’t recognize the difference.”
One thing is certain about Chris Attoh. He doesn’t have a swagger attitude. With rare lifetime opportunities as an entertainer to hang out with major international music acts like Shaggy, Jay-Z, Ja Rule, 2Face Idibia, Brick and Lace and many others, he rarely brags about those experiences. Also with him being a television commercial hotcake nowadays, he still finds time for his childhood friends and numerous fans.

There is only one name when it comes to a Ghanaian artiste who has blazed the trail for the Hip-Life music genre internationally. There is equally only one name when it comes to combining different genres of music into one successful album in Ghana, and that name is no other than multiple award winner Samini. Having been dormant for the past two years, Samini is on the ascendency again with the release of his new 21-track album titled “Dagaati.”
Coming off from his highly successful sophomore album, this third album from Samini, formerly known as ‘Batman’, is titled “Dagaati”, the name of his ethnic group in the Upper West Region of Ghana. In addition, “Dagaati” is intended to tie him to his roots.
This album is solid proof of the twenty-six months of hard work and determination to give his fans nothing less than the best. Samini describes this album as the medium to let people know their roots, where they are coming from and where they are going. “Dagaati would cut across all borders from Nigeria, UK, Kenya and Jamaica and promises to take the whole world by storm”.
The album features collaborations with artistes not only from Ghana but also from Africa and the Diaspora. British roots reggae band Steel Pulse is on the album as well as Sway, Faze from Nigeria and a production by UK beat maker, Richie Pitch. Some of the tracks on the album to look out for during this festive season and beyond includes ‘Movement’, ‘Sweet Girls’ featuring Nameless from Kenya, ‘Dagaati’, ‘Yen Sa‘ featuring Kwaisey Pee, ‘Agoro’ featuring UK’s finest Sway ,‘Where My Girl Dey’ and many others.

DECEMBER 2 REMEMBA




All roads led to the plush Accra International Conference Centre on Christmas Eve for the annual “Decemba 2 Rememba” programme, sponsored by, new entrant telecommunications company, Zain and powered by Citi 97.3 FM. The audience was left asking for more after five hours of intense and classy musical performance by the artistes on the night.
After a two-hour delay, the show commenced with a brief introduction of the Masters of Ceremonies, Jessica Opare-Saforo and Sammy Forson, one of the finest late afternoon programme presenters in the city. Musician-comedian, A-Plus, set the ball rolling for the eventful night with his usual ridicule of politicians, cracking some of his humorous jokes to the amusement of the audience. The euphoria that A-Plus’s performance engendered, was still high in the auditorium when the hilarious boxer, Braimah Kamoko, popularly known as “Bukom Banku”entered the hall - a big surprise.
“Sexy” Tinny, usually noted for his late performances, was one of the early artistes to mount the stage for the night. With his usual swagger, he set the conference hall agog with hits from his debut album, “Makola Kwakwe” and then on to his current album. “Aletse Kankpe” had the ladies screaming when he took off his shirt showing off his nicely built body. Hiplife new kid on the block Asem gave a good account of himself with duets, supported by Irene Logan and Tinny.
Okyeame Quame had a choreographed performance with his brother’s group “Bradez” before his solo performance. Quame’s act nearly ended in disaster when one of his backup dancers almost got burnt with the fire he was playing with. Tic Tac might be dormant in the music industry at the moment but the “Kangaroo” man is not yet finished as he gave an inspiring performance with hit tracks from his discography.
The group Praye is assuming an unrivalled status as the foremost showstoppers in Ghana and it was clearly manifested on the night. The white attired and jeans dressed audience sang along with Praye to songs from “I and my Shordy are one” album to the current one “Roll Koll”. It is usually said the best is saved for the last and Praye did perfectly that as they sang arguably the hottest song in the country at the moment - “Angelina” to bring the curtains down on an eventful show.
Other artistes who performed on the night were songtress Becca, the affable Kwaku Gyasi, Christina Love, and Irene Logan. Big ups to Citi FM for organizing another inspiring show indeed a “Decemba 2 Rememba”!!!

WANLOV THE KUBOLOR


I looked at my watch and it read forty-five minutes past one. I was running late and fume at the driver of the cab I was riding in a couple of times because I have an appointment with one of the most talked about musicians in Ghana today, Wanlov the Kubolor. A few metres to the Busy Internet where I was to meet Kubolor, I spotted him walking barefooted but graciously along the road playing a traditional musical instrument made with gourd and a rope. One of the few questions that came into my mind was “is this guy for real,’ walking in this hot sun barefooted?”
Finally, I sat with Wanlov the Kubolor at Accra’s premier cybercafé and, one of the first questions I posed to him was: why he wears a wrap, dresses anciently and walks barefooted? “It is the common sense that our ancestors applied - they dressed that way before the Europeans came. They were dressing like that because of the weather. I wear a wrap to protect my rear and my genitals to make me comfortable if I sit down. I don’t need shoes and I have walked barefooted for a year now and also I don’t feel the ground heat anymore. Even if I am walking in town and I feel hot I remove my shirt. I just dress according to the weather.”
Relaxed and watching pictures of his recent performance in London on his Dell laptop, truthfully, Wanlov the Kubolor, dresses according to the weather because he had to confess that he wore shoes when he went to London three months ago to perform because the weather was freezing and he had no option. The talk about musicians, who dress traditional and walk barefooted, will be meaningless without mentioning legendary Jamaican musician cum poet MutaBaruka whom Kubolor admits as his inspiration.
Born Emmanuel Owusu Bonsu, to a Ghanaian dad and a Romanian mum, Wanlov the Kubolor got educated at North Ridge School, Christ the King and to Adisadel College where he was mates with Scooby Sellah of TH4 Kwages fame, T-Blaze of LifeLine Family fame, Mensah and other artistes in the Ghanaian music industry.
Wanlov moved to the United States of America in January 2000 to seek greener pastures and this trip transformed his life and also was the inspiration behind his debut album titled “GreenCard”. The “GreenCard” album comprises twenty totally different songs and Kubolor sums it up like this: “The album is about documenting my life in the United States and also shows the States through my eyes. I call the album “GreenCard” because when I was in the States, friends and family wanted me to get married and get a green card and I didn’t do that.”
The album comprises of hits like “Kokonsa”, “50th Independence” which Wanlov says was inspired by the excess expenditures the country made just to celebrate our 50th Independence Anniversary. Also on the album is “Sagaa”, “GreenCard” and other inspiring songs. Having returned to Ghana to stay permanently only a year ago, Wanlov the Kubolor has collaborated with Ghanaian artistes called M.anifest based in Minnesota, he is on King Ayisoba’s “Africa Album”, he is on a joint with “Hip-Life grandpa” Reggie Rockstone in his upcoming album called “Best of Reggie”. He has also blazed tracks with Kwaw Kese and Gyedu Blay Ambolley – a man believed to have initiated rap music in Ghana way in the early ‘70s.
Many fans are curious and want to know why the name Wanlov the Kubolor? He explains: “Wanlov came first. When I walk around Los Angeles, people see me and think I am a Rastafarian so they say to me “One Love” and I started using the name and also because I noticed that anytime an artiste walks on stage to perform, he says one love to the crowd before he starts performing. “Kubolor came about when I was performing one day for Gyedublay Ambolley at a Ghanaian concert in Los Angeles. Some Ghanaians who were in the crowd listened to my lyrics and they started saying hey you are a “Kubolor” -- wandering child. It was a long time since someone called me that because I was called by that name when I was growing up in Ghana and they started screaming “Wanlov the Kubolor” and the name stuck.
The “GreenCard” album has been on the market for over a year now and Wanlov the Kubolor describes it as a success. “Everybody who has bought the album can’t put it down. People have come to Ghana just because of my album. My track called “In Ghana” was played during the World Cup Finals in Germany in 2006. There are many genres of music and Wanlov considers the kind of music he composes as “Pidgin Music”. “My music is “Pidgin Music” because it is a broad genre that can contain my different styles”
International artistes like Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, and Will Smith just to mention a few have albums and big screen movies to their credit. Wanlov the Kubolor is following this phenomenon as he has attached movies to his music career and has an upcoming movie which he directed with his friend M3nsa titled “Coz of Moni”. Interestingly in the movie, a pidgin musical, he said the characters will be rapping to each other instead of talking to each other.
“GreenCard” has put Wanlov the Kubolor in the musical limelight but he thinks his next project will take him to the skies. He is working on his second album, which he said will entail more singing on his part and he also has a mixed-tape called “Kubolor and Friends”. Since Kubolor now has his “GreenCard” in the Ghanaian music industry, the bets are on if he can break the sophomore jinx.

AFRICAN STARS—LIGHTING UP THE PREMIERSHIP


Undoubtedly the finest soccer league in the world at the moment, the success story of the Barclays English Premier League will not be whole without mention of the enormous contributions and glittering performances the African soccer stars are putting up in England.

The 20-team Barclays English Premier League started in 1992 (formerly known as Football League First Division). It has seen sixteen seasons so far and has seen four different winners—Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Blackburn Rovers.

Compared with the multi-national Premier League we have today, the first season of the League had few foreign players with no West African players at all. The only Africans in the Premier League’s debut season were Zimbabweans Peter Ndlovu—scored the second Premiership goal—that was with Coventry City and former Liverpool captain, goalkeeper Bruce Grobelaar.

How things have changed! Now almost every team in the Barclays Premier League has a couple of African faces with some of them going to the extent of captaining their various teams. Soccer fans across the globe come across African players’ heroics as they watch Premiership highlights week in and week out.

Since Ghanaian legend Tony “Yegoola” Yeboah and Nigerian Daniel “The Bull” Amokachi took the Premiership by storm in the mid 90’s, it has seen no turning back for the African professionals plying their trade in England. Cote d’Ivoire’s Kolo Toure is Arsenal’s new captain and fans of the Gunners (Arsenal) cannot help but sing and chant Togolese striker Emmanuel Sheyi Adebayor’s name every week.

With Ghana’s own Michael Essien donning the famous blue jersey of Chelsea, the South London club has an array of African stars lining up for them. Two seasons ago top scorer Didier Drogba, influential midfielder John Obi Mikel of Nigeria and Solomon Kalou are part of an African contingent helping the cause of oligarch Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea.

Same cannot be said of the current champions, Manchester United, who have no African currently on their roster. However the likes of former South African international Quintin Fortune have helped the Old Tradfford outfit in the past. One African who has taken the Premiership by storm in his first year is Egyptian Nations Cup winner Amr Zaki. The former Zamalek hitman is behind the success of Wigan Athletic’s rollercoaster season, so far, hitting ten (10) goals for the JJB Stadium outfit.

The African legions in England are not only making headlines on the soccer pitches but off as well. With Senegal’s ‘bad boy’ El Hadji Diouf at Sunderland, Chelsea’s outspoken Ivorian striker Didier Drogba and a couple of ‘notorious’ African players, the tabloids in England get field days as they write scandalous stories about them week in and week out.

The ever-growing number of African players now plying their trade in the English Premier League has boosted businesses for small scale local entrepreneurs in Africa as well. One is bound to spot various sign boards in Accra (I guess it is so in other big cities in Africa too) indicating an impending English Premiership match and now it is not rare to see people have their local names at the back of replica jerseys of their idolized clubs in England and Europe as a whole.

Before I sign off on how African soccer stars have immensely contributed and are still contributing to make the English Premiership the envy of all leagues in the world today, help me pay a deserved tribute to one of the foremost torch bearers of the African cause in the English Premiership in the last decade, Nigerian and Portsmouth striker Nwankwo Kanu. With a career spanning over fifteen years, Kanu has been a consistent performer from his days at Arsenal, to West Bromwich Albion and then to his present club Portsmouth. I salute you ‘old soldier’ - keep the African fire burning!

THE BLACK SATELLITES GLITTERING PERFORMANCE IN RWANDA: A REVIEW


A decade ago (the Black Satellites won the African Youth Tourney in Accra in 1999) being the last time Ghana won any trophy in football on the international level, soccer-crazy Ghanaians breathed a sigh of relief as the Black Satellites (the national U-21 soccer team) ended our victory drought by winning their third African Youth Tournament in far away Kigali last month.
Having won the West African Football Union (WAFU) Cup by beating Senegal in the final in January in Nigeria, the Satellites were expected to put up a good performance in Rwanda or betterstill win the trophy. With five time winners Nigeria and African soccer powerhouse in the tournament, it was going to be an easy feat as the Satellites conceded a goal in the first minute against the bulky Cameroonians in their opening match but when on to earn a draw.
With the draw against Cameroon as our only stalemate, the Satellites settled in the stride in their second match and compounded opponent after opponent till they lifted their third African Youth Tournament. Led by talented and inspirational captain, Andre “Dede” Ayew, son of former three-time African Footballer of the Year, Abedi Pele, the team showed overall brilliance. This fact was reiterated by the coach Sellas Tetteh after the final: “It is gratifying to me that we did not just win but we played beautiful football.”
The best player of the Rwanda 2009 Youth Tournament was no other than Ghanaian hitman Ransford Osei. The former Kessben FC striker now with Israeli club Maccabi Haifa has carved a niche for himself as the foremost goal poachers in Youth football today. Having finished as the second top goal scorer in the FIFA U-17 in Korea, it was therefore not a surprise as Osei won the Golden Shoe and the overall Best Player of the tournament in Rwanda with seven goals to his credit.
The Black Satellites having now won three out of the sixteen African Youth Championships held so far, Whats On! says kudos to the entire team and management and we know under the tutelage of experienced coach Sellas Tetteh, you will bring the ultimate World Youth Trophy that has eluded Ghana all these years in Egypt.

A Case for local Coaches


It has now become a trend in Ghana to hire the services of expatriates to steer the technical affairs of the senior national team, the Black Stars. And it seems this bug has bitten many of our local clubs too as even teams with small budgets have foreign coaches at the helm of affairs.

However, many of the successes that the various Ghanaian national teams have chalked have come under the tutelage of local bred coaches. Even though the first coach of the Black Stars was an Englishman—Mr. George Ainsley, 1958-59—it was until 1961 when local veteran coach and player Charles Kumi Gyamfi took charge that Ghana won its first ever African Cup of Nations in 1963. Ghana went on to dominate this tournament as they won the subsequent edition under the same C.K Gyamfi. Our last triumph in the Nations Cup in 1982 came under another local coach Fred Osam-Duodu.

The junior teams—the Black Starlets, the Black Satellites and the Black Meteors—have won accolades for Ghana in various competitions over the years. German trainer Otto Pfister won Ghana its first U-17 trophy in Italy in 1991. That notwithstanding, Ghana’s other success came under Coach Sam Arday and our two second place finishes came under Messrs. E.K Afranie and Isaac Paha who are Ghanaians.

Ghana is yet to win a trophy in the World Youth Tournament but the closest we have come—2nd place Australia in 1993, 2nd place Argentina 2001—were under no other than veterans Fred Osam-Duodu and Emmanuel Kwesi Afranie respectively. Coach Sam Arday has the enviable record of coaching the first African team to win a medal in soccer in an Olympic Games as he led the Black Meteors to bronze in the 1992 Olympiad.

The Black Stars impressive display at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany was largely attributed to the tactics of Serbian Ratomir Dukjovic, but much of the scouting and information about our opponents were done by Sir Cecil Jones Attuquayefio, Sam Arday and Robert Sackey. They gave in-depth analysis of our opponents and their previous displays to Dukjovic in order to mount winsome strategies.

Thousands of dollars have been spent in remunerations and allowances for expatriates who have been hired to take charge of our national teams over the years, yet they produce modest results. This is not to say that we haven’t had good foreign coaches in the past (remember the first man who took us to the World Cup was a Serbian), but all our major successes came under the tutelage of indigenes.

Many a times we have heard how our local coaches lack international exposure and certification by our football authorities, but can’t these huge sums paid to the foreigners be channeled into sponsoring them for international courses to help them upgrade themselves? (Remember we are paying $ 5,000 to a translator for our current coach).

Coach Sellas Tetteh’s triumph with the Black Satellites in Rwanda has further pressed the case for Ghanaian coaches to be hired to take charge of our various national teams. A coach who has been with the Black Stars as an assistant for years was blatantly told he was unqualified when the job became vacant. He was shunned for Milovan Rajevach and he proved his credentials by helping the Black Starlets win bronze in South Korea and won the African Youth Tournament recently without the Certificate ‘A’ Ghanaian officials claims he needs to have.

Times have changed and the better it will be for Ghana and Africans in general if we start posing confidence in our local coaches by giving them all the necessary backing and allowances these foreigners get when they take charge of our national teams. These will go along way in boosting their confidence to perform and Egypt has clearly shown us the way with Coach Hassan Shehata who has won back-to-back African Nations titles for them.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

GMA 09: AN OPEN LETTER TO CHARTER HOUSE


Since the nominees for this year’s Ghana Music Awards Festival were released at the plush Labadi Beach Hotel on March 3, comments about the nominations and the festival in general have come from some stakeholders in the entertainment industry, music producers and artistes. Some are airing their disappointments (I am also disappointed though but will come to that later), some are ecstatic about nominations of their favourite artistes and for some, they are happy that the Music Festival is here again.
How time flies! The Ghana Music Awards is in its tenth season and I particularly remember the first edition in 1999 (which I term it as the ‘Aben Wo Ha’ year) where veteran musician Daddy Lumba won the major accolade on the night. I know it has been hectic since its inception for the organizers, Charter House, not forgetting the criticisms they receive at the end of every edition and the boycotts of some of the artistes and their producers. With these notwithstanding, Charter House has been able to stand its grounds and organized this event for a decade, and these days it is now a whole festival. Big ups Charter House!
However, mistakes noted in every year’s edition are rarely rectified the subsequent year and with this year being an anniversary edition, Charter House needs to get their acts right. Anchoring of the main awards night has been a problem with the Ghana Music Awards over the last year or two. Kwame Sefa Kayi who has always done tremendously well whenever he presents the show was substituted for no particular reason (rumours were that people are fed up with him hosting year after year). We have all seen how the show has been since Kwame left and last year’s presentation is the worst ever in the history of the awards.
I do not know whoever advised Charter House to pair multiple award winner, Samini, and Doreen Andoh. That person did a great disservice to the awards with that recommendation. Samini is a good performer—that I cannot take away from him—but as an MC for a big event like the Ghana Music Awards is a big ‘joke’. DJ Black who was supposed to be the DJ on the night ended up emceeing the show as Doreen and Samini goofed performance after performance. The least said about it, the better and I hope Charter House has learnt their lessons this time round (We have many nice, young and eloquent presenters in Ghana for Christ’s sake).
For major award shows like this all over the world, performances on the night are one of the prime determinants if the show will be a success or a flop. Sound quality has been a problem with this event for some time now (I vividly remember Obrafour and Tinny’s unsuccessful performance in 2004 due to mic problems) and the magnitude of this year’s event should prompt the organizers to get it right this time.
Since it is the major award ceremony that rewards excellence in the music industry each year, it is expected to feature on the night artistes from different genres doing extremely well to thrill the audience. Citing this year’s Grammy’s as a good example, the organizers paired four of the major artistes in hip hop today (Jay –Z, Kanye West, T.I and Lil Wayne) to perform the award winning song “Swagga like Us”. Such kind of mind blowing duets and exceptional performances is expected from musicians who will get the privilege to perform. Talking about artistes who will be performing on the night, it has now become a norm for Charter House to bring one international artiste to grace our Music Festival. It is a laudable idea but all musicians who have so far come have are no more at their apex. If the organizers cannot bring an artiste who is currently in ‘hot’ to this year’s event, I kindly suggest that they scrap that idea and use the huge money they will have to pay those artistes to entice our local artistes to give out their best on the night. I believe in the Ghanaian and our artistes can do it!
Furthermore, one thing I have observed about these international artistes flown down to perform is that, they are always given an award one way or the other. Should that always be the case? I don’t think so and besides what’s the merit of the awards we give them?
Another significant observation I have made about GMA @ 10 is that in the nominations, one cannot point out a particular artiste who will dominate the night has as been the case in previous years. Every artiste stands a chance of taking something home but I strongly have a problem with the ‘Artiste of the Year’ category. My problem is why Tinny is not in that category. We have been made to understand that an artiste gets into that category based on his stage performances and the number of shows he or she has attended in a year. So if this is the criteria, why is Tinny omitted? I am waiting for someone to tell me who has graced more shows than “Aletse Kankpe” over the past year. People might argue he did not have a clear cut album last year but he was on every ‘big’ show in Ghana. Not to take anything away from the nominees though, but I sincerely think Tinny should have come in the ‘Artiste of the Year’ category ahead of Sidney, Philipa Baafi and Christiana Love.
The biggest names in the Ghanaian music industry and music loving Ghanaians will all be there on the 4th of April. Charter House says it is ready for this big event and so are Ghanaians. Good luck to all the nominees and perfection should be the vital word for Charter House this time. Hope you get it right this time.