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!
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!
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