KWAW KESE'S MANAGER RECIEVE DEATH THEATS OVER GHANA MUSIC WEEK

What started as a mere quarrel between the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) and Mad Time Entertainment on who has legal right to organize the Ghana Music Week (GMW) Festival, is getting out of hand as Fennec Okyere reports he has started receiving death threats.

“I have received calls from people who threaten me with death and ask me why I am worrying Obour over this Ghana Music Week thing and whether I do not know this is big money business,” Fennec, told NEWS-ONE and said he was on his way to get the police involved.

“I know how to go about taking care of my security; and I am not taking chances at all. I have to report the threats to the police because we are all in this industry and I hear a lot of things,” Fennec added.

Fennec Okyere, manager of Kwaw Kese, a music maestro, insists MUSIGA is perpetuating an illegality by organizing the Ghana Music Week Festival and even soliciting for sponsorship for the event when the Union is aware it does not own the brand name or franchise.

“We have incorporated the name Ghana Music Week as our company name and we have also registered Ghana Music Week Festival as our product. Kwaw Kese and I are 50-50 owners of the company and we have all the legal backing to prove it…

“Obour, myself and Kwaw were all summoned to the Registrar- General’s Department and they were told by the arbitrator there that MUSIGA cannot use the name GMW. He further told them that if they wanted to use the name, they had to negotiate with us first. But for some reason, they are now calling it GMW Festival. What does the GMW mean?” he queried, adding that he had not given MUSIGA permission to use the brand name under any condition.

WHAT IS GMW FESTIVAL?

MUSIGA has however, responded that though what the Union organized in 2013 was known as Ghana Music Week, the name of the event this year has been changed to GMW Festival because Fennec and Kwaw have registered the brand name and have the certificate for it.

Interestingly, MUSIGA has not been able to say what the initials “GMW” mean, though it explained that this year’s event would have the same content and aim just as the Ghana Music Week the Union organized last year.

LEGAL SUIT & SPONSORS

Indications are that the tussle may finally end up in court if a truce is not reached.

It is also curious that MUSIGA, without registering the Ghana Music Week it organized last year, was able to convince sponsors to pump money into the event.

As it stands now, all stakeholders are waiting for MUSIGA to come clear on the meaning of “GMW” and how the courts would arbitrate the dispute.

GHANA DJ AWARDS ORGANIZERS REVOKE DJ PERFEKT'S NOMINATION

With just a few days left to the second edition of the Ghana DJ Awards 2014, the Awards Jury has withdrawn the nomination of DJ Perfekt.
According to a statement released by the Awards Jury, the decision to revoke the nomination was due to "accusations of placement error".

DJ Perfekt, known in real life as Henry Ofori Nyarko, had called on the organizers of the annual Ghana DJ Awards to drop his name from the awards' nominations stating, he does not deserve any nomination.

He was nominated in the 'Artiste DJ of the Year' category of the awards which awards excellence in the Disc Jockey profession in Ghana. DJ Perfekt was nominated for playing for dancehall artiste, Samini.

Also in the 'Artiste DJ of the Year' category are DJ Toyoo (Tic Tac), DJ Mynor (R2Bess), DJ Mensa (Sarkodie), DJ Carlos (VIP), and DJ Godday (Edem).

DJ Perfekt said on the Airtel Entertainment News on Drive Time on Joy FM, organizers of the awards, Mercury Republic, have gravely erred in nominating him in the awards.

"So far as I am concerned, I don't remember the last time I played for the artiste that I am nominated [for] - that is Samini," he said and added that, the last time he played for Samini was about four years ago.

After a meeting by the Ghana DJ Awards Jury, they arrived at the decision to revoke DJ Perfekt's nomination last Saturday.

Mr Kofi Dixon, a member of the Ghana DJ Awards jury said in the statement that: “After checks we have identified that Perfekt’s nomination was an error.”

"No other DJ will be nominated in his place," the statement added.
The 2014 edition of the Ghana DJ Awards comes off at the National Theatre in Accra on February 22.

I'M A CAT; SAMINI, SHATTA WALE ARE MICE; MY ABSENCE MADE THEM STARS - BORAX

Dancehall and reggae artiste Nathaniel Larbie, popularly known as Borax, after a four-year hiatus from the music scene says he is back and that his absence has turned some musicians into super stars.

The controversial musician, known for the smash hit single 'Asee Ho' which featured Daddy Lumba, believes that dancehall artiste, Samini and Shatta Wale (Bandana) are currently making waves in Ghana because of his absence.

Speaking in an interview on Airtel Entertainment News on Drive Time on Joy FM, Borax, now known as Big Borax, said "It is not even prudent to talk about [these] little boys - Samini and Shatta Wale - because they've gotten it twisted. They don't know the essence of music - what music does to society, the impact music [has] on society."

"I am the emperor," he stressed and added that, he was running the industry till he took some time off to study "so [when] the cat was away" and mouse was able to come out and play. If the cat is there, the mouse cannot play, Borax added.

Asked if he was to choose between Samini and Shatta Wale, he said he won't choose any because none of them stands out: "They just make noise because the emperor was away."

He therefore said if Ghanaians doubt his emperorship, "mount up a platform for us and let us do it," he asked and stressed that Samini and Shatta Wale know his credibility and ability and when they see him, "they bow".

Giving his impressions about the music industry today, Big Borax noted that, "there has been a vast improvement in terms of the music industry itself. Now the government is actually allocating funds to support the music industry. Gone were the days when entertainment was relegated to the background but it's now part of the government's agenda."

Big Borax refuted speculations that he took a hiatus because he was scared of the increasing competition in the music industry. According to him, he "decided to take time off the music scene and go back to school...and during vacation I also travelled outside to visit my family,"

He now holds a degree in Marketing from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).

The 'Tene Wo Nsa' hit singer, who has been in the industry since 1999, apologised to his fans who he believed have been musically starved due to his absence.

To satisfy them, he is out with a new tune, 'Take Off You Pant', a song he stressed has no sexual connotation.

Fans and Ghanaians, Borax added, should expect two albums from him soon. "Trying to put logistics together," and he "will come like a thief in the night," he said.