KOJO ANTWI THRILLS THOUSANDS IN ISRAEL

Kojo Antwi, ‘The Maestro’ as he’s affectionately called has once again indeed proven to be a world music icon of Ghanaian heritage when he dazzled thousands of fans in the ‘Holy Land’ of Israel over the weekend.

‘The Maestro’ joined the Hebrew Israelite community of Dimona as they celebrated their annual ‘New World Passover’. A season celebrated to commemorate their arrival at the shores of Israel after the group left America in the 1960’s, where they felt captive.

Kojo Antwi’s visit to the ‘Holy Land’ was upon a distinct invitation from the leader of the Hebrew Israelite community, His Excellency Ben Ammi Ben.

Despite the short notice and the absence of his own band, Mr. Music Man as he’s also known, still displayed his craft and thrilled the community with his unique blend of Ghana’s highlife, Africa’s Soukous, Caribbean lovers rock, a splash of Afro-American soul and R&B.

He was the only Ghanaian artiste among the few artistes from all over the world to perform at the two-day celebration.

Aside his performance, Kojo Antwi also took time to interact with indigenes and visited the various Biblical sites in Jerusalem and round the community.

‘I was fascinated by the culture of the people and the various biblical tourist sites. It was a life changing experience especially my time with the leader. It was very deep. My relationship with them has become more intimate. Dimona has become a second home now’.

He also added that there are plans underway to host his own concert in ‘The Holy Land’ of Israel very soon.

In a related development, ‘The Maestro’ is reported to be putting finishing touches to a joint with Daddy Lumba to serve Ghanaian music lovers with their first ever collaboration. He also disclosed that Nigerian artiste; J Martins is featured in his upcoming album which is slated for release sooner than later.

When asked if he has any plans of retiring, the Maestro had this response;

‘When it comes to creativity, you can’t retire. You will do different things at different times, different stages but I believe they will come a time when I’ll be doing a lot of free shows. Because I’m getting to a point where I’ll just mount the stage and perform for free. It’s not all is about money….’

He also urged all Ghanaians to tune in and keep listening to BREEZE 90.9 FM his new radio station.

RONNIE REMAINS ON MY MIND - BRIGHT

Six months after the death of his buddy-buddy, Ronnie Coaches, Prince Bright, the other half of the hiplife duo, Buk Bak says he is yet to pick up the pieces let alone record a new song.

Speaking in a telephone interview from his US base last Saturday, Bright sounded completely down and shaken, almost as if Ronnie had just died. “I wake up in the morning and the next thing I ask myself is where is Ronnie? I am not feeling cool at all,” he said.

Ronnie Coaches died on November 21, 2013 at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital after a short illness. The hit songs he and Bright have been popular for include Komi ke kena, Gonja Barracks, U4 Know, Chingilingi, Klu Blofo, Oburoni, Tankase and Kolom.

“All we did and talked about was music” Bright told Showbiz. “He would often call and ask me, ‘what are you doing in America? Come and let’s make music.’ We have done so much on all platforms but there was still a lot to be done.

“Ronnie used to push everything. He was the motivator. Let’s do this and he gets it done. He was my eyes and ears. I was the baby in Buk Bak, he was always pampering me. I am still in shock,” he said.

“Ronnie respected himself and we both stayed out of trouble, our office was music, music was his everything. We never smoked or drank alcohol and we always believed in ourselves and never had a beef with anyone. We used to have our little fights, just the two of us. We fought to achieve good results,” he said.

Considering how peaceful Ronnie was, Bright said he was very sad that all sorts of things were said about Ronnie after he passed on.

“We are all human beings and it hurts so badly some of the things I heard being said about my brother,” he said.

Bright said that they had lots of songs ready to go and Ronnie was working so hard waiting for him to come down so they could shoot the music videos.

“As you know we don’t go by the trend, we sing from our hearts.”

Their last hit song before the death of Ronnie, Kolom, according to Bright, was clothing very well in Ireland and the US.

“I miss music but I miss Ronnie more. I don’t know where to start from and where to end. I am looking up to God to make a way for me.

Bright used the opportunity to thank all who mourned with him before, during and after the burial of Ronnie Coaches.

GURU: MY CATCHY TITLES MAKE ME DIFFERENT

If one is asked to mention one unique thing about Guru’s songs, what may readily come to mind is the catchy titles he gives to his works. Very often, they tend to become household terms.

Lapaz Toyota, Boys Abre, Obonsam Ani are some of the titles of his songs that have instantly become terms that have been used by majority of Ghanaians.

Speaking to Graphic Showbiz last Tuesday, Guru said he chooses his titles carefully to make him stand out from his peers.

“I always want to be different. That is why the lyrics and titles of my songs are different from my peers. I do well to bring out a catchy term which appeals to people. Terms like Lapaz Toyota, Boys Abre are but a few examples.

“ I believe as an artiste, you need to be creative to come out with something extraordinary and I always make it happen because I think deep” Guru added.

Throwing light on how he comes up with such titles, Guru said “it may sound strange but I came by almost all the titles of my songs in church. Anytime I communicate with God at church, I come out with these interesting terms which I eventually use as titles of my songs”

Guru went on to explain that sometimes, the title of his songs may sound controversial but what people should listen to is the lyrics which is more important.

“When I released Boys Abre Alkayida, people said I was promoting terrorism but I was rather encouraging the youth who are going through hardship to know that no situation is permanent and things shall be well with them one day.

Guru, whose latest single, Obonsam Ani, has been well received is working on his third album.

I’M NOT THAT CRAZY ABOUT CLOTHES — KHAREEMA AGUIAR

Unlike most celebrities who are keen on outdoing each other at red carpet events sporting the latest fashion, actress Khareema Aguiar says she’s not that crazy about clothes.

Being fashionable, according to the actress, is how good you feel about whatever you’re wearing at any particular time and has little to do with wearing what is in vogue.

Speaking to Showbiz last week, Khareema decried critics who she said, have made it their job to criticise whatever she wears in public and said that such self-declared fashion police were only wasting their time.

“I think being fashionable is how good you feel about yourself and what you’re wearing at any particular time. I don’t believe in wearing clothes simply because they are in vogue. I feel that for somebody to be a fashionista, it really depends on their confidence level,” she told Showbiz.

Talking about her sense of fashion, Khareema said she had not really invested in fashionable clothes although she loves shoes.

“I’m not really that fashionable kind of person. I love shoes more, so I think if I have to go for a particular fashion fetish, I would go with shoes. But with clothes, I can’t even make up my mind most of the time and sometimes I end up not going to events because I couldn’t find that one dress to wear. I’m not really the fashion clothes type and I just wear whatever I want to wear,” she said.

Asked what inspires her non-conformist fashion sense, Khareema said it all just comes down to how she felt at any particular time, saying: “What I wear, depends on my mood. If you visit me at home, you’ll realise I have one or two clothes that I wear most of the time”.

As to why she’s been missing from the silver screens for sometime now, Khareema said it was because she was in school and also currently working on her forthcoming TV talk show called Khareema World Show.

The actress also responded to accusations of being a “cradle-snatcher’” due to the fact that she was dating a man she was older than.

According to her, the fact that she was a little older than her boyfriend, who is a footballer in Canada, doesn’t make her a sugar mummy and said such descriptions of her are just misguided.

“I can never be a sugar mummy to my boyfriend. Yes, I’m older than him and if that’s what people are talking about, that’s their problem. We’re both in our twenties and I don’t see why people would say I am a sugar mummy. Besides, I don’t think love has anything to do with age. Age is just a number,” she said.

The curvy actress said if it is the will of God, they will be married sooner than later but said she couldn’t confirm the date. The love they have for each other, she said, is all that matters.

Khareema first appeared on the entertainment scene with a part in TV3’s All That Glitters, a television series in 2005. She has since performed in a number of movies including Turn Me On and Checkmate.

She describes herself as strong young lady who has matured due to life’s experiences and said the most important life lesson she has learnt so far is to be careful of friends.

Her easy and forgiving nature, she said, has almost become a weakness, as she easily forgives people who wrong her in one way or the other.
In a message to her fans, she said they should keep supporting her and implored the general public to be more understanding of celebrities, especially when they’re in the news for the wrong reasons.

“People shouldn’t forget that celebrities are also human beings. It’s just that our job is to smile to the cameras. People should stop judging celebrities because we also have issues and problems. We also go through the same life experiences others go through. They should accept us as we are and appreciate what we do”, she said.

EXCLUSIVE: BULLDOG FINALLY RELEASED!

Lawrence Nana Asiamah Hanson (Bulldog), manager of dancehall artiste, Shatta Wale, has finally been released today Tuesday May 29, to go home after he was granted bail on Tuesday.

Bulldog and his legal team concluded the final paper work this morning at the High court in Accra after which Bulldog had a breath of fresh air and went back to his family.

Bulldog spotting an all-white attire stepped out of the court to a warm and emotional welcome from his wife, his father, friends dressed in ‘free bulldog now’ T-Shirt and a section of the media.

In a brief interview with Peacefmonline.com he expressed his gratitude to God for seeing him through such hard times, his lawyers, his family, all the artiste under his management, friends from the entertainment industry and the media for supporting him from the day of his arrest to his release.

He also insisted on his innocence saying “I hope that the perpetrators of the murder be found because if they are not found I will never rest because Fennec is a friend, Fennec is a brother”.

Bulldog made his first appearance at the Magistrate court on Monday, May 19 and was remanded into police custody to reappear on June 2. He was however granted bail by the Human Rights Division of the Accra High Court on Tuesday May 27, 2014 ahead of his second court hearing.

Even though he has been released now, a member of Bulldog’s legal team Lawyer Jerry told Peacefmonline.com that his client will still appear before court on Monday June 2 as already announced.

According his lawyer the Human Rights Court granted him bail on the basis that the facts as the police presented and upon which they were holding Bulldog are "speculative" and do not link him to the charges that have been preferred against him.

Bulldog, who has been charged for allegedly murdering Fennec Okyere, a music producer, was picked up by police on May 15 in Kokomlemle, a suburb of Accra, as a prime suspect in the murder of Fennec Okyere who was murdered at his residence on March 13 by unknown assailants. The deceased was the manager of hip life artiste, Kwaw Kesse.