Single mothers rarely give up the dream of finding love and making a life with someone other than that of their baby father.
Occasionally
everything just falls beautifully into place but most of the time,
things dont work so smoothly. Sometimes the child seems to be the
obstacle to finding a mate and it takes some strength to fight the
temptation to hide the child when a potential man comes along. Screen
goddess Vicky Zugah, has been a strong single mother who says “love me,
love my child”.
Recounting her experience, she told Showbiz, “All
this time as a mom, I was hoping to meet a lover who would embrace me
and my child so we can go on to live ‘happily ever after’.
“So I
met this guy who was well-to-do and we started something. Everything
was smooth to the extent that he wanted to go down the aisle with me. I
was happy and began preparations only for him to come later and tell me
that his family was not comfortable with him having a single mother as a
partner. To me, that was bull***t so I told him I wouldn’t denounce or
hide my daughter and if that is the case then we should go our separate
ways.
“Anytime a man wants to have something to do with me, the
first thing I do is to tell him about my daughter so I did the same
thing to him and he was cool only for him to come later and give me that
excuse. I could have agreed to take my daughter to live with my mother
so I can enjoy my luxury but I didn’t and I told myself that he wasn’t
my mister right”, she said.
Vicky said that seeing her daughter
grow up healthy, intelligent and beautiful gives her satisfaction and a
reason for living. “She’s the best thing that has ever happened to me
and I will not allow any man ruin our relationship,” she said.
There
is a disconcerting myth about single mothers in our largely traditional
society that they are wayward and irresponsible but according to Vicky,
she cared less.“I made a mistake and so what, my life would not end
because of that. I love my daughter and I find joy in her and I don’t
care whatever society thinks,” she said.
Vicky acknowledged,
however, that raising a child as a single mother for the past eleven
years has been a very challenging situation. “It is tough because you
have to be the provider, the comforter, the teacher and the
disciplinarian all in one. This can be daunting because sometimes it
seems that you are on a treadmill constantly going round and round”, she
said.
Opening up for the first time about why she is not with
her baby father, Vicky said she was not ready to relocate to New York to
live there with him just as the guy was not ready to spend the rest of
his life with her in Ghana.
Vicky Zugah is from the Volta, born
to Mr. Komla Zugah and Ms Beatrice Patu. She has three siblings of which
she is the third. If she is not on set, then she is watching movies or
reading.
She started acting about 10 years ago when she was
recommended to a director. She has a large number of movies to her
credit. Among them are Keeping the Promise, Twixted, The Bible, My
Dearest Princess, Girls Connection, Stand by me, Agatha, Pretty Queen,
The Bible, The Return of Beyonce, Tears of Womanhood, Pretty Queen, True
Colours, Girls Connection, Big Girls Club, Araba Lawson, June 4th,
Cross my Heart, and Total Exchange .
She has acted alongside
other well-known actors such as Stella Damascus, Zack Orji, Muna Obikwe,
Stephanie Okereke, Eucharia Anunobi, Peter Bruno, Jackie Appiah, Majid
Michel, late Enebeli Elebua, Ramsey Nouah, Desmond Elliot, and Yvonne
Nelson.
Film producer Daniel Kwadwo Sarfo of
Peace and Love films is to face legal issues after using a house owners
property in Kwahu Obomeng to shoot his already released movie Boys Abre
which featured Porpor from Nigeria (Nollywood) without the owners
knowledge.
Meanwhile Daniel Kwadwo Sarfo has a different story to
tell as he is also defending himself that he contacted one Gideon who
was acting as the caretaker in the house when he got to Obomeng to shoot
the movie, “It’s true I and my Peace and Love production film have been
served with a writ of summons, but we don’t understand all these
happenings and we think this should not be a media thing. It is
something we are trying hard to solve but since they are not being
forthcoming with issues], we have also given it to our lawyers to handle
it for us” Sarfo told Flex newspaper last Monday.
“The secret is
that boss, we did not break into his house to do the shooting there. I
and my crew members paid some amount of money to Gideon who was taking
care of the house at that time and we even prompted him to inspect the
house before we left Obomeng.”
“After the production, my location
manager also spent three days there sorting out those we owed. So there
was nothing like we used the place and ran away from the house. When we
received their first writ of summons, we came to meet their lawyer in
Accra (Adabraka) but he will not listen to us. Nana Ama McBrown who was
part of the production even followed up to apologize on our behalf and
all proved useless so we have handed over the case to our lawyers so we
can’t do further commentary” Sarfo noted when he granted an interview to
Flex newspaper.
According to Mr. Sarfo, the owner of the house
is demanding a whooping GH50,000 from them (Peace and Love ) for
compensation but whether they will pay or not is an issue to be resolved
by their lawyers.
Meanwhile, Bob who is handling the issue for
the house owner who wants to be out of the news has also confirmed the
story to Flex newspaper adding that the case is with their lawyers so he
will not make further comments.
Ahead of his performance at
Saturday’s MTV Africa Music Award (for which he is also a nominee),
Sarkodie has picked up another international award.
He has won the Best Rap/Hiphop award at The 13th Annual Independent Music Awards for his song, ‘Illuminati’.
Willie
Sugarcapps, Vienna Teng, Valerie June, The Bankesters, Pete Seeger, The
Soul of John Black, I See Stars, Rabbit Rabbit, Sultans of String,
Elizabeth Mitchell, Marcio Novelli and Fanfara Tirana Meets Transglobal
Underground were all among the exceptional self-released and independent
label talent named by Music Resource Group (MRG) as the
judge-determined Winners of The 13th Independent Music Awards (The
IMAs), the influential international awards program for independent
bands and fans.
The veteran artists and rising stars named as
13th IMA Winners in more than 80 Album, EP, Song, Music Producer, Music
Video and Design categories were winnowed from thousands of submissions
from around the globe, and were determined by a panel of influential
artists and music industry executives.
Among the noteworthy
achievements of the 13th IMA program, Vienna Teng was named the winner
of four categories, the most any artist has received in a given year.
The self-proclaimed “chamber folk” artist was honored in the Adult
Contemporary Album, A Cappella Song, Social Action Song and Pop Song
categories.
Mree, who bills herself as an emerging, experimental
folk artist, and who is currently entrolled at NYU’s Clive Davis
Institute of Recorded Music, received top honors in the Music Producer
category for her sophomore album “Winterwell.” The judges cited the
sophisticated soundscapes that cushion the songs among the reasons for
honoring the album’s overall production.
The unique pairing of
Fanfara Tirana Meets Transglobal Underground was awarded Best Short Form
Music Video for its whimsical, stop-motion video for the song “No Guns
To The Wedding.” This collaboration between members of the Albanian
military brass band (Fanfara Tirana) and the British dance pioneers
(Transglobal Underground) was also honored for top World Beat Album.
In
the IMA Long Form Video category, Marcio Novelli was named winner for
the documentary “Marcio Novelli Presents Walking Proof,” a film that
shows the process of recording his debut album “It’s Not An Excuse, It’s
A Reason.”
One
of Ghana’s female highlife musicians, Akosua Agyepong, who is also the
Vice President of the Music Council of Ghana (MCG), has called on all
musicians in the country to unflinchingly support the Council and
promote their good works since it (MCG) belongs to all musicians and not
for a selected few.
She stated that the Council is not for or
against the action taken by about 100 musicians who have sued Carlos
Sakyi, Chairman of Ghana Music Rights Organisation (GHAMRO), for
allegedly dissipating funds of belonging to GHAMRO collected on behalf
of music right owners in Ghana.
Speaking in an interview on Hitz
FM, Akosua Agyepong said, “We don’t want to condemn the actions of the
musicians because they have every right to sue GHAMRO, but we would have
preferred they settled the issue quietly in peace and unity.”
The
Vice President of MCG also stressed that though MUSIGA told the Council
that it had spoken to GHAMRO on the issue several times but to no avail
hence the court action, “we plead with GHAMRO to meet with MUSIGA as
soon as possible to settle the issue amicably.”
Akosua Adjepong
also attributed the current impasse within the organisation to musicians
who have albums to their credit but have not registered with GHAMRO,
and urged all to be part of GHAMPRO.
She had also advised GHAMRO
executives to prove to musicians that they have their best interest at
heart and quickly come out to clear the allegations levelled against
them.
Information Flex newspaper is
gathering is that some renowned and award winning video directors might
quit the profession if God does not intervene, because they are not
getting enough out of their jobs.
From what is happening on the
ground, it looks as if the profession of Video directing is no more
lucrative because those who started it, do not see the need to still be
in it. This conversation ensued between two music video directors Steve
Gyamfi of Real House Philms and Kwasi Oduro Junior of Golden Eye Studios
and a journalist. Please enjoy!!!
“Before budgeting for a music
video, you first have to listen to the song. I mean the kind of song the
artiste is bringing to consider if the song is a hip life song or
highlife song then you know the concept to use. A video like “So Fly” by
Natural Face was one of my best videos because coming on set with jeep
took a lot from me. Moreover, here in Ghana we are used to a director
going on set with some two people” Kwasi revealed.
“I don’t
actually do production like that. I always go on set with more people
and I pay all of them so location, crew, props, trips and the rest all
goes into the budget before we charge for the production. So I don’t
know who are complaining that we directors charge too much but you know
what, production is not cheap at all.”
So on the average, how
much should one prepare before approaching you for a video shoot Sammy
Flex asked. “Ok now if I am shooting a video specifically a gospel
video, I am now looking at Ghc 12,000. Yes, I charge big because my
works speak for themselves.
“Well, just like my brother Kwasi
said earlier on, music video is something people think it is just
picking up your tools, go on set and start shooting. Honestly, it is
only in Ghana that you see people pick up some small camera and get to
some corner and start shooting trust me. It is high time we look for the
quality and more over if we look deep into this, you will realize that
what Kwasi is saying is even less. One thing that I will like every
artiste to know is that every artiste should think about branding before
coming into the music scene” Steve Ghamfi noted.
How much will
Steve charge for a video? It’s not about how much am I charging you; it
is about the song you are bringing. I will try to get a feel of the
music, so I will know the concept to use for you. So if you bring the
song and it is not good, you will have to send it back because it is not
just about the money but my feeling for the song also contributes.”
“A
typical example is Stay Jay’s “shashi wowwo” song, initially they
brought me “wo be sua sue” but now see, “shashi wowo” was not played on
any radio station but it was a hit. In Ghana, the biggest challenge we
face is location because sometimes one can have a very beautiful song
but you would not get any good location.
Now as if they all
planned to say this in unison, the video directors feel they are not
interested in the profession any more. Read Kwasi Oduro’s vibes “these
days I have just about six gospel artistes I am working with. Even with
them if you don’t pay GH12, 000 forget it. I am not doing music videos
any more but looking at some other ventures.”
Steve Gyamfi:
“personally, I have been out of the Ghanaian music video industry for a
long time because these days, I play my trade in South Africa so they
should know about this long time.”
Popular Nollywood actress, Patience
Ozokwor has said that her late husband supported her enormously to come
to the limelight as far as her career is concerned.
The same man, according to the renowned Nigerian actress, made her a successful filmmaker.
The
versatile actress, popularly called Mama G, was adjudged Africa Movie
Academy Awards (AMAA) Best Supporting Actress for her role in the movie,
'After the Proposal' at the just-ended AMAA ceremony.
She beat
Ghana’s Marie Humbert of Potomanto fame, vinaya sungkur of The Children
of Troumaron, Barbara Soky of the Brother’s Keeper and Lee-Ann van Rooi
of Good Report to emerge the winner.
She was on stage with her son to receive her award.
In
her acceptance speech, Mama G said her late husband supported her
career and encouraged her from the early days when she became an
actress.
“…I am honoured and I thank God for this award. It is a
kind of encouragement to me, to keep doing what I am doing. I thought
you are going to be stoning me on the road, but you are loving me so
much. Thanks a lot and God bless you AMAA; God bless you Africans; God
bless Nigerians. And I pray that God should give a peaceful rest to my
late husband who encouraged me from the beginning. My son is also here,”
Patience Ozorkwo said.
Before the award ceremony, Mama G was
quoted as saying she missed her happy moments with her late husband, who
died in 2000, precisely 14 years ago.
The actress became famous
in 1999 when she starred in a movie entitled, ‘Authority’, and has since
featured in countless movies, often is loved playing the role of a wife
and mother.
She is well known on the African continent and beyond.
Patience Ozokwor commands a lot of respect and is loved by many for her creativity and assertiveness.
She recently advised Ghanaians to offer support to local movie producers and motivate them to come out equality products.
According to her, the producers have been promoting indigenous languages in their movies.
Six of Africa’s finest artists have
collaborated on a song that is part of MultiChoice Africa’s upcoming
campaign which is set to be unveiled at a glitz and glam content
extravaganza in Mauritius.
The five artists are Davido, a
Nigerian American recording artist, performer, and record producer;
Diamond Platnumz (or simply Diamond), a Bongo Flava recording artist
from Tanzania; Sarkodie (also referred to as Obidi Pon Bidi) a Ghanaian
hip hop recording artist, entertainer, and brand ambassador; Tiwa
Savage, Nigerian singer-songwriter, recording artist, performer and
actress: Lola Rae, a British singer of Nigerian/Ghanaian descent who
garnered recognition as a dancer in the street dance group “Myztikal”
and finally Mi Casa, a South African band consisting of three members,
Dr. Duda (producer) and pianist, Jsomething (vocalist and guitarist),
and Mo-T (trumpeter).
The song is a prelude to a themed campaign
that will play a pivotal role in bringing about meaningful
transformation to the benefit of all. The social and economic needs
facing our continent are substantial and it is a moral duty for big
business to make a difference by supporting projects that benefit our
society by creating shared value.
“MultiChoice Africa has an
important role to play in both the economic and social transformation of
our continent and we believe that this campaign provides the ideal
platform to showcase meaningful change amongst the people of Africa,”
says Nico Meyer, CEO MultiChoice Africa.
The artists hope to
inspire and create a paradigm shift amongst Africans with their music as
there is so much more to celebrate. The campaign promises to unearth
what is right about Africa in our ongoing commitment to making a
difference in the lives of all Africans.
“We strongly believe
that the quest for good corporate citizenship starts with an acceptance
of responsibility, not only to our subscribers and stakeholders, but to
the broader African community in which we operate and are certain that
the collaboration with these award winning African artists will be the
glue that binds communities together creating a catalyst for change,”
concludes Nico.
After eight long years of contesting
in arguably the most-viewed show in Africa, Big Brother Africa, former
contestant, Keitta, has some clues on how we can get there.
Keitta,
who represented the country in Big Brother Africa ‘StarGame’, has
advised that for any Ghanaian representative to win the Big-Brother
Africa TV Show, Ghana needs to get a representative whose mentality is
strong, can accommodate other characters, sociable, and has a strong and
appealing personality.
According to Keitta, since Ghanaians do
not really vote enough for their Big Brother Africa candidate, any
Ghanaian representative who can be a potential winner has to get a
positive drive to be able to gather enough votes from other countries as
well.
“Every country wants to vote for their candidate so to be
able to gather votes across Africa; you need to have that drive to
attract voters in other countries. Also, you have to be yourself,
because, I was myself and managed to get to where I got to,” he said.
Explaining
the process in choosing a candidate, he said that the judges are not
Ghanaians as some people perceive. “The judges are not from Ghana, like
some people think. So no need to blame the judges for the type of
candidates who represent us. They choose those they think will be best
for the Big Brother Africa Show,” Keitta noted.
On the exposure
of the nude photos and videos of Big Brother Africa’s participants to
the general public by the organizers, Edemol – he said that our culture
did not allow him to expose his private parts; that’s why he wore one
boxer throughout the season.
“However, Big Brother is far better
than the other Big Brother TV Shows in other continents, because, it’s
not everything that goes on in the house that is shown to the public and
even if it is done, it is always rated 18+...the only parts that they
think are entertaining to their viewers,” Keitta justified.
Big
Brother Africa is a television program produced by Endemol for M-net. It
started in the year 2003 and annually hosted in South Africa. The
contestants live in an ‘enclosed’ house while trying to avoid being
evicted by viewers and ultimately winning cash prize at the end of the
show.
Elikem Kumordzi, Ghana’s representative for last year’s
edition is on record to be the only representative who has made it to
the finals of the show.
For all the many young men who may
have eyes for the dancehall music artiste, Mzvee, the hint has been
dropped. Mzvee has a soft spot for guys who wear dreadlocks and wouldn’t
mind dating someone with that hairstyle.
According to Mzvee, aka
Vera Hemanoo-Kpeda, even though she is currently single and
concentrating on her education and music career, a man with dreadlocks
is the most likely mate for her.
“There is something about guys
with dreadlocks that gets my attention, I love and admire guys who grow
their hair neat and I don’t think I will have a problem dating or
marrying someone like that” she said.
She was also emphatic that
her liking for guys with dreadlocks has nothing to do with her genre of
music which is dancehall, where almost all the guys who take that path
wear dreadlocks.
In response to whether she was not bothered
about the perception society has about guys with dreadlocks; that they
are ragamuffins, she said:“I don’t really mind, that is what they think
but I believe there are responsible and principled guys who are always
on point so what society thinks doesn’t matter to me.”
Speaking
about a compliment fellow dancehall artiste, Stonebwoy, paid her
recently that “MzVee is beautiful, intelligent and has the shape I want
in an ideal woman, she said: “I didn’t have a problem with that but if
he proposes, I will have to scrutinise him before giving him an answer.”
She
described Stonebwoy as a very calm, cool, respectable, humble and very
good boyfriend material but as at the moment, because he has not popped
the question, she sees him as a “brother from another mother.”
Touching
on other issues, MzVee said she has no intentions of adding chemicals
to her hair and asked people who are wondering if she can manage the
natural hair for long to “wait and see”.
“I know it is difficult
to manage natural hair but I have no intention of perming it, it is
natural hair for life and if the worse happens, I will cut it or lock it
permanently” she said.
MzVee had a stint with music about two
years ago as a member of the now defunct D3 group. She is currently
under the management of Lynxx Entertainment and has songs like Borkor
Borkor featuring VVIP, Natural Girl also featuring Stonebwoy and
Harmatttan all of which are currently receiving considerable air play to
her credit.
GHANA’S SENSATIONAL gospel music
icon, Evangelist Diana Asamoah, who has gained so much prominence in and
outside Ghana has left the shores of the country a couple of days ago
for London where she is billed to perform to her numerous fans there.
This is an opportunity for Ghanaian music fans in London to witness another historic live music shows from her.
BEATWAVES
is reliably informed that Evangelist Asamoah is excited about the shows
and is ready to give off the best in her to her fans.
The
silky-voiced gospel artiste before her departure told BEATWAVES, “I am a
soul winner. I sing to win souls for Christ and educate people about
the teachings of Christ through music.”
The gospel singer who
recently toured America to spread the word of God through live musical
performances said her presence in London would pave the way for her to
interact with some of her colleague gospel artistes and personalities.
“I
have worked tirelessly for the past years on my musical career to make a
mark in the Ghanaian music scene for others to follow,” she told
BEATWAVES in a chat.
Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh who loves catching fun on social media, says she is always scared of celebrating her birthday.
The
actress explained that celebrating of birthday reminds her that she is
getting older and as such gradually might not be able to do some certain
things as time goes by.
Tonto added that she loves playing and as such, does not want to get old.
Recently,
it looks as if she is less busy on set and as such, has been on the
social media for some time now displaying all her activities.
For some years now, there have been
rumours that Nollywood actor Benedict Johnson and actress Mercy Johnson
had been in a relationship before they finally married their various
spouse.
It was reported that he dumped Mercy Johnson to marry
his present wife, but the actor in a recent interview with daily news,
said that he and Mercy Johnson had nothing to do with each other but as
professional colleagues.
Benedict said they are very close
friends and then she was up and coming in the movie industry, so he had
to introduced her to couple of producers.
He debunked the claims
that he and Mercy ever had a romantic relationship with each other, and
claims she is a fantastic actress.
Movie-loving Ghanaians have
contributed to the progression of the movie industry by patronizing such
movies and elevating Ghanaian actors without getting anything in
return.
The least they can derive is the feeling of pride when
these Ghanaian actors are called upon as Ghanaians to receive
international recognition. Unfortunately, the feeling of being Ghanaian
and associating yourself with a Ghanaian actor is being taken away.
Some
of Ghana’s movie stars who are supposed to be known and called
Ghollywood stars are rather being referred to as Nollywood stars by
international media and event organizers.
A story on Ghanaian
celebrated actor, John Dumelo, had it that, he’s been featured in Vogue
International Magazine. A portion of the story reads (unedited): “He is
Ghanaian, but works mostly in Nigeria, Nollywood, where they now produce
more than 200 films a year. He goes and come back to Ghana.”
Another
story about another Ghanaian movie star Jackie Appiah, also had it that
(unedited): she’s been featured in front of Nollywood Weekly cover with
other Nollywood actors/Actress.” The latest is about, Juliet Ibrahim – a
Ghanaian actress and an award winning philanthropist.
In a
recent press release by Muzik Magazine Awards (AFRIMMA), they indicated
(unedited): “This eagerly-awaited event will be hosted by International
Celebrity Comedian, Basket Mouth along with Nollywood Beauty Sensation
and Actress, Juliet Ibrahim.
Speaking to Ghanaian actress Kafui
Danku, she admitted, “Even in Ghana, some people consider me as a
Nollywood star so I always correct them that I’m a Ghanaian actress.
I’ve also heard of one popular actress who was once referred to as a
Nollywood Star.”
Sharing his thoughts on this development, Mr.
Odoi Mensah cautioned International event organizers and award schemes
to stop staging Ghanaian movie stars as Nollywood stars.
“Well, I have not observed what you are telling me but I won’t doubt you either,” he stated.
“We
have strong ties with Nigerians so we can go there and work and they
can also come here and work. However, when we go there, it does not make
us Nollywood stars likewise they coming here do not make them
Ghollywood stars. I will therefore call on those who are tagging
Ghanaians movie stars as Nollywood stars stop,” he advised.
