TOO HAPPY TO BE UGLY - KUMAWOOD ACTOR, SUNSUM

If Kumasi based actor, Yaw Adu, aka Sunsum, knew his face could win him many fetish priest roles in movies, he would probably have started acting much earlier.

Still he is happy that within the short period of four years, he has successfully featured in more than 10 movies all because of his face.

Speaking to Showbiz in an interview on Monday, Sunsum said it is his ugly face that has brought him into the limelight as an actor. “You can’t play the role of a fetish priest if you have a nice face. My face has earned me many of such roles and I’m very proud of that.

“I take advantage of my face to do justice to the fetish priest roles I am given. To look scary for the role, I don’t usually need much make-up because my face is already frightful”

According to him, he is unique from the other actors because no one plays fetish priest roles better than he does.

“If any producer is looking for an actor to play the role of a fetish priest, I am the first port of call because I have never disappointed any producer ever since I started my movie career”.

Asked if anyone has made mockery of his face, Sunsum who used to hide from people because of his face said he received unpalatable comments at the early stages of his career but now his face has become one of the most expensive ones on the Akan language movie scene.

“People come to my house on a daily basis and plead that I take pictures with them. Anywhere I go, everyone wants to come around me because they like the way I act,” he said.

Talking about how he entered the movie scene, Sunsum who had always wanted to be an actor but did not know how to go about it said his friends who were close to movie producers introduced him to one of them and he did not disappoint when he had the opportunity to feature in his first movie.

“I had watched several Akan movies so it was not much of a problem to me when I was given the opportunity. I played the role very well as if I had been acting for a long time”

After breaking through Akan language movies playing alongside actors such as Emelia Brobbey, Nana Ama MacBrown, Agya Koo, Lil Win, Akrobeto and Bill Asamoah, Sunsum dreams about the day he would have the opportunity to work with English language movie actors such as Majid Michel, Jackie Appiah, Yvonne Okoro and John Dumelo.

Known for movies like Bosom Ba, Hansome Paddies, Gud Morning, Ogya Sunsum, Abré Ne Bayie, Judge Akasa, Pastor’s Wife and Abusua Mpé, Sunsum said despite his ugly face, there are a lot of pretty girls who want to go out with him.

Now the problem Sunsum is facing is whether the women are after his fame or for real love.

“I cannot tell what the women want from me but a lot of women express interest in me when I step out.

I don’t even know how some of them get my telephone number to send me messages expressing interest in me”

ENO: SIZE DOES NOT MATTER

As one of the few surviving female rap musicians in Ghana, sensational Eno does not see the plus size of her body as an obstacle that will hinder her from matching up to the other rap artistes who are not so body-endowed.

“I know it is perceived that my kind of music or rapping is for those who are not as big as I am judging from the energy a rapper needs to make an impact on stage when performing.

“But I am not an idle person, I exercise a lot and I am very health conscious. Before I go on stage, I rehearse, check my breathe control and then unlock all the energy I need to make my performance look good.” she told Showbiz on Tuesday.

“If I say I want to listen to what people are saying about my body size and wait to slim before I do music then I’m sure I would be dead by the time I come out with my first single. I do not need the permission of anybody to do what I have been blessed to do and who says rap music is for only those who are slim?

Eventhough most of the ladies in Ghana who are pursuing secolar music are slim and cute, Eno does not see that as a challenge looking at the size of her body.

“I do not have a problem with the fact that most of the ladies I find myself doing secular music with are slim and I say this because, I have reached a point in my life where I tell myself that the size of my body should not determine what I do”.

Responding to whether other female artistes do not intimidate her when she is on the same bill with them, she said; “not at all, whenever I have to perform, what matters to me is how to entertain my fans and that is what I work at and I make sure I make my fans happy after every performance.”

“Moreover, I have a fan base that love and admire my kind of music and to me that is what matters. I do not care what others think, the bottom line is I love who I am, I love myself and I do not wish to be someone else” she said.

The Kumasi based rapper who has been rapping for almost a decade also had a word for people who describe her as fat. “I do not see myself as a fat person. I would describe myself as someone who is well endowed in all aspects of my body and I do not wish to change who I am.

Born Ruth Nana Serwaa Nyame, Eno had her secondary education at Methodist Secondary in Tema where she shared the classroom with Sarkodie, Stay J,Yaw Siki, Stonebwoy and others. Eno read marketing at Kumasi Polytechnic.

She is known for songs like My Love which featured Afriyie formerly of Wutah, I'm Out, pull me out, Tonga(Cover), ‘What’s My Name, Chain of Love, Commot For There and many more.

MUDAG PRESIDENT WARNS MUSIC STAKEHOLDERS

The music industry in Ghana is collapsing because a number of stakeholders are playing politics with the industry, the President of the Musicians and Dancers Association of Ghana (MUDAG), George William Dickson, has disclosed.

Speaking to BEATWAVES in a chat over the weekend, George Dickson stressed that the recent court action against GHAMRO by Nana Kwame Ampadu and 100 others has created bad blood in the music industry after enjoying a semblance of unity under GHAMRO’s representative system.

He was of the opinion that if the case is not amicably resolved with wisdom, it could send the industry back to the dark toxic days.

“Intellectual property is an intelligently and creatively invented concept acquired by a person through the capability of using the intellect. This means intellectual property is a mentally acquired property therefore if care is not taken on the way things are being run and GHAMRO issues are being judged, it can lead to chaos in the music industry,” William Dickson explained.

He also confirmed that measures have been put in place by the various music associations to embark on a demonstration against government’s interference and its decision to create a council for the stakeholders in the industry on Wednesday, July 31 2014.

Meanwhile, the President of the Music Council of Ghana (MCG), Ekow Micah, in an interview with the BEATWAVES also disclosed the purpose of the impending demonstration “is to stop the government from interfering in the activities of the music industry.”

At a close door consultative meeting held at Agona Swedru last week with all the music associations which include the Veteran Musicians Association of Ghana (VEMAG), Association of Music Rights Owners (AMRO), Musicians and Dancers Association of Ghana (MUDAG), Professional Musicians Association of Ghana (PROMAG), Composers and Authors of Music Association of Ghana (CAMAG) and a host of others, MCG was tasked to immediately organise a demonstration at 7:00am in Accra to register their displeasures.

CASTRO IS ALIVE – WIFE BELIEVES

The situation with hiplife artiste, Castro and Janet Bandu, has caused many people to express varied opinions on the status of the artiste and his acquaintance –with some already declaring him dead and others thinking a publicity stunt is at play.

One of the important figures in Castro’s life, Mrs. Dorothy Tagoe has also expressed her opinion on the status of her husband as to whether he’s dead, alive or missing.

Mr. Nicholas Adu-Gyamfi, an Uncle to Mrs. Tagoe has disclosed to Razz Newspaper that; Dorothy and the rest of the family have the strongest belief that the artiste is still alive. “Castro's wife and her family believe that Castro is not dead. He’s missing and we are all searching for him. We believe strongly that we will see him,” he said.

“We in Ghana who represent Mrs. Dorothy have been to Ada and we think the media can help us without concentrating on her,” he commented on the media’s attention being drawn to her.

Commenting on why Mrs. Dorothy Tagoe has not turned up in the country after Razz Newspaper’s publication last week that, she was supposed to be in Ghana; Mr. Adu-Gyamfi responded – “We know the media want news but you should also consider the situation at hand and the woman involved. It’s not easy and so if she doesn’t want to speak to the media now, we will have to respect that. When she’s ready to speak to the media, will let you know.”

He also added that, the families of Castro and Dorothy have been very collaborative in their search for the multiple, award-winning artiste. According to him, there has been effective communication between the two families and the reasons for Dorothy’s absence in Ghana since the incident is well understood by Castro’s family.

On speculations about Castro and Dorothy having divorced or having challenges with their marriage before the incident, Mr. Adu-Gyamfi stated; “If not for this issue that has come up, I don’t think you will be interested in knowing the state of their marriage, but like I keep saying, they are still married! They have not broken up.”

The search is still on for Castro and Janet Bandu, who are said to have gone missing during a weekend rendezvous on 6th July, 2014 at Ada.

“THE MOVIE INDUSTRY LACKS PROFESSIONALS” – ACTRESS

Popular Ghanaian actress Ebbie Bright has stated emphatically that the movie industry is doing well but it lacks professionals and that seems to be the only bane troubling the industry currently.

She made this statement at Golden Tulip Hotel some weeks back during the women in film making forum which was organized by Archi Africa.
The forum which was moderated by multiple award winning actors Majid Michel saw some renowned female movie makers like Leila Djansi, Juliet Appea as well as some movie makers across Africa.

Despite the fact that the theme was built around women in film making, there were general discussions about the way our movie industry is being considered by players in it and those out of it. Some notable personalities in the movie industry who were present included John Dumelo, Pascal Amanfo, James Gardiner, Prince David Osei, Ebbie Bright alongside some up and coming stars. The media fraternity was also highly represented from all quarters including TV, radio and newspaper.

The forum is a monthly discussion platform to sanitize the movie industry with experts and players in the movie industry with experts and players in the movie industry. After Ebbie Bright has kept her silence throughout the discussion, Flex newspaper reporters noted that a statement from Leila Djansi who was on the high table as a resource person infuriated Ebbie Bright to come out with this statement.

“No matter what we do as an industry, this is what we have and this is what we can boast off so if one feels that we have no industry to boast off, he or she can leave the industry for us to manage it our own way.

Sometimes I feel very uneasy when I hear people speaking negative about Opera Square and what they do there. I think we have to appreciate them because no matter how poor or disorganized they are at the moment, they are the same people who are helping us to market our movies else these movies will never be distributed.

What I have observed in our movie industry which seems problematic is the fact that our industry lacks professionals. We don’t have more professionals in our movie industry and that is what I believe is disturbing our movie business.

If we should have more professionals in the industry, trust me, everything will be fine” actress Ebbie Bright added amidst claps form forum participants. Ebbie Bright is known in our movie industry as a notorious young lady who does well in playing the bad girl role.

She is very eloquent in what she does and the industry has accepted her with open arms. She has featured in productions from Venus Films, Marhils Production and most of the award winning movie producers in Ghana.