SEXUALLY EXPLICIT MUSIC, HALLMARK OF CREATIVITY?

The introduction of sexually explicit lyrics in the music industry worldwide as a tool or medium of sending messages to their targeted audience has reared its ugly head in the Ghana music industry.

It is said among well noted industry players that the music industry is set to educate, inform, entertain and reform the human race worldwide.

Leading musicians, who have made their mark in the industry, such as Kojo Antwi, Daddy Lumba, Pat Thomas and Amanzeba, have in the past years carved a niche of creating music which have content of sexually explicit words, but yet has been well thought through before bringing it out for the public consumption.

Arguably, the hottest song of the moment is “Tonga” by Joey B, featuring Sarkodie. The song has been very popular especially after its release in mid December.

The song has received some condemnations due to its lyrical content which seemingly smacks of some sexually explicit words.

While people are referring to the word “Tonga” in a metaphorical sense as representing the Vagina, the owner of the song, Joey B, says it is an acronym for “The Only Nice Girl Around”.

One of such examples which can be made out of such controversial music which has made history in the Ghanaian music industry is “Moses”, by A.B Crentsil, banned by the government during the 1970’s.

It can be said, the music as at the time was not given air play on the Ghanaian radio waves because of its suggestive words.

It was at the just launched Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) 2014 that it was announced that the organizers (Charter House) would be sponging out any music with sexually suggestive and explicitly music which made it during the year under review of the VGMA.

At the press launch of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards 2014, Mrs. Theresa Ayoade, who is the Executive Director of Charter House emphatically, said they would only reward music that is morally sound and they would reject every song that has sexually explicit or violent lyrics.

She added that their mandate is to endorse songs and it is the right thing to do in order to promote the industry.

When it comes to ‘Tonga’, there are two questions involved. Is the Board going to examine the lyrics literally for sexually explicit words to disqualify it or are they going to make inferences as the public is doing except Joey B?

Mrs. Ayoade didn’t just end there, she advised musicians to create radio edit songs to make it through the nominations.

What if the DJs play the “explicit” song from December till date and then an unknown lyrically edited version with its originality maintained, is entered tomorrow, is it going to be considered objectively over the unedited one for nomination?

MY MUSIC WAS SOLD WITHOUT MY APPROVAL - AMAKYE DEDE

One of Ghana’s top highlife musicians whose music is being sold on the market without his approval, has warned that his outfit will soon deal drastically with all those involved in the illegal distributing of his music.

The highlife music icon, Abrantie Amakye Dede, wept over the rate at which music was being pirated in the country and disclosed that for the past years, his musical works had been sold on the local and international music markets and online without his approval.

Speaking to BEATWAVES in an interview yesterday, the evergreen highlife musicians described pirates as thieves, and nation wreckers, and therefore called for an effective and rapid legal system in the country to deal with them.

“I have to make things uncomfortable for the pirates who are depriving Ghanaian musicians from making ends meet. We will chase them out of their hideouts very soon. We will use all available means to uproot them and destroy their criminal operations,” he declared.

He added that “it is time for all forms of piracy to be dealt a lethal blow. Pirates must be jailed. I call on all Ghanaians to expose their illegal activities in the supreme interest of the country.

“Piracy has not only decimated Ghana’s music industry, but has impoverished its creators and deprived government of legitimate tax revenue.”

According to him, measures were being put in place by his management team to check the activities of those pirating his musical works, adding that he would wage an intensive war against those behind the illegal sale and distribution of his musical works.

He asked music sellers and distributors in the country who want to do business with his music to contact him personally or his management.

Abrantie stated that he had not authorized any company such Mega Star or any group of persons to distribute and sell his musical works on his behalf.

I JUST BECAME WEALTHY – IYANYA

Iyanya in a new interview has revealed he became wealthy not too long ago. He said shortly before he shot his kukere video, he had no money and moved around in Lagos in cabs.

But today, he has fleet of cars in his garage. Indeed God is good and He’s changing people’s stories. His words; - Let me tell you something, God has blessed me with a range rover of 2010 and I have also driven 2013 and 2014 cars, it’s a blessing to me but I am not a car freak. I still have a prado jeep that was given to me recently.

i still have a fond memory of that my Rav 4 and I still wish it were right there in my garage so that I can be seeing it every day. Let me not lie, there was a time I wanted to shoot a video and I had no money. It was kukere. I used cabs all round town just to make sure kukere video was out there.

So I was using cabs every day and people were surprised to see me in them since I used to drive a Rav 4. It was just to ensure that people keep seeing me on TV and not to forget me."

ASAMOAH GYAN FITS PERFECTLY FOR ‘KUMAWOOD’ KIND OF FILMS – ACTRESS

Actress and TV host Ama K. Abebrese has revealed that celebrated Ghanaian footballer will fit in perfectly with the ‘Kumawood’ Kumasi kind of films.

Asked (AllSports) about which Ghanaian footballer would make a good movie star amongst all the footballers in Ghana, Ama said, “Dede Ayew, will be fit for a role in an action movie whereas Asamoah Gyan will fit in perfectly for a ‘Kumawood’ Kumasi kind of film.”

The demeanor with which Ama said it and with the use of the word ‘Kumawood’ Kumasi kind of film,” pundits are asking if she really meant any harm or not. Already, lots of people in the elite class scorn Kumawood movies or the Kumasi movies.

What makes Ama think Asamoah Gyan would best fit in a Kumawood movie and not an English movie?

Well, we just hope Asamoah Gyan takes it as a jest and not an affront from Ama. She also has revealed that if she had to date any of the Blackstar players, it will be Tony Yeboah even though she has never met him in person before. Maybe Ama K Abebrese knows something we do not…. Until then…MOTWUM!!

SARKOLOGY FOR DIFFERENT MOODS – AN ALBUM REVIEW

Sarkodie has asserted himself again. Much like Rapperholic, Sarkology was crafted by a number of name producers (Magnum, Hammer, Killbeatz and more), and this album also serves a showcase for Sarkodie’s signature rapid-fire rhymes and memorable lines.

Sarkodie shows that he is very aware of his prominence in GH Rap and GH music history as a whole throughout the album in songs like Preach and Y’all already Know. His delivery has gotten better with each album and with his multiple pop culture references it is evident that he is still a student of the game.

He does very well on this album to further blur the lines between GH Rap/Hip-life and Hip-hop not necessarily being boxed in or defined by either genre and managing to dip in and out of each one whenever he wants to. Sarkodie also continues to show that his speed and ability to “twist” isn’t just a gimmick but just one of his many abilities as an MC.

Great music bring together dope beats and good lyrics and often times many MCs struggle with this. Sometimes, they either go too hard in one area and compromise in another but Sarkology succeeds in bringing both together.

Sarkology should’ve been called Rapperholic II in my opinion. It follows pretty much the same formula as Rapperholic. With no overall theme for the whole project, the same topics of overcoming haters, winning a Grammy, faith (Halleluyah, War) and being the best MC are all addressed throughout Sarkology, as much as they were on Rapperholic.

We actually learn even more about his ego throughout the record, and it takes only 39 seconds for Sarkodie to mention material possessions in this album ahead of hip hop artistes such as Kanye West and even Jay-z of Yeezus and MCHG respectively.

Sarkodie’s use of foul language has also increased substantially on this album and although I do respect that he’s a grown man and can do/say whatever he wants, I genuinely winced a bit at every F-word uttered. But this is hip-hop right?

Similar to Rapperholic, this album is feature-heavy but he wasn’t out-shone by any of his featured artistes and quite frankly on a few records, I would much rather have heard him alone.

One disappointment on Sarkology was XXL. After creating two incredible tracks such as Old School Love and Give It to Me on Rapperholic, I had really high expectations from the pair on this album. Also coming after tough record like Original, on the album, XXL ended up sounding like a less impactful sequel to that song. I could have also done without Marry Me (although Sian is an incredible singer) and Gunshot.

Gunshot sounded way too easy. Two big musicians, top producer, a good-enough beat, and a very simple catchy chorus, this collaboration sounded much well in theory. Pon D Ting (ft Banky W) was one of the better collaborations on Sarkology with both artistes equally sounding like they were excited to be on the track.

I grew to appreciate Ordinary Love with Tiwa Savage once I decided to look past how bad the line “rolling like a rolling stone” was. Where Down on One with Fuse ODG goes without saying, 2 Paddies (ft Joey B) was another great collaboration. Joey B brought his signature sense of humour and style and the duo provided a very entertaining and skillful record.

I appreciated Sarkodie’s ability to own every beat he is on, and depending on how hard the beat is his flow and lyricism varies to match. This can be heard on stand out records such as Dear Rap Original, Rap Attack and Elijah. Additionally, on Sizeless (skit), Sarkodie is at his absolute best when he enters into full, rappity-rap mode and showing off his skill and technical ability as an MC.

However, while I hugely appreciate the rap bravado it is great to hear Sarkodie embrace his duty as a role model and give us songs like Halleluyah (ft Vivian Chidid) and Small Small (ft. Lil Shaker). Can I just say that both Magnum and Lil Shaker did some incredible work on the tracks they produced on Sarkology.

Sarkology has music for different moods, and tracks for the barbershop, club,(as Sarkodie mentions himself ) the car and even the gym. The diversity of Sarkodie’s flow and his ability to rap over just about anything carries the listener through the album very easily. He even provides love songs from every angle; playing the role of guy begging for his girl to stay (Hold On), guy who gets cheated on (Lies), guy in a long distance relationship (Whatever You Do) and even guy proposing to his girl (Marry Me).

In the future it would be good to see Sarkodie blur the lines between his real life and the music even more. If the title is anything to go by, Sarkology literally should’ve been the Study of Sarkodie but we find out less about him as a person or where he is now in his personal life compared to how much we learn about his come-up and struggle on previous projects.

With another album under his belt, Sarkodie is one of the only Ghanaians MCs that people can actually go and see in concert without any supporting acts besides an opening act. Honestly, it is difficult for anyone to hate on him, he is now three albums in and he clearly has many more albums and so much more great music in him.

One thing no one can deny is Sarkodie’s work ethic, this guy just gave us thirty songs….THIRTY! And has already shot seven music videos. Sarkodie continues to show us that he is at the top of the game and is the undisputed leader of the new school in this Golden Era of GH Music.

RONNIE COACHES TO BE BURIED ON FEBRUARY 1

The Quainoo and Akrong family, the funeral planning committee together with MUSIGA wishes to announce to the general public the final funeral rites of their illustrious son and friend, the late Ronnie Quainoo Coaches (BUK BAK) who passed away on the 21.11.13.

Wake Keeping will be held on the 31st January 2014 at the National Theatre of Ghana.

The funeral, laying in state and a Musical Concert will be on the 1st February 2014 at the same venue after which the body will be sent to the Osu cemetery for burial. Church and memorial service will be held at Success Chapel Bubuashie near White house.

Plans are far advanced to give our late brother and friend the befitting burial that he deserves, the chairman of the funeral committee stated.

According to him support from the media, corporate organisations and the general public will be very much appreciated.

He also pleaded with the media to be circumspect in their reportage and respect the privacy of the family during this extremely difficult time.

I DON’T LIKE THOSE ARTISTS THAT TRY TO DO HIP HOP - APPIETUS

Producer Appietus has an issue with the clamouring of the hip hop genre by some mainstream artistes of today.

“The only thing I don’t like about our music industry is those artists that try to do the Hip Hop; you can’t play or rhyme it in their accent better than producers and artists in America. It’s their culture and they live in it,” he’s told this website’s Adullai Isshak.

He also spoke on the challenges artistes are facing with getting decent numbers for album sales.

Full quotes below

“The only thing I don’t like about our music industry is those artists that try to do the Hip Hop; you can’t play or rhyme it in their accent better than producers and artists in America. It’s their culture and they live in it. They can’t play better Afro Beats than us and we can’t play better hip hop than them. Music is universal but it’s the language we put on the rhythm that make it Ghanaian, western or Asian music.”

“When you listen to music from any part of the world, it can stir a feeling within you. When Magic System’s “Premiere Gaou” hit Ghana, almost everyone who was crazy for the tune never understood what they said but never cared. All they knew was that they had found some good dance music.”

On album sales

“The mistake our artists make mostly is that, when they make an album they promote only two or three songs on the album and leave the rest of the songs on the album to mature into hits by themselves which is wrong. So in the mind of the people, the best songs on the album are the ones you promoted and since not everyone is discerning when it comes to music, they are only going to judge the strength of the album based on the hits on it and it will go against you.”

“To make album, you have make hit singles and gather them onto the album. That’s how you will get a platinum album in the west. And if you have an album with several hits on it, people will be encouraged in getting the whole thing and not pirating just one or two songs off the whole album.

“You go to the best studios to record two good songs and the rest, you just let a struggling producer do cheap work for you, and you think it will not go against you in the end. It’s an album and so spending good money to make a good album goes a long way to boost your image as an artist because that is what people will use to judge you.”

Appietus’ Big Bang Compilation, which features acts like Sarkodie, Kwaw Kese, and Castro is out soon.