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.

PRESIDENT OF THE KUMASI FILM CREW ADMITS THAT KUMASI MOVIES LACK QUALITY

Many are those who have complained bitterly about the quality of movies produced in Kumasi and the fact that most of them are increasingly destroying the film industry.

Though some Kumasi movie makers disagree with people who pass negative comments about Kumasi movies, the President of Ghana Film Crew Association of Ghana (Kumasi branch), Owusu Asare has revealed to Flex newspaper that, it is true that most Kumasi films lack quality.

He lamented that many people who are technically good when it comes to movies end up blaming the Kumasi film crew because they handle most of the technical aspects of the movies. He added that he believes most of the blames should be directed to the film producers because they refuse to invest in quality and they like cheap labour.

He added that on the part of the Film Crew members, they are doing a lot to raise the standard of Kumasi films. “One of the main reasons why we came together to form this association is the blames we receive for poor work done, and we think though the producers are rather to blame, we also have to learn and work hard to bring out the best in us. We agree with those who criticize us for poor quality of our movies and we have learnt a lot from some of their criticism,” he said.

Talking about some of their strategic activities for the year, he said that they were planning to collaborate with NAFTI, so they could train most of the crew members who didn't have formal education, so they could also be professionals.

He also supposed that it would get to a point where they would control and force the producers to invest in quality and if they refuse, they would take personal actions against them.

As to what they have achieved within a shorter time, the president of the Association Samuel Owusu said that most of the winners of Kumawood Awards and Ghana Movie Awards are part of the Ghana Film Crew Association of Ghana. The Best Costumier in Ghana Movie Awards, George Atobire and makeup artiste Jude Odoh are part of the film crew.

NICHOLAS OMANE ACHEAMPONG EYES GOSPEL ARTISTE OF THE YEAR AWARD

Last year, Nicholas Omane Acheampong had his eye on the top Gospel Artiste of the Year award but lost it to Herty Borngreat.

Although Omane picked up the Gospel Song of the Year, the gospel musician, it appears, would not be content until he has won the ultimate Gospel Artiste of the Year at the Ghana Music Awards.

He is back saying the road to victory, this year, is smooth for him since he sees no competitor in that category.

According to him, he has worked better than any other gospel musician and deserves to be awarded Gospel artiste of the year.

“The impact my latest album Mahashala Hashbaz did in 2013 was so great. No other gospel musician was able to dominate the gospel scene or had better impact than me” Omane Acheampong told Showbiz last Thursday.

He said that anyone who had the opportunity to attend any of his shows during last year would testify the influence he had on his audience anytime he mounted the stage.

“Normally you are not likely to get too many gospel musicians cutting across both the secular and the gospel world but I believe I achieved that with Mahashala Hashba^ in 2013” Nicholas said.

Asked why he always praised himself for being the best, Nicholas said hard work pays and as a musician who is vibrant and releasing hit song after hit song, he would not let things bypass him and will continue to talk just as other musicians do when it is so clear the award is for them.

According to him, never would he complain if he knew he did not deserve any award but when Ghanaians are giving him. The support for his good work, he will always fight for his right.

“There are times when it is clear a particular musician deserves an award but at the end of the day, a different person picks it up. I cannot talk for others but I know what I am capable of and the influence I have on the society with my songs”, he said.

What if someone else picks the Gospel Artiste of the Year? “I will be disappointed although I am not the only Gospel artiste in Ghana. You need to call a spade a spade; I deserve the Gospel Artiste of the Year and probably Gospel Song of the Year as well”, he said.