Christian Community Music Awards 2013 Launched

This year’s edition of the Christian Community Music Awards being organised by Christian Community Microfinance Limited (CCML), a division of the Christian Council of Ghana, has been launched. The awards dubbed “The Most Wanted” seeks to showcase and reward deserving songs and their artistes by promoting all gospel music. The awards would reward Christian songs from 10 categories including praises, worship, inspirational, Christian reggae song, hymns, and choral. Kojo Oppong Adjei, Communication Director of CCML, who performed the launching ceremony held at the Ghana International Press Centre in Accra, noted that CCML decided to take the radio contest to a higher pedestal in order to give it a wider coverage. He said Ghanaian gospel musicians, over the years, have been performing very well so they deserve to be acknowledged. Mr Adjei said the overall award winner’s price would be invested in treasury bills over the next five years to generate more income for the person. Nominations have, therefore, been opened to the general public to vote for the candidates of their choice from now until May 16, to be followed by the awards ceremony in Accra on May 18, 2013, at the National Theatre. Jennifer Jessica Danquah, CCMA Events coordinator, said the awards ceremony, titled: “The Most Wanted,” would be on the theme: “Creatable Impacting Levels”. She said songs nominated for the awards would be published in the Daily Graphic and also played on some selected radio stations such as Spring, Sweet Melody and Sunny FM during the late afternoon shows. Ms Danquah said readers and listeners could then make their choice by texting to short code 1903 or visit their website: www.ccmagh.com to vote. She said the final decision would be based on 50 percent for texting and the rest from the decision of the judges on the day of the contest.

Why I Did Not Feature Kwabena Kwabena In My Video -Asem

Popular hiplife artiste, Asem has commented on rumours that he intentionally sidelined Kwabena Kwabena when it came to the making of the video for their hit collaboration, Bye Bye. The two artistes recorded the song together and it is on Asem’s 16-track Solid Ground album. Apart from Kwabena Kwabena, other artistes on the album were Irene Logan, Dampoo, DJ Black and JR from South Africa. A few weeks ago, Kwabena Kwabena said on Etv’s Late Night Celebrity Show that he did not take any money from Asem for his contribution to Bye Bye but couldn't explain why he wasn't in the video. That gave rise to speculation that a rift had cropped up between the artistes. Asem, however, explains that he was in Paris by the time fans were expecting the Bye Bye video and he had no option than to go ahead with it without Kwabena Kwabena. “I had no intention of sidelining Kwabena Kwabena. We could not be in the video together due to miscommunication. Anytime I was ready for Kwabena Kwabena, he was busy with other things. I also could not be available when he was free and since the song was all over the place, I needed to shoot the video.” Asem said he received a lot of comments from his fans asking why Kwabena Kwabena wasn't in the Bye Bye video. He apologized to fans who felt hurt by Kwabena Kwabena’s absence in the video. “Kwabena Kwabena and I have sat over the issue since I got back from Paris and we have resolved it. There is more collaboration coming up between us.” Asem described Kwabena Kwabena as a talented musician and added that his unique touch on Bye Bye contributed to him (Asem) getting seven nominations at this year’s Vodafone Ghana Music Awards. Kwabena Kwabena would not say much on the perceived rift when contacted. He, however agreed that there was miscommunication over the issue and that was why he did not appear in the video. Noted for other songs like No More Kpanyo and Pigaro, the handsome young artiste said the success of Bye Bye has proved that the Asem brand is not dead. He revealed that his next album would be ready by his next birthday on July 3.

Source: Kofi Duah/Graphic Showbiz

Kwabena Kwabena honoured by University of Ghana

Thank you, I’m honoured”, highlife musician Kwabena Kwabena says to Dr Awo Asiedu, Director of The School of Performing Arts of the University of Ghana, Legon.

This was last Friday March 29, 2013 when the Music Department of the school honoured Kwabena Kwabena for his contributions to the development of highlife music in Ghana.

Before receiving the plaque and the citation from the music department Kwabena Kwabena real name George Kwabena Adu had thrilled the students with good music like Aso, Engya Me Ho, Dabi, and Menewoa.

Kwabena Kwabena who received the award with his wife Abena Owusuaa, thanked the music department for recognizing his works and urged the students not to give up in whatever they aim at.


ghanaweb.com

Insulting P-Square was childish – Bandana tells Samini

Was it right or wrong for Ghanaian dancehall colossus Samini to have chastised Nigerian music duo P-Square for their ‘Alingo’ dance?

Charles Nii Armah Mensah Junior popularly known in showbiz circles as Bandana thinks it was childish for Samini to have done a song to diss the duo. He says it will be difficult to defend in the law court that P-Square stole our Azonto.

He said in an interview with Flex newspaper that the ‘Alingo’ dance is on its own just as ‘Azonto’. “There is this saying that pay attention to your interior matters. Any time I do music that has something to do with him he doesn’t reply but saw it necessary to respond to P-Square. He has painted a bad picture about Ghana,” he noted.

Did Bandana hit it straight to the point or he is just being a 'player-hater' or is he trying to get a kind of favour from P-Square, what do you think?

flexyghana

Empire Entertainment & Okyeame Kwame’s deal for this Thursday

Nathaniel Kwabena Anokye Adisi also known as Bola Ray is set to make history with the signing of Okyeame Kwame unto his entertainment powerhouse Empire Entertainment which houses other musicians like Guru, Double, Dr. Slim and other talented Ghanaian artistes who are being nurtured for mainstream success.

The history making signing is scheduled for Excel Lounge on Thursday, March 28. Contrary to what people are saying, Okyeame Kwame will not abandon his own record label, instead, Empire Entertainment will team up with the label to project his brands as well as handle his PR and other important areas.

This is not the first time, a top rapper is being signed by a vibrant management company like Empire but what perhaps separates this signing from that of the many is that both brands have distinguished themselves well and earned great respect in their various endeavours.

Empire Entertainment owned by Nathaniel Kwabena Anokye Adisi over the years has established itself as a credible Event & Artiste Management Company. They have created a niche as not only reliable but as a force to reckon with in terms of organising events and building brands for entertainers.

Several successful events like ‘Ghana Meets Naija, ‘Color Blocking’ HOOK UP Party’ speak volume of Empire Entertainment’s authority in organizing success shows. They also contributed to the execution of the hugely success ‘Let It Rain Concert’ by Badu and the ‘Chris Brown Live in Ghana Concert’.

Over the last few years, Empire Entertainment has successfully designed and put together strong brands for artistes like Guru and Dr. Slim.

Okyeame Kwame on the other hand is a pure rap talent who has stayed true to the Hip Life genre and rightly so deserves the tagline “one of the biggest rappers of all time in Ghana” of his generation.

What such merger will bring to the entertainment industry in Ghana can only elevate the industry. Now can you understand why announcement of the signing last week has generated so much interest?

Source: Ebenezer Anangfio

Radio Presenter Arrested Again

Princess Asie Ocansey at the CID headquarters yesterday   Related Stories   Princess Asie Ocansey, a lady pastor, has been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service on fresh charges of human trafficking and other offenses including fraud. The 52-year-old Chief Executive Officer of the Channel of Blessing Ministry was arrested in February this year on similar charges but was granted a GH¢20,000 bail. The suspect was yesterday re-arrested following reports by more than a dozen young women claiming to be victims of the human trafficking business. She was arrested about 9am and was quickly sent to her home at Trassaco then to her office at Tema for a thorough search by a team of CID officials. Sources close to the CID unit told Daily Guide that the suspect owns three organizations namely Nacotec, Gold Tech and Channel of Blessing Ministry, which she claimed to be operating as non-governmental agencies but ended up using them as job placement agencies and a church. The suspect, who hosts the Channel of Blessing programme on an Accra-based radio station on Saturday afternoons, preaches the word of God and mostly motivates her listeners with her inspirational messages. At the end of each show, she advertises her organisation’s ability to recruit young and energetic people for job opportunities in countries in the Middle East such as Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, USA and Canada. She often made her recruits, who were expected to be below age 35, to believe they would work as shopkeepers in supermarkets or as domestic servants and butchers. Some young people were also recruited on Princess Ocansey’s visit to churches in Accra, Tema and other places. The CID sources told Daily Guide that most of the victims, who had formally reported following an earlier report of the arrest of Princess Ocansey in the media, claimed she took various sums of monies as fee for her services. Some of the victims suffered the ordeal in 2009 and beyond. “She charged some of her clients in local currency while for others she quoted US dollars,” said the CID sources who stated that the charges ranged between GH¢200 and $2000. The police sources said since the suspect was granted bail after her first arrest, she had been on an “image cleansing campaign by personally calling some of her victims and refunding their monies to them Nicodemously”. The suspect also held a press conference to deny that she had been arrested by the police for human trafficking. She also reportedly solicited the support of pastors, chiefs and opinion leaders to either call on media houses which carried the story on her arrest to retract the story or issue rejoinders. The police said investigations were still ongoing while preparations were underway to put her before court on charges of human trafficking and defrauding amongst others. It would be recalled that on February 6, 2013, it was reported that based on a complaint by the US Embassy and a 27-year-old lady whose identity was not made known for security reasons, Princess Ocansey was arrested for human trafficking. According to the story, the police said the young woman, who was a staunch Christian, was allegedly lured to Kuwait by the suspect, believing that she would live a better life but was shocked by what she went through on her arrival in the Middle East country. The police said the young woman was pushed into prostitution and ended up in Ghana with a serious mental problem. She claimed to have heard the announcement on the radio and followed up to Princess Asie Ocansey’s office in Tema. After a few days of orientation, seven of them were sent to Kuwait to work in a huge supermarket. She said on arrival, they were met by three Arab men who packed all them and their luggage into a car. As soon as they arrived at their destination, their passports, luggage and mobile phones were taken from them. Thereafter, they were pushed into a room where they met young women from other countries. They were not given water or food for the two days they stayed in the room with poor ventilation. It was locked from outside and opened when men from various recruiting agencies came to select those they thought could serve their purpose and took them away. The victim said when she was picked by a man, she thought she was going to start work in a supermarket but she was moved from one location to another, sleeping with men, and at a point she passed out because she couldn’t take it anymore. She was able to get in touch with her family through the doctor who treated her in the hospital in Kuwait, after which her relatives compelled Princess Ocansey to bring her back to Ghana. Spotted in a white straight dress, Princess Ocansey prevented photojournalists from taking pictures of her yesterday when she returned from the search in her house. It was not immediately known if the police found any evidence in her house or office as police officers were tight-lipped.   Princess Ocansey     Source: Emelia Ennin Abbey / D-Guide

Arizonal Music Group Comes To Ghana

Arizonal Music Group Over the week, the entertainment fraternity in Ghana welcomed the birth of a new record label-Arizonal Music Group. It is the trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings. It manages all brands of music, coordinates the production, manufacture, marketing and promotion of music. Then, the label silently before now managed acts like Sylvia, El Hardy and J.Nino, who have all grown into matured minds and still running solid under the firm built group-AMG. One of the objectives of the music group stands is on discovering and developing new artist, broadening their consumer base, market their albums, give maximum publicity in the positive direction. The group’s signed acts are currently flourishing with Sylvia already out with two singles which is doing well on the local and international scene. El Hardy and J.Nino are cooking their own singles and soonest, the management is planning on a nationwide tour in respect to bring them closer to their fans. You can follow them on www.facebook.com/arizonalmusicgroup. http://showbiz.peacefmonline.com