NOMINEES FOR VODAFONE MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS

 

BEST GROUP VIDEO

VIP                    My Baby

R2Bees               Ajeei

Becca

4x4                     Waist and Power

Rana                   Fly with me

5Five                  Move Back

Ruff and Smooth    Azingele

F.O.I                   One more time

VIP performing at the 020Live Concert

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

Praye                 New Dance

Castro                 Do Da Dance

Sherifa Gunu      Mbrantie

Richie                  Asa Fofro

VIP                      Away

Slim Buster           Love Somebody

BEST PHOTOGRAPHY

Becca                   African Woman

Trigmatic              My Life

Man Sing Angel    Imagination

Bra Kevin Beats    Three Headed Beast

4x4                         Waist and Power

DBlack

DBlack                    Somebody 

Guru                         Mmaa Kuo

Jay Ghartey              Waiting For You

BEST HIPLIFE VIDEO

Obour                      Back to Obour

Stay J                       Sue

R2Bees                     Ajeeii

VIP                          Away

D.Cryme                   Kill Me Shy

Kwaw Kese               For the Popping

Reggie Rockstone      Esewara

Bra Kevin Beats        Three Headed Beast

Guru                         Mmaa Kuo

OKyeame Kwame     Faithful

Asem                          No more kpayor

BEST HILIFE VIDEO

George Darko              Lucky Star

Kwame Zaggy              Just the Two of us

Kwabena Mahia             I go pay

Jay Ghartey                   Me do wo

King David                    Bedi

Bless                                Me dan da

Sarkodie

Adene Best                    Djata Bi

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS

Chase                         Tell me your name

Nu Africa                   Nu Africa

Aj Nelson                   Same Girl

Obour                          Back to Obour

Wuta Kobbi                 Ambulance

BEST EDITING

Iwan                           Who is bad

Asem                           NO more Kpayor

Stay J                         Sue

Richie n Sway            Intoxicated

Sarkodie                     Lay Away

DBlack                       Get on the Dancefloor

4x4                             Waist and Power

BEST COLLABORATION

Stay J & Sarkodie       Sue

Castro & Baby Jet        Do the Dance

Becca and Trigmatic    Push

Eazzy & Richie            One Girl

Reggy & Samini           Esawura

Jay Ghartey & Tinny    Hard all day

DBlack & Kwabena K. Somebody

R2Bees & Sarkodie       Ajeeii

DISCOVERY OF THE YEAR

D.Cryme                         Kill me Shy

Yaw Siki                          Wupe sa

Ziggy                               You say Wetin

Bra Kevin Beats               Three Headed Best

Fritz ft Guru                     Me Do Wo

J-Town                              Guns and Roses

BEST DIRECTED

Becca                                 African Woman

Eazzy                                  One Girl

Guru                                    Mmaa kuo

Jay Ghartey                          Waiting for you

Sarkodie                              Lay Away

Obour                                  Back to Obour

Bra Kevin Beats                   Three Headed Beast

Reggy & Samini                   Esawura

BEST STORYLINE

Obour                                  Back to Obour

Reggie                                  Esewara

Chase                                    Tell me your name

Becca                                   African woman

Trigmatic                               My Jolie

Dbanj getting his groove on at the 020Live Concert

Guru                                      Mmaa Kuo

Eazzy                                     One Girl

OVERALL BEST VIDEO

4x4                                         Waist & Power

Asem                                       No more Kpayor

Bra Kevin Beats                       Three Headed Beast

Becca                                      African Woman

Obour                                      Back to Obour

Okyeame Kwame                    Faithful

R2Bees                                     Ajeeii

Jay Ghartey                             Waiting for You

BEST REGGAE VIDEO

Iwan                                         Tell them

Wa Don                                    High Performance

Sonnie Balli                              OH Why

Blakk Rasta                              Miss Right

Ruff n Smooth                          Time Changes

Stay J

Samini                                       Dadie Tse

BEST FEMALE VIDEO

Becca                                       Push

Eazzy                                       One Girl

Diamond                                  Popping

Sherifa Gunu                            Mbrantie

Sala                                           Falling

Raquel                                       Odo

Efya                                            Sexy Sassy Wahala

BEST MALE VIDEO

Trigmatic                                  MY Life

Asem                                         No more kpayor

D.Cryme                                    Kill me shy

Bra Kevin Beats                        Three Headed Beast

Chase                                          Tell me your name

Okyeame Kwame                        Faithful

Efya

Samini                                         Dadie Kye

BEST AFRICAN ACT

Naeto C                                       10/10

Cabo Snoop                                Windeck

Wizkid                                         Holla at your boy

Ice Prince                                    Oleku

DBlack                                        Get on the Dance floor

Samini                                         Dadie Kye

Dbanj                                           Mr Endowed Rmx

R2Bees                                          Ajeeii

BEST HIPHOP VIDEO

DBlack                                       Get on the Dancefloor

C-Real                                         Ibe the swag

NU Africa                                   Nu Africa

J-Town                                         Guns and Roses

Scientific                                    I Like U girl

Sarkodie                                      Lay Away

Manifest                                      Suffer

Trigmatic                                    My Life

BEST GOSPEL VIDEO

Gifty Osei                                    Fe fee fe

No Tribe                                      Bohye

Cwesi Oteng                                Mercy

Philippa Baafi                              De3ba Wons3m

Lady Prempeh                               Faa Faa

Cecilia Marfo                                Afunu ba

Text name and category of your favourite artiste to shorcode 1738 for all networks.

THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF EMM – EXCLUSIVE MEN’S MAGAZINE

 The second edition of EEM has been launched. Starting a wild rage as seemingly the only Ghanaian magazine for men, this magazine can go beyond the borders of masculinity to being a must-read for the ladies as well.

Master of ceremonies at the event was Lexis on the morning show on Hitz FM. The personalities who graced the high table were Mr Jeweffe Johnson (Founder of A-Place.org), Okyeame Kwame (PRO of MUSIGA), Mr Fred Ofosu Ntiri (Executive Director of Galpre Ltd) and Clement Owusu-Kwakye (Editor-in-chief of EEM.

          Okyeame Kwame is the face of the 2^nd Edition of the Exclusive Men’s Magazine, and thus was present with his lovely family to play a dual role of importance at the event, which kick started with the introduction and short speeches by the personalities at the high table. Shortly after, the event which was also the official Launch of Emi’s models, the audience was treated to a fashion show.

The fashion show was followed by an official declaration of the launch of EEM’s 2^nd Edition by Jeweffe Johnson. Quite an exciting auction took place, starting the bid at GH c500. Ironically, the ladies were the first to step up to buy the autographed copies of Exclusive Men’s Magazine, signed by Okyeame Kwame. Six autographed copies were sold at interesting and rewarding prices.

Born in 2009, the idea of Exclusive Men’s Magazine was sparked and groomed in Clement Owusu-Kwakye. Its articles are heavily influenced by the Editor-in-Chief’s love for fashion and his profession as a car salesperson. He identified the problem of the lack of male lifestyle magazine, thus set about to correct it, inspired by magazines such as JQ magazine, a lifestyle magazine for men in the UK.

The 2^nd Edition of Exclusive Men’s Magazine is quite the juicy package with a biography and exclusive interview with Okyeame Kwame (the face of the 2^nd Edition), important style development tips for men interested in looking good and marketable, healthy living tips, pictures from fun events such as Ghana Meets Naija, the Ghana Movie Awards and a Night of 1012 Laughs and relationship advice. The magazine goes beyond the frontiers of Ghana to include an Exclusive on Will Smith and foreign movies released this year. To add to its uniqueness, EEM includes articles on oil exploration, Banking and Finance and of course, men’s favourite topics: football and cars.

Exclusive Men’s Magazine – Ghana’s Premier Men’s Lifestyle Magazine

VODAFONE MUSIC AWARDS LAUNCH

An official launch thrown in the midst of a wild party officially announced the upcoming awards that everyone is so looking forward to. Nominees have been selected thus the launch/party, held at African Reagent Hotel, celebrated their achievement as well.

MCs for the event were Christal Jean of eTV and Lazy of VIP who did quite a good job circulating within the crowd, announcing the arrivals of mega-personalities in the industry, raising the hype level to soaring levels.

Talk about a mass of people and A-list celebrities!

Fashion was taken to soaring levels that night. Short cocktail dresses accessorized with killer-inch pumps, tear-drop earrings, beyonce-style long hair (wavy or straight) was the uniform of many of the ladies present. However, there was the funky, freaky in shiny tights mountain-high Mohawks.

Reggie Rockstone, as always, looked very classy in an white suit and a matching white hat on his neat locks. Efya in tights, a tube top in matching pumps. D-Black had a long gold chain with the face of a white Jesus Christ around his neck. Interesting fashion statement but a white Jesus Christ, for goodness’ sake? Thought we had cleared this little lie ages ago! John Dumelo showed up quite formal in dark grey trousers and a white dress shirt, sleeves rolled up, and unbuttoned to reveal just the right amount of chest to tease his female admirers. There was also quite a lot of Afrochic going on. How beautiful are own designs! The ushers looked incredibly hot showing off their flat stomachs in white ripped tops and jeans.

Of course, there were those that really did not give a damn. Fred Niamah showed up wearing in a well-tailored suit finished off with house slippers. (??!)

The incredible night saw amazing performances by Man Sing Angel, Ziggy, 4x4. Highlights of the night were a Music Video Awards documentary, announcement of the newly added categories to the Awards ceremony, speeches by Uche (Chief Marketing Officer of Vodafone) and Ignace (CEO of 4syte).

To follow this forerunner, is a Vodafone Music Video Awards Nominees’ Jam on the 5^th of November at Miklin Hotel in Kumasi at 7.30pm. VIP is to launch their latest album at the Jam on that day as well. The afterparty would be held at Vienna City in Kumasi.

Another Nominees’ jam would be held in Accra on the 12^th of November at Citizen Kofi at 8pm. Afterparty would follow at the Afrodisiac NiteClub.

VIP at last year's awards ceremony

Join in to celebrate and support the growth of Ghanaian Music!

Check out Nominees for Vodafone Music Video Awards

MAVADO VS SAMINI AT THE ACCRA SPORTS STADIUM

Despite the problems this concert seemed to be jinxed with, Mavado finally came on live at the Accra Sports Stadium…although those jinxes still seemed to follow.

1^st Jinx: The initial date of the show had to be postponed due to a last-minute scratched up match between Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.

2^nd Jinx: Heavy rain deciding to pour heavily in the middle of the show when the audience had been either bored to death or amused to laughter with unfathomable, clownish acts that were supposed to hype the audience for more. Just didn’t work out.

3^rd Jinx: Dancehall/ reggae seemed to spring licenses from nowhere to smoke weed in the open. The stadium was ablaze in ganja, a smoke tribute to the love of dancehall and reggae musical expression. A little bird whispered in my ear about a policeman being passed a sumptuous roll of weed in a corner. The declared upright citizen of Ghana looked around stealthily and took a deep puff…for the love of Ghana!

4^th Jinx: high tempers and raised fists backstage somehow found its way on stage. Talk about drama!

Dancehall songstress, Kaki, was the first act that made the multitude of Mavado-lovers remember why they came to the show in the first place. Dressed in skintight, black leather pants, fitting over her generous hips and thighs, and a matching grey nude top, completed in heels, Kaki had the men salivating, and the women…not jealous, but taking a few lessons in sexiness. She appropriately started with a viciously sexy rendition of Gyptian’s “Hold Ya”, swinging her hips and thighs in circular motions. This coupled with the circular motions of her sweet, smooth voice (the kind of voice that does not try to be what it’s not) was a great aphrodisiac. She went on to perform other songs, including her popular single, “Too Much”, shoulder movements and swag proved her words true.

Kaki was followed by Nii and Yaw Siki singing “wop3 dodoo” which had the energetic audience roaring a sing-along.

Then a bomb dropped in the form of the King of the Streets, Kwaw Kese, complete in army combo and a huge, thick, pink scarf that reached his knees. To complete his haughty, aloof, and positively, dripping with swag look, were the ever present stunners. It is said, if you wanna look fly, just slip on the darkest shades (even when the sky is dark and you have no need of it.)  Performing some of his latest tracks, “Ma Kwan” and “Popping”, demonstrated why he and nobody else is the King of the Streets, at least when it comes to his genre of music. Kwaw Kese is the one man that can make rational adults, including George Bush, fold their fists and knock it against their heads and say “Abodam” with gleeful pleasure.

It was after this electrifying performance that the rain decided to douse the fire of the stadium. People run for cover in a very coverless stadium. The heavy rain set back the program about an hour, as when it stopped raining, the audience had to wait patiently, albeit forced, for the stage to be set up again, and instruments tuned.

It was after this forced, long intermission that the concert picked up pace. Performances by Okomfo Kwadee, R2bees, 4x4, and Sarkodie, performing back to back took the crowds to a crazy high.

R2bees’ performance was disturbed by technical difficulties, thus their whole performance was a creative and innovative mix of singing, adlibbing and including their audience in their popular tracks without instrumentals. The crowd definitely loved them, understood the problem, and sang along heartily. However, rumor backstage was R2bees were positively pissed with the organizers of the show for messing them up, and possibly threatening the image of a well-built brand.

4x4 kept up the energy with tracks like “Waist and power” and “Yesi Yesi”.

Sarkodie, landing in Ghana just two days before the show after his tour in the States, dropped in fluid motion, spitting and tongue-twisting Twi with English in his speed-of-light way. Azonto dances were instantly the thing to do at that particular moment, and was it done! Even MC for the night, Bola Ray, couldn’t help but jump on stage to show us his versions of this dance that has caught so much fire all over. The wait was definitely worthwhile.

It was after Sarkodie that the two key dancehall performers were to be ushered to their eagerly waiting audience: Samini from Ghana and Mavado from Jamaica.

Samini commenced, his performances starting off on a very slow note…despite the very dramatic entry, hoisting the flags of Ghana and Ethiopia, and a long intro before the man himself finally stepped onto that stage.  We got to wondering, where has our Samini gone? A big ‘However’ follows this statement because we were fooled. Samini filled the whole stadium with his charisma and talent and basically had the whole audience in him. What made Samini phenomenal that night was not the performance of his tracks, but the contrived free-styling Samini is known for and rose to the top because of. His flexibility in singing about anything and everything around him at the moment and making sense, both lyrically and rhythmically, captured his audience with a firm grip. One of his freestyles had everyone removing one piece of clothing, another telling his audience how ‘they’ wanted to kick him off the stage for Mavado to come up, basically connecting with his audience in sing-song conversational tunes. His performance was up to standard and more, a tribute to the truth of Samini as the Ghanaian Dancehall/ Reggae King, which Iwan just recently seriously contested and even won an award for.

Mavado reaching to his big audience

Mavado finally came up on stage to the gleeful delight of his fans, yelling “Ache saaaa” – great way to steal the attention of his Ghanaian audience from the great performance that had just ended. Starting on a good note, he commenced his performance with “I’m So Special”, a track madly popular in Ghana. His energy and enthusiasm were on very high levels. His performance slumped for quite some time when he began performances of songs the crowd did not know but were benevolently trying to appreciate and even sing along to. The slump was broken off from time to time with a few more of his tracks that had the audience roaring up again: “I’m on the Rock”, “Messiah, “Pepper”, “Gangsta for life” and  “Hope and Pray”.

The show which started at 11:00pm had Mavado inevitably performing to the wee hours of the morning. Now the question was raised constantly:

Mavado vs Samini?

Artistes billed to perform such as Raquel, Efya, Iwan, Dr. Cryme and Castro did not perform, perhaps due to the late start of the program, and the huge amount of time the rain stole. One cannot help but add another reason as the waste of time given to those sloppy artistes in the beginning of the show, which would have been used more wisely by any of the above mentioned artistes.

All in all, the concert, organized by Samini, Fantasy Entertainment and sponsored by MTN Ghana, could most definitely take the crown for recording one of the largest crowds in a single show, largely because it was made quite affordable to the public.

Also, it would have a record of worst disasters in one show, though being stopped by rain is much more plausible than the unexplained 40-minute break of darkness at the Trey Songz concert.

Yet another thing to draw notice to: the involvement of the phone networks in the music industry. This year alone has seen Mario in Ghana, supported by Tigo, Trey Songz in Ghana, supported by Vodafone and now Mavado in Ghana supported by MTN.

A big kudos to these networks for supporting the growth of the Ghanaian music industry, as well as putting Ghana on the map worldwide. Ghana may now not only be known as the country where Asamoah Gyan and Essien come from but the latest, fanciest destination of world-acclaimed music artistes.

REAL LIFE PAN-AFRICAN DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL IS HERE AGAIN!

Sixth Edition of the Real Life Documentary Festival has come round once again, bringing to Accra another exciting forum for watching brilliant films, engaging in tete a tetes with filmmakers, producers, scholars and community activists on films. These films explore a wide range of relevant topics, telling the story of Africa in diverse ways. Not only does this festival encourage Africans to tell their own stories and to take creative risks, it networks these stories not only to Africans but to the public and filmmakers worldwide. The festival also focuses on whetting the youth’s appetite for filmmaking, encourage young filmmakers, and giving them a platform to learn, exchange ideas and network with film gurus across Africa and worldwide.

This year’s edition explores the relationship between fiction and documentary in African cinema. Thus, the festival showcased many strict documentary-style films, as well as films which blurred the lines between fiction and documentaries, with its fictional characters but realist approach to story-telling.

Films

Eyo, by Olubusola Akinwunmi Holloway: The ‘Eyo’ festival is a traditional masquerade play in Lagos, a tradition which has been in existence for over 300 years, in the coastal town of Lagos. The origin of the masquerade has always been shrouded in mystery. There are some masquerades which should not be photographed, and this masquerade is not an exception. It is especially a taboo for the “Adamu Orisha”, the head of all Eyo masquerades, to be captured on camera. However, Holloway manages to capture quite a substantial amount of this important Nigerian tradition on camera without revealing any deadly secrets! This film is made even more valuable in its exploration of the origins of this mysterious masquerade. An important aspect of African traditions and culture captured for posterity as this film does, sends the powerful message that we should not discard our past or our culture – the quintessential elements of what defines us as Africans.

Bar Beach Blues, by Femi Odugbemi: This thirty-minute film is one of those specially chosen ones which prove the immense use of fiction in documentary. This film takes its audience to a real place, Bar Beach, with fictional characters, but tells true-to-life stories. The hidden horrors of the popular Bar Beach are brought to light in a satirical manner: corruption, fraud, hypocrisy, theft, poverty and many more. If examined on the surface, Femi Odugbemi brings to his audience the realities of what still happens on Bar Beach : beggars, children, prostitutes, fake religious men conniving to work together for evil. On the other hand, Femi tells a much deeper story if Bar Beach is seen a metaphor for what really happens in our African societies, in politics, business and religion. These very different facets of our society which are the fulcrum of our society, commit crimes of hypocrisy, connive, steal and work for personal gain. No doubt, these are the resounding lessons to be learnt in this documentary/fiction, despite the amateurish acting.

Freedom Riders, by Stanley Nelson: This film takes its audience back to an important time in World history: the struggle of African Americans in their horrid position as an inferior race of people. The film examines the segregationist policies of the Jim Crow system which established rules that kept white and black in different sections, in the buses, in restaurants, and even in restrooms. This system thrived and was violently enforced in many states, particularly the southern states, while the federal government, under the Kennedy administration remained indifferent, preoccupied with matters abroad. That is until an integrated band of college students (black and white) – many of whom were the first in their families to attend a university – decided, en masse, to risk everything and make a loud enough statement about the hypocrisies of the Jim Crow system in America, the land of the “Free”. This mixed group of black and white students working together bought tickets and boarded Greyhound buses headed for the dangerously racist deep South, and refused to obey the segregationist rules of blacks sitting at the back of the bus and whites enjoying the more spacious front seats. They called themselves the Freedom Riders and these brave groups of students suffered the worst forms of hatred possible, even to points of being gassed out of the bus to be lynched. It took this brave act to draw the attention of the President who was occupied with portraying to the world what a free and fair world America was supposed to be. This struggle for the civil rights of blacks drew the attention of the world and revealed the hypocrisy of America to the Germans and communists. In recognition of Nelson’s efforts and filmmaking genius, “Freedom Riders” has just won three Primetime Emmys.

The Witches of Gambaga, by Yaba Badoe: This extraordinary documentary chronicles a community of women who live as witches in a section of Northern Ghana. Shot over the course of five years, Yaba Badoe gets the accused women to tell their woeful and unjust stories, and the realities of male supremacy and religious belief taken to extreme levels are revealed. Yaba Badoe does not attempt to preach, blame or prescribe in this documentary. She simply captures on camera the realities of this monstrosity for her audience and leaves them to judge what should be done about the situation.

Pennies for the Boatman, by Niyi Coker: Set in the black neighborhood of St. Louis in 1958, this is yet another film screened which showcases the important blend of fiction and documentary. The film tells the story of two very different African American sisters, who suffer the trauma of a dead mother, an absentee dad, and an uncle who sexually abuses them. Both sisters grow up, dealing with their trauma in very different ways: one finds her strength in the church and her family, while the other finds hers in hurting, destroying the men in her life, and blaming her sister for all their troubles. The story begins with the wild sister form New York coming back home to her sister in St. Louis for two reasons: running away from the coldness of New York after spending ten years in Jail, and to destroy her sister’s life. This story brings the realities of the time to its audience: black inferiority and white supremacy, sexual abuse by family, and many more. This film is based on the play “The Seamstress of St. Francis Street” by Mario Farwell, which won the 2008 E. Desmond Lee Playwriting Contest for Full Length Productions. This film was premiered for the opening ceremony.

Nyamanton, La Lecon des Ordures, by Cheick Oumar Sissoko: This fiction/documentary contained the right amount of power with which to end the film festival. Cheick Oummar, with fictional characters acting as themselves, brings to life the hardships of poverty, class systems, child labour, greed, and corruption in Mali in 1983. What makes this film profound is that twenty-odd years later, circumstances have still not really changed. Those issues are still very much a part of African societies today: the gaping difference between rich and poor, little boys working hard in the scorching sun to help feed their families, children having to carry their own chairs and tables to schools, school becoming a profitable business instead of the societal duty it is to perform in educating the people, doctors refusing to treat emergencies without payment, resulting in the death of some patients, little girls working as hawkers threatened daily by lecherous men, and many more outstanding issues. However, the facts of the typical close-knit African family, the beautiful, yet ironical fact of laughter being very much a part of poverty-ridden people’s lives to be able to deal with the pain of their status, are veru wonderfully captured in the film. Cheick Oummar tells this painful story in a comedic way which actually has his audience laughing despite some pretty emotional scenes. The film ends on a strongly emotional scene which establishes the utter lack of hope and an increase in desolation. Cheick Oummar suggests no solutions but simply conveys a sense to his audience that the suffering of these poor section of society may continue indefinitely and twenty-eight years later, it is still here!

Other films shown were: Africa is back (By Stanley Nelson), Mining for change (by Eric MIyeni), Indochina, Traces of a Mother (By Idrissou Mora Kpai), Headlines in History (by Judy Kibinge), and the Rabbit Theory (by Rinske Bossch and Nicole Batteke)

Lydie Diakhate and Akwam Amkpa are the founders and directors of this great event. Kudos to them and all who supported this event! The next edition of the Real Life Documentary Festival comes off on the 4^th to 7^th of October 2012.

It is a wonderful thing to take one’s eyes from what is supposedly the ‘race of life’ from time to time, and remember one’s duties and obligations to humanity in whatever way one can. This festival definitely achieves that, especially in its inclusion of the youth, and its bid to educate them through the profound medium of film.