Dancehall Africa

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2014 GMW FESTIVAL KICKS OFF WITH ‘GHANA MUSIC DAY’ ON MARCH 3rd

Fellow musicians and lovers of Ghanaian music;
On behalf of the Musicians Union of Ghana, I wish to draw the attention of our great country to the 2014 GMW Festival, a very important development-oriented event coming off from 3rd March to Saturday, 8th March 2014.
GMW Festival is primarily about Education, Arts, Culture, Tourism, Awards and more. It is the official meeting ground for those leading and shaping our industry; bringing together and encouraging participation of artistes, stakeholders, the media, policy makers and music users. GMW seeks to be recognized as the biggest music festival and conferences in Africa within the next 5 years.
In its second year, GMW Festival seeks to help find lasting solutions to the myriads of challenges confronting the music Industry.
We strongly believe that the Union’s relevance should not be reduced to providing only entertainment but creatively engaging to help boost the economic fortunes of Ghanaian musicians and also to support the national development agenda of our great Country. The GMW Festival remains one of the many programs put in place to achieve this goal.
As President of Musiga, I am happy to invite all Ghanaians and the world at large to GMW Festival, which seeks to observe a week by celebrating Ghanaian music and rewarding those who have in diverse ways contributed to its growth and development.
Fellow Ghanaians, friends and users of music, although this event is championed by the Musicians Union of Ghana, I wish to state that it is a national project which goes to the very heart of our lives as a nation. You would agree with me that our entire life as a nation finds expression in music. As our great motherland prepares to celebrate its 57th Independence anniversary, I can confidently say that music would be the major driver bringing Ghanaians together into a mood of celebration and merry making.
We the Musicians Union of Ghana believe that to achieve our noble goal of positioning Ghanaian music as the heartbeat of tourism, the theme of the celebration for the next three years, we acknowledge and concede that the total support of all industry players remains paramount in achieving the common goal of helping improve the general Ghanaian music fraternity. We are therefore calling on all our partners in development, especially the media to own GMW Festival by giving space and airtime in promoting and advancing the good cause of the weeklong celebration of Ghanaian Music. For one week, let us put aside all other topics- politics, even sports, and focus on Ghanaian music.
On behalf of Musiga, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Creative Arts and GIBA, I wish to humbly urge all radio and TV stations in Ghana to dedicate this week (especially, Monday, 3rd of March 2014, which we refer to as Ghana Music Day) to only Ghanaians music.
Let us dedicate this day to honor our hard working musicians who spend sleepless nights in the studio just to ensure that you and I have something to drive whatever mood we find ourselves. This is a passionate and humble appeal we are making and hope we would do this to honor our hardworking musicians.
The key highlights of the 2014 GMW FESTIVAL are:
MONDAY, MARCH 3- Ghana Music Day (On the Air)
We begin activities of TUESDAY MARCH 4 with a major Rollcall of Ghanaian musicians at the National Theater at 9am.The Official Opening Ceremony of GMW Festival comes off at the National Theater at 10am on Tuesday.
On the Same day, Tuesday, March 4, at 1pm, we will have our Stakeholders Forum at the National Theater- a review and validation of KPMG’s comprehensive study of the Ghana Music Sector, commissioned by Musiga and Funded by the Government of Ghana. .
Ghana Music Honours 2014 comes off at the National Theater on Wednesday March 5, 2014. An awards show by musicians for musicians, we will honour 15 deserving musicians and personalities in the music Industry.
Join us for quality Live Band Music at +233 Pub on THURSDAY MARCH 6.
We will have a Music BUSINESS Workshop at the British Council at 10am on FRIDAY MARCH 7. The workshop will focus on ways to market and promote Ghanaian music and musicians in this modern era.
SATURDAY MARCH 8 is the GH. ALL-STAR LIVE Concert, which comes off at the Accra Stadium; where we celebrate Ghana’s 57 Independence Anniversary with 57 Ghanaian hits plus two Jamaican Stars.
I would like to thank our key sponsors for sharing in our dream and supporting this project. Airtel Ghana and Accra Breweries Ltd. Also, thanks to Kasapreko, Ashfoam, Fiesta Condoms, Tecno Mobile, Ideal Finance, Goil, Channel O, Eurostar Limousines, Indomie, Traphix Catering, South African Airways and Arik Air.
Special thanks to our organizing partners- National Theater, British Council, Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, TV3, GH-One, Citi FM and Fantasy Entertainment,
I wish to sincerely thank all Ghanaians especially entertainment review hosts on TV and radio, and writers of entertainment columns for your commitment and dedication to supporting not only the Music industry but the general entertainment industry. Let us work together to make this dream a reality.
Once again I wish to invite all Ghanaians to all our events for the week.
God bless our homeland Ghana.
Thank you.
BICE OSEI KUFFOUR
PRESIDENT, MUSICIANS UNION OF GHANA
March 4, 2014
March 1st : The #DancehallNation Show With Kenny Allstar & Special Guest ‘Blingz’
March 1st : The #DancehallNation Show With Kenny Allstar & Special Guest ‘Blingz’
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March 3, 2014
Should Shatta Wale be nominated for any category at all at this year’s Ghana Music Awards?
Considering Shatta Wale’s “disrespect” to Charter House last year. Should his quest for nomination be rejected so as to serve as a deterrent for other artistes who are likely to do same?
Well after Shatta wale showed disrespect to the organizers of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards by dissing them in his song(s). Because he thinks they cheated him and for not winning the Award in the category he was nominated.
We have heard a lot of artist(won’t mention names) over the years “dissing” Charter House and the Ghana Music Awards after also not being able to win awards or not being nominated for the award. But nobody ever apologized!
Well we all heard Shatta wale again when he apologized to Charter House in another song he released.
So will Charter House the organizers of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards secure Shatta wale an award to avoid being disrespected “dissed” these time?
One thing you should know is that Charter House is just the organizer of the event. Charter House does not own the Ghana Music Awards so Charter House can’t decide who wins an award or not.
It is based on the good work done by the musician and the votes of the fans. The votes will only go for good music I think and for the whole of last year till today Shatta Wale is doing very good.
Now it is up to the fans to vote for him when he gets the nominations.
March 1, 2014
Who is the “Dancehall King”in Ghana
Heavily inspired by the likes of “Shaba Ranks, Buju Banton, Shaggy, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer and many other Jamaican Dancehall superstars.
Dancehall has cemented a place as a strong genre in the Ghanaian music industry. An array of artists have graced the genre in Ghana, over the years we have known a lot of good artists like, “Yoggy Doggy, Soni Bali, Root I, General Marcus, Sammy B, Abrewanana, Mad fish, Batman(Samini), Bandana(Shatta Wale), Screw Face, Stonebowy (Burniton), Atumpan, Kakkie, Shatta Ranko, Episode , Selah Berma (AdiBaritoner) Buddha Man, Dj Buddy and many other more.. But at the end of the day only one deserves the accolade of “King of Dancehall” in Ghana.

Interestingly, the banter of who is the Dancehall King in Ghana stirred up after some recognized artists started their self-glorification of that accolade in their songs. One artist claims he is the African Dancehall King, another says he is the King of Ghana Dancehall and others say they are the best in Ghanaian Dancehall.
Well such self-praise is very much accepted in music. As an artist you can call yourself whatever name and titles are free so you can give yourself any title you want and push that assertion into the minds of your fans.
Let’s us put all the self-glorification aside and try to the name the Dancehall King in Ghana based on industry based criteria such as “ originality, impact on culture and society, awards, longevity, relevance stage presence and influence on the industry.
The Dancehall King must possess some originality that makes him and his music distinct and stands out from the rest, because it is these way that makes the artist identifiable. You can’t claim to be the Dancehall King when you have not survived few years of churning out hit songs, gracing high profile stages and having a formidable fan base.
You surely must have gained enough recognition in the industry and genre as a whole. Being the best means you must be able to rock the stage and his performance should drive the crowd berserk and his exit should leave them wanting more and more.
The King must have paved the way for one or two credible performers in the genre, He must have encrypted his name in the books of Ghanaian music. When his name is mentioned he should exude inestimable pioneers and upcoming artists within the industry.
SO WHO IS THE “DANCEHALL KING “IN GHANA…?
Big Ups and maximum respect to all Dancehall Artists in Ghana (Africa)
February 9, 2014
Shinsoman dispels mental instability rumours
Released on New Year’s Eve, the song titled Akupenga is in response to the allegations that the musician, born Romeo Anthony, suffered a mental condition in December leading to him being hospitalised in South Africa.
Speculation was rife when he failed to attend the King of Dancehall press conference and the subsequent show headlined by Jamaican Turbulence, raising more questions than answers.
However, rumours in the dancehall circles later suggested that Shinsoman had been taken to rehabilitation in South Africa battling a drug abuse complication.
Speaking to Standardlife&style, the musician’s manager Joe Machingura discredited the reports describing them as the “work of the devil”.
“I have been receiving many phone calls enquiring of Shinsoman’s mental health status which is actually shocking to me since he is not mentally disturbed,” said Machingura.
Despite Machingura dismissing the allegations, the matter is being received with mixed feelings among the dancehall fraternity.
Social networks like Facebook have been awash with posts fuelling the speculation, with some saying the Mawaya Waya singer’s behaviour since December has been questionable.
One of the posts read: “Hanzi Shinsoman akupenga kwahi izvo atanga kumhanyisa vanhu makuseni achibvisa hembe zvirikunzi izvo azoendeswa kuGomo Hospital munoionawo sei? #maibesa# (It is said Shinsoman has gone mad. They say he stripped naked and chased around people in the morning and he has been taken to Harare Hospital).”
Meanwhile, another Mbare-bred dancehall chanter Killah T (born Kelvin Kusikwenyu) recently released a song Makazviwana Kupi, also discrediting the rumours.
Apparently, Killah T was in December said to have been arrested for rape and in the song he dispels the rumours.
He also lambasts people who have been peddling the speculation of both his alleged rape and Shinsoman’s mental disorder.
January 5, 2014