Press Release from Museke

MUSEKE.COM LAUNCHES ANNUAL MUSEKE ONLINE AFRICA MUSIC AWARDS

Online African music bible to honour African artists

After three-and-a-half years developing the online portal for information on African music, Museke.com is honoured to announce the launch of the annual Museke Online Music Awards (MOAMA’s).
Museke.com started out in 2006 with the aim of becoming a one-stop-shop for everything related to African music in every genre. Since then, the website has grown from strength to strength, featuring lyrics, interviews, biographies, new music and videos of multitudes of African artists from the continent and the Diaspora across the board.

With the 2010 FIFA World Cup putting the entire African continent on the international map, it is only fitting that the continent’s deserving artists are put on a pedestal, and what better way to do that than with the first ever online music awards that caters to all music tastes on the continent? The continent is alive with different sounds, voices and rhythms, and the MOAMA’s seek to further promote this music through various platforms online. Through the annual MOAMA’s, Museke aims to encourage the unity of Africans through our music.

With a total of 130 nominations in 28 categories which will cover different genres and regions, the MOAMA’s prides itself in encompassing all African music, regardless of video submission, language, genre and country in recognition of excellence in music over the last year. The winners of these prestigious online awards will be rewarded through various avenues of online promotion, which will gain the artists global recognition on museke.com as well as various other media outlets. Nominees will be announced on 8 April and voting will take place on http://awards.museke.com/ until 15 May, with winners being announced on 1 June.

Nations Cup 2010: A Mixed Bag of Experiences

The 2010 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, variously called CAN 2010 (by French speakers) and AFCON 2010 (by English speakers), is earnestly underway in Angola. The biennial tournament brings to the battlefield the powers that be in African football, resulting in the emergence of the continent's ultimate footballing power. While this fiesta has always been exciting, colourful and musical, entertaining global football enthusiasts, this year's tournament has carved for itself a special mix of drama, action, upsets and controversy that is worth observing.

The Togolese team attack

The horrific attack on Togo's national team enroute to Cabinda from Congo, resulting in the death of two members of their contingent and injuries to others, left a sour taste in the mouths of many connoiseurs of the game. Further, it was disturbing that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the tournament organisers refused to postpone any of the matches to accommodate the Togolese predicament. The Togolese team has since, in a dramatic fashion, pulled out of the tournament on the prompting of their government. In the wake of this development, many commentators started to raise questions about security arrangements put in place for the tournament. They were particularly concerned with the safety of players, officials and fans participating in the games in Angola. Also doubts have been expressed in relation to Cabinda's suitability as a host venue. But all that seems to be fading away in memory as the tournament has picked up a fast pace ever since the first ball was kicked at the national stadium in Luanda.

The Rise of the Minnows Where are West African Giants?

The tournament is registering many surprising results, reiterating the fact that there are no longer minnows in African football. Here some of the most shocking results from the games:

Angola 4 Mali 4 (Mali scored their 4 goals within the last 16 minutes of the game)

Malawi 3 Algeria 0 (Algeria have qualified for the World Cup while Malawi are playing their first Nations Cup tournament in over 20 years)

Gabon 1 Cameroun 0

In addition to the above eye brow-raising scorelines, West African teams seem to be having a difficult time at the tourney. The only West African victory over Non-West African opposition so far has been Mali's win over Malawi in the last round of matches in Group A. This dip in form by the region's footballing giants may be of concern to football fans because no team from the West African Football Union (WAFU) has won the African Cup of Nations since Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria's back-to-back conquests in 1992 and 1994 respectively. This observation is really surprising against the back drop a large percentage of the continent's currentr world class football stars hail from sub-region.

No Clear Favourites

Prior to the tournament, many of Africa's leading football teams such as Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Egypt and hosts Angola were lining themselves to lift the trophy. However, the strong performances being put up by the so called soccer minnows means that this cannot be achieved on a silver platter. Already, star-studded Mali has been kicked out of the competition, and it is becoming increasingly likely that either Cameroon or Tunisia will not make it pass the first round. From the few matches that I've watched, it looks like Egypt and Cote d'Ivoire are slightly ahead of the other teams. The Egyptian camp is particularly confident as their coach suggests that there's a dip in the competitive level of the tournament compared to the last two nations cup competitions.

More Action Ahead

The Nations Cup competition will continue until 31st January and looks like there will be more fireworks on the field of play as the tournament progresses into the more competitive rounds. There's a lot at stake for the various teams and individual players, and this will generally increase the competitive nature of the tournament. The African football magic fabric will be woven in the loom of Angola's grassy pitches, amidst singing and drumming, producing rich entertainment for the global football audience. Good luck to all the teams! Viva African football!

PS: Don't forget to share what your CAN experience has been so far. Which team do you think will win the tournament?

Ayigbe Edem: Hiplife’s New Poster Boy

Hiplife has attracted many dedicated followers ever since it emerged as an authentic music genre in Ghana in the early 1990s. For starters, hiplife is a type of Ghanaian music that incorporates some elements of hiphop (particularly rap) into the more popular and traditional highlife music. Due to its high marketability, the the hiplife industry is growing tremendously and consequently experiences a high turnover of musicians and performers. In most people's books, Reggie Rockstone, Obour, Obrafour, Tic-Tac, VIP, Samini, Praye and Sidney would go down as true hiplife greats. Lately, concern has been raised over the quality of hiplife music on offer. A number of music critics contend that there is a low degree of originality emanating from the Ghanaian hiplife scene. A new breed of Ghanaian hiplife artists are exerting their lyrical and rhythmic muscles to reverse this trend. Prominent among them are Kwaw Kesse (Abodam!), Asem, Richie and Ayigbe Edem. Ayigbe Edem's uniqueness is three-fold: language (he is the most notable Ewe rapper today), rhythmic quality and depth of lyrics. He also comes across as a humble and unassuming chap. In separate interviews with ghanamusic.com, Edem emphasises his originality and the irrelevance of language in communicating through music. In a short, concise and direct manner, Edem shares his passions, motivations and dreams with us.

Q: Why do you sing/ what influences your unique style?

A: I sing because that's my passion. Basically good music influences my style, and what happens in our part of the world also does. Every human being is unique -once you find yourself and what you stand for, you will find your style. From there, it takes you constant practice.

Q: Why do you rap in Ewe and not in Twi or English? How easy is it (rapping in Ewe) to accomplish?

A: Cos I don't have to rap in Twi or English...what I have to do to make it is to understand rap as an art form. Nothing is easy to accomplish. PERSEVERANCE is the word

Q: Who are some of the music stars you look up to?

A: Eminem, Mase, Bob Marley and Wyclef.

Q: How big would Ayigbe Edem be in 10 years?

A: Soo big... I aim to have my own record label, to be a guru in the industry and also export my music

Q: How well is the Ghanaian music industry doing? Why is Ghanaian music failing to sell outside Ghana, compared to Nigerian, South African and Congolese music?

A: Cos there is no formal structure in place...

Q: What are some of the interesting aspects of your life that you want to share with your fans beside music?

A: I love education...I am shy and I don't drink or smoke...I am also single

I'd take my leave now, allowing Edem to strut his musical stuff on The Gamelian World.

Ghanaian Youth and Old Skuulism

I have surely realised by now that the life of a blogger is not an easy one. This is because, against my best wishes, i've been unable to update my blog in good time. The only excuse for this desertion is increased workload at work/school. I have since been plagued by bouts of guilty conscience. All the same, i apologise profusely to my few cherished avid readers, and promise to do a better job henceforth. So help me God!

Last Saturday, 27th September, i had the opportunity of partaking in the "Old Skuulz Reunion" organised by Accra-based radio station, Joy Fm. My observations of proceedings at this event has inspired me to come out with this blog entry.

For starters, the programme presents the platform for graduates of Ghana's secondary, now called senior high, school system to meet and reminisce their school experiences. The programme also sets the stage for a wide array of entertainment activities. Because of its hip nature, it predictably draws a lot of youthful audience. This year's event was held at the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre, La-Accra.

I attended this programme for a variety of reasons, but i guess the main ones were the sheer curiosity of observing first-hand the goings-on of this highly-publicised event, the need to meet up with my high school mates, some of whom i've not seen in ages, and to gain some respite after continuous hours of work during the past few weeks. My goals for representing at the old skuulz reunion were largely met.

Typical of a gathering of young people, the ambiance was an interesting mix of colour, style and vibrancy of Ghanaian youth. A cursory glance at the sights and sounds of the Trade Fair Centre on Saturday lays credence to the above assertion. For, revellers at the centre zealously potrayed their alma maters in dress, jama songs and active participation in various competitions that were put together by the organisers. You could see me at the Keta Secondary School Stand singing and dancing to sweet unquenching borborbor songs, alongside folks from other schools in the Volta region. I must at this point appreciate the creative zest of Joy Fm for making all these happen.

Although this may not be the intent of the organisers, this event has degenerated into an expose of deviant and socially-dangerous behaviour, which in the long run will not augur well for the future development of Ghana and Africa. My observations of events at the Trade Fair Centre has led me to this conclusion.

Personally, i have nothing against the comical nature in which some people choose to dress because i think it all adds fun to an event of this nature. However in attempt to appear interesting and trendy, some of my fellow young Ghanaians went wide off the mark. Some of the dress forms on parade spanned from the much-bashed micro skirty "apuskeleke" of some ladies to eye sore of young men shamelessly clad themselves in ladies' wigs and underwears! These daring young people have obviously chosen to avoid the option of relegating these socially-unacceptable behaviours to aour universities where they are now prevalent.

Dress was not the only cause for concern at Old Skuulz Reunion last Saturday. The excessive and vulgar intake of alcohol, cigarettes and i bet... hard drugs was pervasive. I had the displeasure of observing a group of jama singers drench in alcohol that was poured on them by a couple of happy-go-lucky drunk adventurers. That incident is not the best advertisement for one of the foremost entertainment events on the Ghanaian scene.

In addition, there was suprisingly a high number of kids, who were obviously under 18 years at the event. Considering the kind of activities that were unfolding before my very eyes at the programme, i think this development is most unfortunate. Joy Fm should have mapped out a strategy to discourage this youngsters from attending, or sacking them outright if need be.

Another happenning at the Old Skuulz Reunion, worthy of note, was the general disorganised nature of the environment. The streets in the immediate vicinity of the trade fair centre were jammed with people and vehicles. Also noticeable was the completely uncoordianted and directionless movement of human traffic within the event grounds. I believe that the organisers can do a lot to improve this situation by insisting on where people can go and cannot go during during the course of the event.

But it does not only take the initiative of the event organisers to solve these problems. It is equally the duty of the patrons of this event to refrain from vice at this event. It also behoves on parents to prevent their young children from attending gatherings of this nature. That way, there would be no danger of polluting their innocent minds. The police can also come in in their numbers n order to maintain general law and order.

In summary, although the Joy Fm Old Skuulz Reunion is an unmistakable major entertainment fixture on the Ghanaian calender, it is becoming the cooking pot for social entropy. It is the duty of the organisers and other stakeholders to bring the event back on cue.

I would like to end here by encouraging the organisers to take these and other steps in order to consolidate the event's standing in the Ghanaian entertainment list. Peace out!