She might have reigned in her music career for a brief period but the love shown her by Ghanaians on Sunday at the one-week observation of her passing speaks volumes of one sure thing, “Ebony still Reigns”.
They poured out in thousands from all walks of life: the young and the old; the high and low in society; the fanatic fans and neutral admirers; dressed in their own best mourning clothes to mourn the 20-year old musician whose candle burned out long before her legend will ever will.
The turnout was unimaginable as heavy human traffic forced the Police Service to block the road leading to the venue in Dansoman.
The locals were overwhelmed by the thick crowd but had to soak in what perhaps was the heaviest traffic they had witnessed in years at the area. As the tunes of her music hit the decibels of the grieving ears of mourners, they all joined to hail the reign of Queen Ebony.
“Maame Hwee”; “Date Your Father” ; Hustle” ; “Kupe” ; “Aseda”; “ Poison” - they sang along with all their energies.
Indeed, the force and the titillation, which continually drowned the tears and agony in the background , only epitomised the energy and force that Ebony brought anytime she mounted a stage to uplift the spirits of the down hearted.
Affectionately called ‘Ohemaa’ by most of her friends and relatives, she never disappointed them, and especially her fans, with her traits of a ‘90s badgyal’.
Rarely would see you a galaxy of stars from the creative arts industry, government, the pulpit and the media and elsewhere, gather under one umbrella; as if it was Ghana’s version of the Grammy awards.
But this time, both individually and collectively, they dimmed like the moon, thus only reflecting the shine of the sun that Ebony brought in her strides.
Of course, the crowd who were already in a state of ecstasy, tried to reach out to them, as they proceeded into the St Martin De Porres School Park, but that in no way cause a deviation from the purpose of the gathering .
With solemn and empathic messages from close friends and loved ones, the mourners, at least served, some dishes of relief to Ebony’s parents and siblings.
“You’re not alone,” they seemed to assure them on and on!
Priscilla Opoku Kwarteng, popularly known in showbiz as Ebony Reigns, met her untimely and gruesome death, with two others, in a road accident on Thursday, February 8, at Nyamebekyere in the Ahafo Ano South District.
Her departure is certainly a premature one, but one thing is for sure - whoever gave her that name “Reigns” should be proud that Nana Hemaa is still the Queen, for she’ll reign majestically in the hearts of her myriad of subjects eternally.