Music of Tuesday, 29 November 2005

Source: ghanamusic.com

Akasakyerema Is Here To Stay

I walked in to Afrikoko one Sunday morning some two weeks ago to conduct an interview with a producer who is getting ready with a film splash.

He wanted to travel to Kumasi that Morning, yet insisted on the interview. I made the time grudgingly and truly the guy didn’t turn up.

But as I was passing, I saw a familiar face. I didn’t know where we had met. So I asked him to introduce himself after telling him I believed we belong in the same circle. And there he was Osahene.

This hiplife couple, was out some three years ago with a big hit ‘Se Mi Ye’ under the aegis Akasakyerema.

They were then waiting for a director and video crew to go and shoot a video on their latest hit ‘Driver’ which has just burst on the market. It is right out, being distributed by Slip Music Company.

They are also under a new artiste management, Sound Image Production.

The title of the audio cassette (the CD and the clip to follow shortly) is ‘Driver’. It has tracks including ‘Jole’ (twi) whilst ‘Driver’ and ‘Talk of the Town’ are both in twi and English.

However, the thriller on the cassette is ‘Birthday’. Birthday anniversaries are a Ghanaian rite of passage that are not taken for granted. So they assure you. If their ‘Birthday’ hit is not played at your anniversary could well be a funeral.

Some of the lines include: “Meefia si ene ye ni birthday, Jessica si ene ni birthday, Whain ni me da ni ghetto”.

Not all tracks are hiplife. Most of them are what they call contemporary hi-life. The hi-life singer, Naa Agyeman featured them on ‘Odo’.

They assure their fans that this time around, they are here to stay and to record consistently. During the Stadium Disaster Show, they were the youngest group that featured side by side Lord Kenya, Reggie Rockstone, Obrafour and others.

‘Help Me’, the theme song for the 2002 UNICEF Street Child Project was performed by them and launched at the National Theater by the President J. A. Kuffour.

‘Se Mi Ye’ was used as a jingle at one time for the Radio and TV Personalities Awards Night.

They were the first to appear on the Joy 99.7 FM show, A Night with the Stars. They have been around since 1993.