Music of Friday, 8 September 2006

Source: ghanamusic.com

Captain Planet Discussing Possible Duet Album With Babashanti

The last days of August were intense with a lot of entertainment activity and Akon?s video shoot in the capital taking precedence over everything. The US based Senegalese Hiphop icon was in the country with a throng of MTV directors and production people to film the video for his new single ?Mama Africa?.

The commercial value and exposure the project brought had a thousand and one cash handles and the media companies and entertainment had plenty to be happy for.

Boomerang Nightclub launched the salvo with a pre-shoot party in honor of the Atlanta native for which he didn?t show. Barely a week later, the Caprice party house advertised another Akon party that saw one of the biggest rave crowds only for them to be played again.

The radio ad had set the tone for what was supposed to have been the biggest party this side of the Atlantic and the MTV factor put a rather nice ring to it. But by some freak happening, Akon decided to take his ?Konvict? entourage to Aphrodisiac instead.

That singular decision has set precedence for seething tensions between the owners of Aphrodisiac and Boomerang. Word got around real quick and soon all the rave roads led to ?Aphro? and the owner of the club, Confidence, is basking in her new status.

The little cottage behind the club serves as a command centre for her employees and even as John Legend moans from the stereo system next to her, the only female club owner in Africa is busy negotiating show money for her artistes, barking at her hair stylist and making arrangements for a baby shower on three phones almost at the same time. Confidence is going through what has become standard routine. She says rumours of her scheming to have the Akon party at her club are just false.

?Akon is a star and he chooses where he wants to hang out,? she says. ?His visit has helped with Aphrodisiac?s branding as the classiest nightclub in the country and for me that means a lot.?

Portions of Akon?s video were supposed to have been shot inside Boomerang but a change in schedules didn?t allow that and the extras were left hanging to say the least. In an interview on Joy FM the CEO of Boomerang didn?t as much as apologize for misleading the public more than once. This was after an abusive exchange off air with the presenter Bola Ray. His reason was that the presenter was conspiring with others to run down ?Boom?.

Bola?s topic for last Friday?s ?Drive Talk? programme was on Akon?s supposed party at Boomerang that never was. The situation had been bubbling under for a while and the capital is waiting to see how it plays out. For what it?s worth, party ?animals? in Accra deserve an apology for being stood up twice and it would be nice if nightclubs enjoying major party traffic took their crowds seriously. A free for all jam with drinks on the house just might settle it.