2005 UNITY Tour featuring OBOUR, BATMAN, K. K. FOSU & KOKOVELLI ? Canada Tour

The Canadian leg of the 2005 UNITY Tour featuring Obour, Batman, K.K. Fosu and Kokovelli kicked off in Toronto on Saturday, May 14th, proceeded to Ottawa on Saturday, May 21st, and concluded on Sunday, May 22nd in Montreal. The three-city tour successfully showcased Ghanaian HIP LIFE music to a cross section of Canadian music lovers and gave a promotional boost to HIP LIFE music in Canada.

The Toronto concert was well organized and promoted, and should serve as a template for future such shows across North America. The multi-media promotions included print (flyers, posters, newspapers), radio, TV and Internet. The concert was held at the Pine Valley Banquet Hall in the Northwest district of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The show was well patronized with an estimated attendance of 700 and, furthermore, was incident-free.

The Toronto show started at 9:30pm, and featured six local Canadian HIP HOP and HIP LIFE performing artists, namely Joe Louis, Genesis, 2Shades, Ateasefour, D Brown, and Shaolin & Kysta Luu. The Toronto show also featured six female (Perpetual, Dora, Theresa, Rita, Sandra, Jennifer) and four male (Mike, Louis, Godbless, Robert) talented dancers as supporting cast and ace choreographer, Ebenezer. DJ Shorty was at the helm of the sound and intelligent lighting systems, provided by Illusion Sound & Lighting Co.

After approximately two hours of performances by the alternating line-up of local HIP HOP and HIP LIFE artists, Kokovelli, sporting the flashiest outfit of the night, started off the main part of the show, and brought the crowd to it?s feet with songs mainly from his latest CD compilation. Featured songs during Koko?s set included the HIP HOP song ?Nsuo no amuna? and crowd-favourite ?African Woman? with dance routines by the six lovely female dancers.

Koko?s set ended with his rousing introduction of the ?dancehall stopper?, Batman, with Koko chanting ?BAT? and the crowd responding with ?MAN?. The ?Best of All Times? (?BAT?) man came on stage with all lights turned off amidst artificially generated ?smoke? donning tank top and pants with the green, gold, and red colours of Ghana and Jamaica. Batman?s entrance on stage was a show by itself as the crowd cheered as the stage lights illuminated to reveal his landmark pose. Batman then proceeded to prep up the frenzy crowd with repeated chanting of ?T.O., are you ready?? He started up his set with a wicked reggae dancehall tune followed by all his favourite solo hits including ?Do Something?, ?Egwee?, and the smash hit ?Linda?.

Batman concluded his solo set by introducing the ?D-Styler?, K. K. Fosu, who stormed unto the stage full of energy. As usual, K. K. sustained the energy level of the crowd with his energetic stage presence, lyrical prowess, and flowing beats performing songs such as ?Kyere Me?, ?Hunan?, ?Anadwo Yede? from his latest CD, ?Anadwo Yede?.

K. K. concluded his set by introducing the ?Konkontibaa? man, Obour, who performed songs from all his three CDs, closing out his set with ?Shine Your Eye? and two versions of Konkontibaa, with the final version featuring Batman. Monica, the female lead singer from local T.O. HIP LIFE group, Ateasefour, featured on both versions of Konkontibaa. T.O.?s own Nana Kwame also featured with Obour on one song during which Obour acrobatically swung and held his right leg over Nana Kwame?s shoulder.

The Toronto show concluded with a final set by the ?Trinity? featuring K. K. Fosu, Batman, and Kokovelli dressed up in white shirts, black coats, blue jeans, white sneakers, and white hats as they performed all the favourite ?Trinity? songs. The songs included ?Zaa-za?, ?Sudwee? remix, ?Alelekele?, ?Anadwo Yede? remix, and ?Linda? remix. All in all, the Toronto show was the best of the three shows and, as expected, drew the largest audience.

After a five-day break, including a barbecue party for all the performers and crew of the Toronto show and radio promotional shows (Montreal via phone, and AkasanomaRadio), the 2005 UNITY Tour convoy of two vans made the four-hour trek from Toronto to the capital city of Canada, Ottawa, on Friday May 20th.

Accompanied by 2005 UNITY Tour organizing committee members, ?Bonita L? and ?PKE? of the Toronto-based HIP HOP duo 2Shades, Obour, Batman, K. K. Fosu and Kokovelli visited Ottawa radio station CHUO 89.1FM on Saturday morning to promote the Ottawa show. CHUO radio DJ Sarah Onyango played a selection of songs of the featured artists and had a chance to interview all present on subjects ranging from music, social issues, and politics.

The Ottawa and Montreal shows featured Montreal HIP LIFE artists Lil Max, McDaddy, OP, and Ted Ampofo in addition to Toronto-based Ateasefour and 2Shades as opening acts. Given the mature audience for the Ottawa show, K. K. Fosu started out the main show followed by Obour, Batman, with Kokovelli closing out the solo sets. The approximate 200 attendees to the Ottawa show came alive at the start of K. K. Fosu?s set, climaxed during Obour?s performance of ?Konkontibaa? alongside Batman and Monica. The Ottawa show concluded with a 20-minute medley of songs by all four main artists, which turned the Ottawa show into a free-for-all party with the crowd dancing to the end.

The 2005 UNITY Tour proceeded to Montreal on Sunday, May 22nd after the two-hour drive from Ottawa. Despite a two-hour delay in starting the Montreal show due to issues with the sound system, Montrealers were treated to another incredible show by K. K. Fosu, Kokovelli, Batman, and Obour. The Montreal show concluded with all four main artists performing some of the favourite ?Trinity? songs ending with a freestyle version of ??N Things ?N Things?. The curtain came down on the Canadian leg of the 2005 UNITY Tour with Obour, Batman, K. K. Fosu and Kokovelli holding hands in ?UNITY? as they took a bow.

Apart from lower than expected turnout in Ottawa and Montreal, the Canadian leg of the 2005 UNITY Tour was a thrill for the audience and a success. HIP LIFE music certainly gained new fans in Canada and derived a promotional boost from the three-city tour. All radio stations in the three host cities, which had a chance to interview and hear music by all four HIP LIFE artists, have included their songs in their rotation. CDs for Obour, Batman and K. K. Fosu were flying off the shelves of record stores across the eastern part of Canada.

The Canadian leg of the 2005 UNITY Tour was presented by I-Squared Integrated Industries, Inc. (www.i-squaredinc.com), and produced by I2 Entertainment in association with Ghana-based Joy FM radio (www.joyonline.com). The tour was co-sponsored by Western Union Financial Services (Canada), Inc., Planet Africa TV, AkasanomaRadio, Ghanamusic.com, New Kajetia Market, CampSoul Music, Golden Phil?s Hair Salon, Ghanaian News, CHRY 105.5FM radio, CIUT 89.5FM radio, and FLOW 93.5FM radio.

Stay tuned for pictures and DVD of Canada leg of the 2005 UNITY Tour. U.S. leg of the tour is in the works??.