‘Top’: Some songs are solely for the feet. Others are for the mind and soul. The latter category welcomes a new song from one of Ghana’s celebrated radio/TV personalities, Andrew Kwasi Amoh aka Andy Dosty who stepped the threshold of the music industry few years ago.

Instrumentation: ‘Never Give Up’ is an R & B song done in Key G Major, and in a 2/4 time signature. Recorded live, the 4:30 song uses soothing tones from the keyboard, ranging from grand piano to strings, and also has some great guitar works to complement.

The live recording clearly brings out the timbre of the percussion instruments – the snare drum rolls, the kicks from the bass drum resonate, the cymbals and hi-hat pinch the heart and the toms cause gleeful heart jumps.

Arrangement and Form: The song starts with Andy’s rap as first verse. It is joined by the chorus, done by Kesse. Andy does another verse. That is followed by the chorus and a short singing verse by Kesse. Then the song slips into a coda and finally plays to fade.

Vocal Performance: Kesse is one of Ghana’s finest singers. From his Mentor days, Project Fame to mainstream music, he’s carved a niche for himself in vocal delivery and has grown into a consummate singer. In ‘Never Give Up,’ he hits his notes right, controls and sustains his breath and follows rightly the chordal progressions.

Rap: Andy Dosty may not be counted among musicians at the top echelons of the Rap Game but the simplicity of his lyrics and flow makes his rap endearing. He uses rhyme patterns that are easy to relate to. In ‘Never Give Up,’ Andy’s relaxed posture on the beat aptly suits the message. He tackles the subject matter and doesn’t embellish it with unnecessary vibes – that is a good quality of an archetypal song writer.

However, I think his ‘intro’ which goes: “I think I’ll give it an intro later,” was not necessary. I don’t know if it was planned or was done spontaneously but I wish it was taken off the final work. Even though many people like his style of rap, I believe Andy needs to hone his rap skills a bit – not really about the textual composition but with the flow and attack. I trust there is more room for improvement in this regard.

Subject Matter: ‘Never Give Up’ is an inspirational piece that urges one to keep working hard towards achieving their goals and not to give up when it gets to the crunch.

In the first verse, the rapper Andy Dosty tells the strife he (the character) goes through on daily basis from people he owes to catering for his family.

He continues that even though he goes through difficult times, he is not losing hope and isn’t resting his oars because he knows his toil will surely pay off one day. Kesse’s verse also tells how prepared he is in charting the path that leads to his future.

Moral Lessons: ‘Never Give Up’ is an inspirational song. It is that kind of music that gives the beleaguered some hope for the future. Most people have committed suicide due to life’s problems. Some have got stuck in perpetual misery because they have accepted failure as part of their lives.

There are others on the other divide, who through inspirational works like ‘Never Give Up,’ have gotten out of the quagmire of despair, poverty, trauma, depression, broken heart, neglect, among others. Songs of this nature are counseling materials for many.

An important didactic angle is in the third verse [Kesse’s] where the singer says he knows there is a journey ahead of him and that he is poised to walk up that path. This teaches that nothing happens by fluke. While one ‘never gives up’ and wait for their success, they need to keep working harder.

‘Drop’: This is one of the classic music works produced in the year. Judging from the entire composition, it is evident a lot really went into making this song. I rate it 80%.

Written by Kwame Dadzie