Entertainment of Wednesday, 4 July 2012

Source: Adeyemi Adebayo Victor

R2Bees + Kaakie WORST Performers @ Ghana meets Naija

Ghanaians adore our celebrities and we pay handsomely to see them thrill us with tunes and memorable performances. But when the whole scene becomes a charade, courtesy our stars making us ask so many questions in regards to our time being a ‘waste’, turning what is supposed to be an exciting time to an unavoidable torture, then we have all the right in the world to bring their heads to the chopping board.

The Ghana meets Naija showdown may have come and gone but like injuries, the scar remains forever. Though some had done us proud with beautiful twists and additions to their acts, others were busy sleeping on stage even when the music was loud enough to resurrect a dead person.

We are not here to destroy anybody’s career or dent their image/hard-earned reputation, but just to assess the happenings at the event and also to help put our artists on the path of greatness.

R2Bees is undoubtedly one of the most successful groups in the music industry both in Ghana and arguably Africa; with their swags, lyrics and pounding beats that set every listener on the go. They seem to have everything at their disposal (good music, better engineers, connections and cash)yet their stage performances have been an eye sore and a torture to most people who have to pay salaried amounts to watch them perform. With their caliber, when top-notch shows are mentioned they are number one but equaling their weight to their stage performance, it is zero.

Once again with an opportunity to redeem their swag lyrics with a wow performance at the Ghana meets Naija concert, they managed successfully to confirm their sloppiness and non-spirited stage craft with a below average performance. This is certainly not the first time and it feels sad that this fine group is gradually building a reputation for slapdash performances at events everywhere they go.

Kaakie on the other hand did have a plan in mind but somehow the plan failed from our analysis; bringing a sofa on stage with an intention of wowing her fans rather muted the ecstasy inside of them. Initially some of us thought with the sofa we would see some Nicki Minaj magic but we ended up watching an Oprah Winfrey without a smile. She somewhat lacked showmanship (or do i say show-woman-ship) and then the communication gap between herself and her fans was wide.

Kaakie at a point was even struggling to control her breadth and one will wonder what she had done to be in such a breathless state.

We have seen 4x4, Samini, Kojo Antwi, Amakye Dede, Daddy Lumba, Sarkodie, Becca, VIP and Efya among others, perform and crowds always long for more. We have seen real stage showmanship being put into play; we have wonder what kind of energy some of these acts possess in keeping their fans up their feet in association with the fact that they sing along all night.

It is no crime learning from others the act of wowing the fans, or better still you can create a unique style in making sure that at the end of every show, you give the fans a reasonable worth for their money and also make the organizers nod in good fate.

An Artist with good music and bad showmanship is incomplete because the two are inseparable.

A word to the wise...!**