Monday, January 26, 2015

Rapper Kwaw Kese, who was arrested in December last year for smoking a substance suspected to be ganga, says he will allow the law to take its course on his issue because he is not above the law. 


Abodam, as he is affectionately called, was released from remand at the Kumasi Central Prison on Tuesday, December 30, 2014 after he was granted bail by a Kumasi Circuit Court.


“Nobody is above the law; and currently, they are only alleging. It has not come out that what they are saying I was doing, I was really doing anything like that.  To me, I think I’m not above the law so I will let the law take its course.  I have never gone against the law and I will not go against the law. No one should go against the law because nobody is above the law,” Kwaw Kese stated on Peace FM’s Entertainment Review. 


The ‘King of the Street’, as he is popularly known, recounted that the first day he was sent to the prison, the inmates felt as though they had met Jesus and that the jubilation was similar to when Nelson Mandela was released from prison. 


“The first day I got into the cell, it was like the first day Mandela was released from prison. The jubilation was so much. All these prisoners were amazed. They were really happy to see me.  You know, they knew I was coming so they prepared to meet the ‘King of the Street’. Some of the prisoners even told me that if I had not been brought to prison, they had no idea how they were going to meet me. When I got into the cells, the inmates felt like they had met Jesus,” the ‘Let Me Do My Thing’ singer said.


According to him, most of the inmates kept praying for his release because they felt he did not deserve to be there.


 “Most of the inmates felt that I didn’t deserve to be in that place. Though I sometimes prayed for some of them to be released, they were always praying for my release,” he added.


Kwaw Kese also admitted that in his estimation, he thought the whole issue was going to be over the day after his arrest but he was wrong.


“When I was arrested initially, I thought maybe by the next day everything would have been over but the law didn’t allow that,” he disclosed.


Meanwhile, when asked to recount what happened on the night of his arrest, Emmanuel Botchwey, as he is known in real life, said “I don’t want to make a comment on an issue which is already in court.”
Sister Debbie
Model and Television Presenter Debroah Venessa Owusu has revealed that she has never referred to herself as a lady because she does not see herself as such.

“I have never defined myself as a lady and if you check all my profiles, I never say I’m a lady. I don’t label myself as such,” Sister Debbie, as she is known in Showbiz, stated on NEAT FM’s Entertainment Ghana.

The ‘Uncle Obama’ singer, who was recently in the news after her nude pictures went viral on social media, explained that those pictures were intended for a Boudoir photography project.

“Boudoir photography is arts and modelling as well. That is something I do and I am passionate about. In our society, majority of us are not used to such photographs, which is fine,” she said.

Boudoir photography is another form of photography that has to do with taking sexually suggestive images of nude women or women in lingerie at luxurious hotel suites.

According to Sister Debbie, the artistic nude picture was a barter between herself and her photographer who was working on a project.

“The artistic nude picture which was taken in June 2014 is a barter trade between me and my photographer and that is not the first nude picture that I have put out there. I have three sets. I said barter because when I need promo pictures which should cost me over GH¢2,000, the photographer will do it for me,” she added.

The ‘Borla’ singer, who received a lot of bashing from her Ghanaian fans after her nude pictures were released, disclosed that when she gets those negative remarks about her nude pictures she does not get angry.

She continued: “When people see the picture and they don’t like it, I don’t get mad. It is not a problem because if you don’t understand, it is normal that you would dislike it or something.

I feel as a human being, if you are passionate about something you should do it as long as it is legal and it won’t affect anyone or you won’t be attacking anyone.”

Sister Debbie however admitted that since she posted the picture on Instagram, views on her YouTube account had shot up.

“When I found out that the picture was already out there and people were tweeting, I also posted it myself so that people will not think it was a leaked picture. Around that period, the views for my ‘Borla’ video had gone down and, yes, after I posted the picture myself, my views shot up to about 5,000 views. So yes it did help and I would agree to the fact that I used it to push myself,” she noted.

Meanwhile Miss Vannessa debunked earlier reports which seemed to suggest that she received $8,000 for her nude picture.

“I was misquoted in that story. I didn’t say that because my artistic nude picture was posted on Instagram. But YouTube and Instagram have nothing to do with each other.

They are two different entities –YouTube under Google and Instagram on its own. If you post a video on YouTube and you have monetised your account such that anytime someone clicks on your video depending on the views, you will make money.”

“What I said was that since I uploaded my ‘Uncle Obama’ video in 2012 along with other videos, I had over a million views and for that I made about $8,000 so far from my YouTube account.”

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Eyram Tawia
Eyram Tawia, Chief Executive of Leti Arts, has been adjudged the ‘Best Established Developer’ at the Vodafone AppStar international competition held in India.


Leti Arts, developers of the Africa’s Legends app, won the global award in the ‘Best Established Developer’ category, beating others from Kenya, India, Tanzania and South Africa. 


Eyram Tawia won the same award in Ghana at the maiden edition of the Vodafone Ghana AppStar competition, which was organized last year.


As part of the award package, Leti Arts’ Africa’s Legends app would be featured on the Vodafone global app store, with an all-expense paid trip to the 2015 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, as well as an opportunity to meet and interact with Vodafone Group’s Senior management team.  


Director of Strategy and Innovation at Vodafone Ghana, Julius Owusu-Kyerematen, said his outfit was thrilled that Leti Arts had been recognised globally as possessing the best-developed mobile application at the international competition.


“We are absolutely thrilled that Leti Arts has been globally recognised as possessing the best developed mobile application at the international competition. We have always maintained that as a company, we will continuously support unbridled creativity and innovation while consolidating our position as pioneers and leaders in the telecoms sector,” Mr Owusu-Kyerematen.


Africa’s Legends app allows users to enjoy a superhero series developed by Leti Arts with a heavy influence of folklore and historic legends from across Africa. 


The primary objective of the AppStar competition is to recognise and reward app developers in the mobile applications industry across the globe and specifically in key Vodafone markets.


This year’s Vodafone Ghana’s AppStar competition will commence in August, 2015 with the grand finale set to take place in December. 

It is generally opened to anyone with the capability to develop a cool app in any of the listed platforms – Blackberry, Android, J2ME, Windows Phone, iOS.

Friday, January 23, 2015

Naa Ashorkor
Brainy and sexy actress Naa Ashorkor, on Thursday, opened up as never before in a no-holds-barred interview with NEWS-ONE and makes rather interesting revelations about her life, upbringing, career, core values, trials and her future prospects.

Naa is host of Starr 103.5 FM’s mid-morning programme, ‘The Zone’, and also runs her own TV show, ‘Tales from the Powder Room’, on GH-One.

She has starred in some of Ghana’s best contemporary movies including ‘A Letter From Adam’, ‘Checkmate’, ‘Adams Apple’, ‘Perfect Picture’ and ‘Scorned’.

NEWS-ONE asked Naa Ashorkor about her greatest achievements:

What is the biggest thing you have achieved?
When people ask me about achievements and how many awards I have won, I have not won many but I have won some. I really don’t count awards and nominations as achievements. What I count are the people who feel I am making a positive difference in their lives.

For example, I never knew it was possible to receive phone calls from facebook until two nights ago when a girl called me around 1am.

You receive calls at 1am?
Not exactly but I thought this one was  strange and also did not understand how it was from facebook so I picked and the caller said she was 29 and wanted to commit suicide but wanted to talk to me before the act. I did not know what to say. I listened to her and she said she takes inspiration from me but was tired because of family and relationship issues.

We spoke from that time until I was ready to prepare for work and by then she had changed her mind. These are the things that make me happy and I am glad I have this opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives. Not many people have such opportunities in this world.

Are you a very religious person?
Not really. Let me tell you this: In secondary school, there was a lot of talk about witches and all that so I used to go for prayer meetings to protect myself from the witches. There was this time the pastor said I should allow God to use me to touch lives and I thought he was talking about me becoming a pastor’s wife or a lady pastor or something. But in these last few weeks, I now understand I am touching lives in a positive way.

Many look up to you as their role model.
When people say I am their role model, it makes me want to live up to expectation. But I say to myself, just keep doing you and the people who look up to you need never to be disappointed.

Hosting mid-morning radio in Accra is a challenging task. Many doubted your competence. You have proven them wrong. What was the magic?
I would be honest with you. When Bola Ray asked me to host Mid-morning on Starr FM, I said no. Not ‘no’ to radio but to hosting mid-morning because it was too big. I said I would prefer hosting a women’s programme on Saturday evenings or something less challenging until I grow into it and then maybe a year later, I take up bigger challenges.

But he said I could do it and I felt he would not gamble with his investments and so if he believed I could do it, why not? Then I can do it.  For the first three days, I was trying to sound fantastic and it was a lot of mess. I was just all over the place. After that, I decided to relax and just be me. I’ve been a very odd freak of people on radio and TV and I could recite the intros of many of them. And I attempted to do radio like I have known how the others do it.  But when I decided to be me, laugh at my mistakes, read the LPMs like I was reading any other sheet of paper, things became easier for me.

There is a tendency to sound a certain way once a microphone is set before you. TV is audio-visual and viewers could see your emotions but on radio, it is different and I had to just be me. There is a hashtag on Tigo—‘Keep Doing You’—and that was what I decided to do. If you listen to me on radio or anywhere else, I talk the same. Being me is how I’ve survived and I keep growing every day.

You got married just when you started hosting mid-morning radio. Double pressure; you must be super human to have survived.
Oh I don’t think so. I just like to take it easy and did not pressure myself. There is pressure on those who want to be pressured. Sometimes you see people and they seem they have no problems but they have huge problems. And there are people walking around and acting like the whole world is coming to an end but they are only hungry and need food. It is the attitude we adopt that makes the difference.

When I started radio, it was challenging and I was trying my best.  I could not even understand the consol and which button to press when. I know music but not the names of the musicians and yet I was to decide which music to play.  But I had a fantastic DJ who helped me—DJ Mono.

I remember there was this guy at Airtel who wrote a whole write-up about how I was terrible and some even said I was a square peg in a round hole.  But I am grateful to God it is working out.

Those who thought I would fail are changing their minds and people now listen to me not because there are no competitors but because they can see I am getting better.

There are fears marriage would affect your career adversely.
No I don’t think so. It has not. It won’t.

Before Naa became a famous person, who was she?
I am still all that I was—just an ordinary girl. Primary school, I was very loud; JSS, I was a very quiet girl; SSS, I was talking everywhere. I was SRC vice president and secretary for my region.  I did a lot of school debates and even won a few cups for my school and I enjoyed it.

I think I got to know myself better in secondary school—the sort of person I was, the things I like to do and the things I won’t like to do. Before GIJ, I was in a lot of school activities and debates. I loved to be heard and to champion strange courses. That is what people would remember me for.

Were you the same at the GIJ?             
I was very quiet in GIJ.

But you still found something special in GIJ?
You mean in GIJ? You mean my husband? Oh yes. I met him in GIJ. I don’t know if people really remember me in the GIJ. For my first three years there, I was not on TV. I started TV in the third year and I believe that was when some of my mates even saw me for the first time.

You acted ‘Kabuki’ in Lydia Forson’s ‘Letter from Adam’ and got married in the movie which was premiered just when you got married in real life? Was it a hype for the movie?

Ah! You mean I got married to push someone’s movie? It was pure coincidence and I did not even realise the coincidence until people started talking about it. We shot that movie when? I can’t even remember. But Lydia booked the Silverbird Cinemas about six months before the premiere date. It has nothing to do with my marriage.

How do you manage to stay away from controversy or scandals as a showbiz person?
Well, I don’t know. Maybe my mother always told me that if I stayed at home, I won’t get into trouble and that has really entered my head. She always said trouble cannot come to you when you are in your home.  It has helped me a lot. I work with an event organising company and it is only when we have events that you would see me out.  I feel comfortable at home and at places where I am safe.

If you read all the stories about celebrities in trouble, they mostly got into trouble when they went somewhere or said something.

You are an actress, a TV presenter and a radio presenter; which pays the most?
It depends on who you are working for that would determine how much you are going to get. I think acting has paid me the most and I am looking at the biggest amount of money I have received at a time and that came from acting.

Would you become a movie producer someday like your colleagues?
I am so happy they are becoming producers because it would make our industry bigger. But I would rather want to produce a stage play. I love movies; they are great but I love stage plays. They are challenging and I would want to promote that.

Are you pregnant as reports say?
I also heard about that. It is not true. But if it is true, I am not aware.

Anything you would want to tell your fans and readers of this interview?
We are in an overcrowded world with too many people competing to be seen. The best you can be is to just be you and not try to be anybody else. Anybody else is taken and your best bet is to be you. Grab opportunities when they come and never say ‘I can’t do it’. Just try because it is only when you try that you can say you can or cannot. But you’ve just got to try.

Thanks for the interview, Naa.
Thanks too for the opportunity, Halifax.

By Halifax Ansah-Addo (Twitter: @HalifaxAnsahAdd)

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Julius Owusu-Kyerematen
Telecommunications provider Vodafone Ghana has gone into partnership with online movie platform iROKOtv to introduce the first ever video on demand service to Ghanaians, offering them access to over 6,000 movies and TV shows online.

The move, according to Vodafone, would serve to further enhance the company’s commitment to providing unmatched entertainment experience for its customers.

It also guarantees Vodafone customers on Fixed Broadband (FBB) service a free one month iROKOtv voucher to enjoy a catalogue of Hollywood, Bollywood and Nollywood movies online, with a chance to enjoy a whole year’s online movie experience.

Julius Owusu-Kyerematen, Head of Strategy and Innovation at Vodafone Ghana, stated that his outfit was committed to opening up the fascinating world of information and digitisation to their customers.

“We are a customer-driven organisation, committed to opening up this fascinating world of information and digitisation to our customers.

iROKOtv is another avenue to further demonstrate our leadership in innovation and customer experience,” Mr Owusu-Kyerematen said.

All customers on the FBB service also have the opportunity to purchase movie vouchers for friends and family to enjoy the online package.

iROKOtv, a brand of iROKO Partners, is Africa’s largest legitimate distributor of African film and music entertainment with key partnerships with global technology companies including Facebook. Over the past three years, it has played a critical role in bringing the African movie industry to global audience.

Sunday, January 18, 2015

REEZON
US based Ghanaian rapper REEZON has called on the Ghana Music Rights Organisation (GHAMRO) to improve upon the royalty collection system in Ghana.  


According to REEZON, artistes in Ghana invest a lot of money in a song before it reaches the listener. Therefore once the royalty infrastructure in Ghana is improved, artistes would be able to live off their works.


REEZON, who is known in real life as Richard Sowah, has over the years been putting Ghana on the map through music. He recently won the Best Music Video Award, 2012 and Best Male Artiste Award, 2013 at the Afro Entertainment Awards in Chicago.


REEZON  spoke to Nii Ogbamey Tetteh about  his views on  royalty collection system in Ghana and his experiences as a rapper residing in the US and Ghana.


Where did you start doing music?


I started in Chicago, Illinois, in the US, with strict Hip Hop rap and I did that for a while. My first album was a pure rap album. Then I transitioned over to Afro-beats, Afro-Pop and Afro-Rap to get more of the dancing feel and the club type of song.  After my first album, I released ‘African Intelligence’, my second album, and that had a lot of Hip life, Afro-Beat type of songs.


At what age did you start music?

I started late, actually. I started when I was around 17 years. That was influenced by the Eddie Blay’s NFL group. They were my neighbours and I used to hang around them when they were rapping and all, till I went to school in the US.  


Have you worked with any local artiste? 


I have worked with multiple local artistes, like Chemphe and some underground artistes. I’m currently in the studio working with Edem. I have also done some collaborations with some Ghanaian artistes overseas as well, like Mobeats among others.


REEZON
What genre do you associate with?


That is a tough one because it depends on the song, plus I’m versatile so it depends on the beat. You can say I’m a Hip Pop, Afro-Rap artiste because I mostly rap.


Why the name REEZON?


Whenever there is a conversation or something, I become the voice of reason within a conversation. I just changed the spelling of my name because I want to be unique. The name came because I’m motivated to help people. I see myself more of a helper. I like to make sure there is peace, people are happy.  When I started doing rap, it was more geared towards social conscious type of rap; it was more intellectual type of rap, not just the booty shaking and stuff like that but it was more like rap that makes you think. It gives you metaphors and educates you as well. This makes me the voice of reason—like someone who writes rhymes of reason—that you can understand and learn something from. 


What motivates you to do music?


Music suits my personality and I’m motivated to help people. Sometimes I’m able to put people ahead of myself. To be able to put out a record to inspire somebody is what motivates me.


What do you think about the Ghanaian music industry?


The industry now is better than before. It is grown and it is only grown because the economy was growing. It is also mainly because a lot of businesses are supporting the artistes through endorsement deals. That is where the money is coming from, that is where they are able to pay their bills. As the economy grows, the industry grows with it because now artistes are not making money from album sales.  The problem in this industry lies in the guys coming up. How do they get there?
 The industry is also filled with ‘who do you know’. How do you work it to make it to where you need to be? And it is a lot of hard work. 


What do you think is wrong with our music industry? 


It will be the royalty infrastructure for artistes. GHAMRO and the entire collection system here need to be improved because we artistes go to the studio, pay for the beat, pay for the promotion and marketing. Forget about the talent, basically you pay to become an artiste. The only thing that can encourage the youth and upcoming musicians is the fact that you are able to live off music. Once the infrastructure is there, if my song is playing in Nungua there should be a way that they can say REEZON’s song is play in Nungua so he should get so amount of money for that. Because that is what the music business is about; that is where we strive as artistes. If that is not there, you basically killing the music dream.


What else do you do apart from music? 


I went to school and I studied electrical engineering so I am an electrical engineer working in the US. So that is what I do to pay the bills basically until music takes off.


Which artiste do you admire in the Hiplife circles?


Well, the artiste I admire will be Reggie Rockstone because he didn’t just stick to music, he created a business out of it and he is doing very well.


Which Hiplife artiste do you listen to a lot?


EL . I listen to EL because I think he is versatile; he can do hiplife, he can do Bars. He has captured both genres in such a way that people who like the real hip pop, like his hiplife stuff and vice versa. I really like the way he is versatile. He released his BARS mix tape which was really good. He also has hits on the radio like the ‘Shelele’, ‘Hallelujah’ and others. When he started in Osu, I went to his studio to give him some bars for his mix tape he was doing.


How is the experience like doing music in the US?


It is not like Ghana because most of the artistes in Ghana usually are just doing music.  That is all they do.  But in the US, you wake up in the morning, you go to work, after work, you go home to eat and then you go to the studio till late night, then you wake up and go to work. We don’t have the luxury of being creative because sometimes you get off from work and you are tired.  The second part is, the only means for you to get your music out is through the internet –like websites, social media and internet radio.  It is hard to get it out there because there is no radio station that is playing 24/7 Afro-pop or Afro-rap music. It is all American music or UK-based music or whatever. The media and means of getting your music out there in US are tough.  The only thing that has helped me is my determination, consistency and persistence to try to get the music out. Also for me, I made friends in the business. I don’t think I have any beef with anybody in the business so I’m able to flow with everyone.


Which artiste do you look forward to working with?


EL and maybe M.anifest .


By Nii Ogbamey Tetteh (email: ogbameytetteh@gmail.com, twitter: @ogbameytetteh) 

Friday, January 9, 2015

Aasre Hackman 
After ordering members not to submit any of their works for the just ended Ghana Movie Awards, Steve Asare Hackman, President of the Film Producers Association of Ghana (FIPAG), has disclosed that the executive body of the association will descend heavily on members who defied their order.

According to Mr Hackman, FIPAG last year issued a statement dissociating itself from the Ghana Movie Awards and also instructing all its members not to submit their works for the Ghana Movie Awards (GMA).

“We cannot prevent our members from attending, it is an event and anyone can attend. We noticed that some of our members’ names were mentioned and we the executives were looking from afar with eagle eyes just to see which of our members would have gone on stage to receive an award. FIPAG will descend hardly on any of our members who defied our directive and went ahead to submit their works. Sanctions would be issued against all such persons,” Mr Hackman told Nii Ogbamey Tetteh

But NEWS-ONE can confirm that two movies – Bachelors and Sisters at War—from Abdul Salaam Mumini, a staunch FIPAG member, got nominated at the 2014 GMA.

The FIPAG boss stated that the association had to take that harsh decision to dissociate itself from the GMA due to how poorly its executive body had been treated in the past by Fred Nuamah, the organiser of the event.

He however disclosed that FIPAG had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Multimedia Group Limited to help organise the Ghana Film Festival and Awards which would entirely be different from GMA.

“Around November last year, FIPAG signed an MoU with the Multimedia Group Limited to help organise the Ghana Film Festival and Awards. There will be festivals that will start from the Northern Region right down to the south, before the award event itself,” he said.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

You probably might not have heard of  the company behind the V2, but thats no surprise as Saygus is hardly a known brand. However, what got our attention was when they launched their first smartphone, the Saygus v2 at CES 2015 and also the phone’s ability to support up to 320GB of internal storage and all the right specs to make a splash in the market.

Saygus is showing off their V2 Android powered smartphone at CES 2015, and we are waiting to get more information on the beast. With a 5-inch 1080p display, the Saygus V2 packs a Snapdragon 801, 2.5GHz quad-core processor, 3GB of RAM and runs Android 4.4.4 KitKat.

The Saygus V2 has got a 21MP rear camera with dual LED flash and a 13MP front shooter as well. Fingerprint scanner and Wireless Qi charging are a nice touch. Focusing on the media side of things, sound comes to you out of Harmon Kardon speakers and you won’t have trouble taking your media along for the ride, with support for up to 320GB of storage space.

The 320GB of space comes as up to 64GB of internal storage, with support for two microSD cards up to 128GB each. Aside from the massive amount of storage space, one of the key features that stand out to us on the Saygus V2 is the built-in root access. We have been talking a lot about root access on phones lately, centered around the root abilities of CyanogenMod 12.

Saygus is working hard to launch the V2 in the U.S. this coming spring, but have not yet announced pricing for the multimedia focused Android phone.

What do you say, is 320GB storage space too much for your needs, or is this the device you have been patiently waiting for?


Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Super OD
Veteran Ghanaian actor Super OD has said that a Ghanaian pastor once told him that he had a snake in his leg.

The actor, who is well respected in Ghana’s movie industry for his talent, made the revelation in another attempt to respond to earlier rumours that he was dead. However, he didn’t reveal the identity of the pastor in question.

According to him, he was doing well and not sick as speculated by the death reports. He is only battling with old age.

“I am not sick; it’s just my knee that hurts. I went to a pastor and he told me there was a snake in my leg and said I should give him an amount of GH¢200 to get the snake out of my leg.

“I went to borrow the GH¢200 but I used GH¢100 for other things and still the snake is in my leg. A character like that is the reason why we don’t believe people. For me I think it is old age. I’m grown now. I voted for Kwame Nkrumah so I’m grown now,” OD said.

He was speaking on Ghana Movie Awards stage on December 30, 2014 when he and other veteran actors were invited on stage to be celebrated on the night of the awards.

The veterans who were on stage that night will each receive medical treatment worth GH¢10, 000 at the Holy Trinity Spa and Health Farm.

OD also lamented the neglect of veteran actors by film producers.

“The filmmakers, I don’t know why they don’t come for us. If you look at Nigeria, elderly roles are played by elderly people. But here in Ghana it’s not like that. They pick young ones to depict elderly roles. I want to tell them that we are still around. We are not expensive. If it’s fear that we are expensive, we will be reasonable to reduce our fees for you,” OD added.

By Francis Addo  (Twitter: @fdee50 Email: fdee500@yahoo.com)                                                                                                     
Popular celebrity clothing line BENASH Jeans, as part of their Cooperate Social Responsibility (CSR), presented clothes- Jeans and Khaki apparels- worth several thousands of Ghana Cedis to the Akropong School for the Blind over the weekend.


Chief Executive of BENASH Jeans, Benjamin Toklo, told NEWS-ONE that he wanted to give back to society, and that there was no better way to do it than to clothe the students of the Akropong School for the Blind.


“Nothing gladdens my heart like lending a helping hand to people that need support.  Seeing the visually impaired people rocking the BENASH apparels will bring smiles on their faces, knowing that someone out there is thinking about them. These special people cannot be left out of our fashion statement as a company,” Mr Toklo stated. 


He added that his outfit was working closely with the school to provide training in basic sewing for some blind students.


The clothes were received by the Assistant Headmaster of the school, Atsu Joseph Homadzi, together with Madam Rejoice Awuku, the Senior Housemistress and chairperson of the donation committee for the school, and Mr Simon Adedeme, the JHS Head of Department.


The assistant headmaster, obviously delighted about the donation, encouraged other corporate organisations to emulate the kind gesture of BENASH. 


However, the Development Analyst for BENASH, James Tetteh, disclosed that his outfit will continue to give back to society because the company would not have been in existence without society.


“I lost my sister through eye related ailment and our outfit has a soft spot for people who are visually impaired. We look forward to helping such individuals in our own small way,” he said.


BENASH Jeans is a household name when it comes to Jeans and Khaki products produced in Ghana.  The brand is responsible for most of the outfits for hiplife artistes Guru and VIP among other celebrities.

Monday, January 5, 2015

President John Mahama with Sharon Barli and Ehud Anvy

The Israeli and Netherlands governments have jointly funded the construction of Rural Rehabilitation project for the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA).

The project is expected to provide over 9 million gallons of potable drinking water to inhabitants in Tema and its environs.

Israeli Ambassador, Sharon Bar-li and Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Netherlands, Caecilia Wijgers joined President John Dramani Mahama and the Minister for Water Works and Housing, Collins Dauda to inspect the project.

Sharon Bar-li stated that her country was proud to take part in a project that connects so many Ghanaians to potable water and improves their standard of living.

“Coming from Israel, a country that has scarce water resources, we know that water equals life. Therefore, we are proud to take part in a project that connects so many Ghanaians to potable water and elevating their standard of living,” she stated.

The Rural Rehabilitation project, which attracted $19 million from the Israeli and € 41 million from the Netherland government, was designed and constructed by Israeli engineering, design and construction firm TAHAL Group.

She added that TAHAL, the executing company, has been working in Ghana since independence.

The General Manager of TAHAL Ghana, Ehud Avny, said the project was completed on time.

According to him, the TAHAL Group, which marks 50 years of cooperation in Ghana, would continue to offer sustainable integrated solutions in the water and agricultural sectors of Ghana to benefit people in the urban and rural areas in the country.

The project has improved water supply to Michel Camp, Afienya, Kpone, Prampram, Old and New Ningo and Dodowa, among others.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

By Myers Hansen (@myershansen on twitter)  

BrymO
you’re old enough to fuck
you’re old enough to know
nobody gives a fuck
 your wahala na your own

BrymO has a new CD out Tabula Rasa (the gift), it is made up of great songs. BrymO has a brilliant new song out, Prick no get Shoulder; those are the first four lines.And in the end, this is why in my opinion; every true artist should go through the valleys of the shadows.  Oh, it could be anything; a brutal accident, a sudden cancer, death of that one person who regulated their soul, or in BrymO’s case, a long sore tussle over contracts and consequences … anything. I don’t mind, as long as it provokes a return.

 Look, BrymO can sing! His voice is unpretentious; it is characterized by odd familiar truth, a root. Have you heard “Good Morning”, from his Son of a Kapenta album? Ok then!

The man can sing, but perhaps until now, it is all he was doing –singing. Now though, he has our conscience and chest…today, he’s grown into an artist and has taken charge of his craft. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m sure all his songs before his last two albums, especially this last one, were written from deepness. But God, listen to Merchants, Dealers & Slaves, his very defiant 2013 album which was obstructed largely by his prolonged public legal battle with former record label, Chocolate City Group.

There were issues of an injunction and large possible fines. Even if no one would admit completely, someone was harmed. Publicity on M, D&S was not enough, which is why this is the first time you probably are hearing of it. It is wrong for such a strong project to be that unknown. It is wrong to soul, it is wrong to art, it is wrong to life –for then, art is incomplete…and that’s not a good thing. So, listen to M, D&S, and then let’s talk.

Meanwhile, BrymO has a new CD out; Tabula Rasa (the gift), it is made up of great songs. BrymO has a brilliant new song out, Prick no get Shoulder; these are words from the bridge:

For this world
Wetin you sowYou must reap
Na true thing
Nahin I talk
We no dey chop
For where we shit…

BrymO
Usually, an artist’s best work is their first album, or when evil spirits have visited them…because then, there is a flood of emotion and story waiting to be shed or shared. That’s where we usually find the artist, for then, he has witnessed purpose and wrestled with/ for his tabula rasa, his gift. There, he has interacted with a height and awareness…of beauty, of strife, of neighbors, of little things and vanities, of secrets and prophecies…of Merchants, Dealers and Slaves. His every word suddenly contains spirituality and is aimed at the bottom of our hearts. There, let them say “Kofi is going to school”, and we can relate to it. Let them say “…prick no get shoulder/ you put e head, the rest dey enter”, and it builds a lump in your throat and invokes thoughtful smile. When an artist is at that point, their truths converse with our truths, and god is achieved. Therefore, an artist’s troubles are a periodic requirement and their blessing.

BrymO himself said in a tweet that M,D &S was his best attempt at music, but then admits that Tabula Rasa is “something sweeter”. BrymO, within a year, has given us two albums which are undisputed chefs-d’oeuvre, both containing a voice which, in my opinion, he never may have found had the last two years not happened to him. An artist’s voice is their tool, their weapon, and whether they find it with their first or third album, it is still that perfect reward for their pursuit of happiness.

Nowadays, when BrymO sings, he’s naked, he’s bare. He does not intend to impress, he only attempts to converse. He keeps it short and to the point, and has become a disciple of the philosophy “the beauty of simplicity”. He feels live and here…like you can say stuff back at him, like you can see sweat on his brows and nose, like you can tell a what point in recording the song he smiled or lifted his left hand.
You like to kiss the ass
He hit you when he fart
You take am take fat
Your wahala na your own

The people at Mikky Sounds Factory definitely facilitated that. It’s always good to have someone who can help make physical the atmosphere in an artist’s head. He too should be commended, he’s a musician too. He’s been able to listen carefully enough to hear what the artist hears in his head. They too are responsible for why nobody can rush through the album.
If e sweet o
I go take am slow slow

The album is gorgeous.  I’ll come to Fe Mi, the first official single off the album, pure love on beats we call “Agbadza” here. I’ll talk about Dear Child, divine homage to an honorable grandmother, 1 pound, something which makes you love trumpets and whistles and reminds you of hunger and Fela, Back to Love, which invokes similar sentiments you would feel for Asa,Nothing’s ever promised Tomorrow, which is what the album is about anyway – honesty, courage, love…Life and living. It’s just, reviewing art as serious as this takes time. Finding words to describe 11 true songs requires patience.Tabula Rasa, which is of Latin origin, suggests a clean slate or the fact that training and observation make us. BrymO says the expression hit him deep when used by a judge during a hearing in his recent weaning troubles.BrymO has a brilliant new album out, Tabula Rasa (the gift), it’s a great album.Brymo’s single, Prick no get Shoulder. These are the words of the chorus:

Prick no get shoulder
E no get shoulder
Prick no get shoulder
You put e head, the rest dey enter
Prick no get shoulder
E no get shoulder
You put e head, the rest dey enter
Prick no get shoulder

The writer is a freelance journalist and art critic based in Accra, Ghana.

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I am a Creative Arts Writer who is also into Strategic Communications, Public Relations, Photography and IT consultancy. I am also Social media enthusiast and an alumni of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ).

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I am a Creative Arts Writer who is also into Strategic Communications, Public Relations, Photography and IT consultancy. I am also Social media enthusiast and an alumni of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ).

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