This
article was published on Loud Sound Ghana (https://loudsoundgh.com/2016/01/2015-the-year-in-music-review/)
Whoa! Wonderful how the year 2015
welcomed us and waved goodbye within a short measurable time. Ironically, a
glut of occurrences surfaced in the year. I hereby take the stage to walk us
through the 2015 musical journey. This article has been divided into 6 sections
to ensure I leave no stone unturned.
SONGS
Every person who updates his/her
playlist will have a huge folder of songs, as musicians, both mainstream and
underground didn’t rest their heads on their pillows. Personally, I was
impressed with the kind of songs that were released last year.
The commercial songs were well produced
and composed. The top genres in Ghanaian music took a step ahead. The year
began with hits from the previous year and was largely taken over by Gasmilla’s
“Telemo” which had massive airplay
throughout the year.
Stonebwoy’s
“Go Higher” was on replay at pubs,
beaches, etc. Then taking a curve down the year, Wisa’s “Ekiki Me”, Atom’s “Yɛ Wɔ Krom”, Bisa Kdei’s “Brother
Brother” + “Mansa” and Shatta
Wale’s “Kakai” + “Hol’ It” took the spot through to
Christmas. Let’s look at other songs that had the airwaves bumping:
·
“Shelele”
by E.L
·
“Skolom”
by VVIP
·
“M’akoma”
by R2Bees
·
“Revenge
of the Spartans” by Sarkodie
·
“Come
Over” by Stonebwoy & MzVee
·
“Wo
Onane No” by Kwamz & Flava
·
“Pimpinaa”
by Obrafour
…just to mention a few.
Newcomers sprung up to exhibit what
we’ve been missing. Ko-Jo Cue’s “Lavender”,
Shaker’s “M’adakraa” and Mr. Eazi’s “Bankulize”
made it on top charts.
ALBUMS
 |
| Mary Album artwork |
In the first half of the year, no
popular & appropriate body of work was released till E.L blessed the
industry with BAR II, a sophomore and
a sequel to BAR mixtape. Then the
bigwig, Sarkodie released a live album titled after his grandmother, “Mary”. Other albums released included:
·
“Breaking
News” by Samini
·
“Verified”
by MzVee
·
“Making
Tasha Proud” by Jayso
·
“Captain
Hook” by Shaker
·
“Songs
of Solomon” by Ofori Amponsah
·
“Breakthrough”
by Bisa Kdei
·
“Yenfii
Ta” by Daasebre Gyamena
·
“ELOM”
by E.L
…and others. Metrics are not checked in
Ghana, hence it’ll be difficult to determine who sold what units, or which
album had the most impact in the music scene.
However, the most well promoted, known
and outstanding album happened to be “Mary”.
Rocky Dawuni’s “Branches of the Same Tree” which is a personal
favorite came as no shocking news to me when it got nominated for Reggae Album of the Year at the 58th
GRAMMY awards, because of the greatness of the project.
VIDEOS
Visuals of some songs caught the
attention of people and were left flashing in the mind’s eye of viewers.
Splendid photography shown by videos such as Sarkodie’s “Special Someone” and Guru’s “Pooley
Swag”, wonderful special effects displayed by Episode’s “Avatar” and Sarkodie’s “Mewu”, great choreography exhibited by Kwamz
& Flava’s “Wo Onane No” and
VVIP’s “Skolom”, and captivating
story line by D. Black’s “Setewa Dɛnkyɛ” only give a picture of the diversity proven by Ghanaian
artists.
On the flipside, there’s a negligible
number of ‘slept on’ videos, and one which I can’t leave unmentioned is Red
Red’s “Ghetto”. Video directors like
X Bills Ebenezer, Nana Asihene, David Nicol-Sey, Justin Campos, Lex McCarthy,
just to mention a few, have to be commended for the brilliance they displayed
in 2015.
EVENTS
The year experienced a great deal of
events. Beginning from Freedom Concert
in Kumasi, through to Decemba 2 Rememba.
Annual events were hosted, as some got better, in contrast, others got worse. Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) 2015
suffered poor quality delivery.
4Syte
TV Music Video Awards probably may have been the worst show
the year witnessed.
From stage lights, to sound, continuity
and timing, everything was just negative. The technicians and control officers
obviously didn’t execute as expected of them. GN Bank Awards however arguably stands as one of the best programmes
organized in the year.
Empire Entertainment maintained the
respect for their brand as they put up 2 of the best of shows including Tigo Ghana Meets Naija and Back in the Day Concert.The former was
however a bore due to non-creative stage performances by the billed artists. The
2nd edition of BAR Concert was
headlined by E.L. The event brought together almost all Hip-Hop artists and
lovers in one venue. Other satisfactory organized events included Efya’s Girl Talk Concert, S-Concert, Loud In GH, BASS Awards,
and others.
As Hip-Hop grows in the country, it is
quite notable to be aware of the battle rap leagues which are gaining feat like
Lyrical Wars and Headnodders.
NEWS
The year tasted all sides of the yearly
fruit… good, bad and ugly. It was good news to all when Stonebwoy got nominated
for BET African Act award and
actually won it, being the first African Dancehall act to pick up the award.
Others including Sarkodie and MzVee were also nominated but lost out.
R2Bees and Sarkodie were chosen to
perform at SXSW Music Festival in
Texas, which is known to be one of the largest musical conferences around the
world. The “Illuminati” hitmaker also
sold out a concert at Apollo Theatre, NYC dubbed History in the Making.
Not to forget about the bad, thus, the
flop of Di Gorgon Concert at Trade
Fair, Accra headlined by Burna Boy, the Sarkodie-Ace Hood mix-up which came as
a big blow to Sarkodie’s brand. Also, at Tigo
Unplugged Concert in Kumasi, Flowking Stone burst out with statements
against the organization and individuals such as George Quaye, which led to a
campaign hashtagged #KumasiMustRise,
indicating that Oseikrom artists need to be treated fairly. And for the first
time, Sarkodie, Shatta Wale and R2Bees, 3 heavyweights boycotted the VGMA’s.
Shatta Wale and his former manager, Bulldog parted ways.
The ugly involved the demise of rapper
Ghetto KB, Bisa Kdei’s mother, Stonebwoy’s mother. May their souls rest in
perfect peace.
Ace broadcaster, KOD also survived a horrific car accident.
Wisa of “Ekiki Me” fame became the most talked about as he exposed his
manhood on stage while performing at Citi FM’s Decemba 2 Rememba concert. Currently, he has pleaded not guilty to
charges brought against him by the organizers.
GOSPEL
MUSIC
At the gospel front, songs such as “W’afom Kwan” by Patience Nyarko, “Hyɛbrɛ Sesafoɔ” by Obaapa Christy, “Hour
by Hour” by SP Kofi Sarpong and Kofi Gyan’s “M’asem” gave listeners spiritual inspiration by gaining much
popularity all across Ghana. Well-structured albums put out involved “Hossana” by Kwadwo Kwadwo, “Aposor” by Nicholas O. Acheampong, “I Believe” by SP Kofi Sarpong and Obaapa
Christy’s “Hyɛbrɛ Sesafoɔ”.
At the African Gospel Music Awards,
Ghanaian gospel acts stood out, as KODA won Producer of the Year award, and
Cwesi Oteng took home Artiste of the Year (West Africa) and Artiste of the Year
(Overall) awards. Grand concerts were staged, among these were Adom Praiz, Harvest Praise, Ghana Stands in
Worship, etc.
Generally, Ghanaian music improved in
2015 and we thank the good Lord for seeing us through. Producers with limited
resources they’re exposed to and setbacks like power cuts were still able to
output quality music. Everyone did well but not much. Our music industry is
still paralyzed, our music content still needs to be fortified, and promotion,
distribution and sales are nothing good to write home about. Infrastructural
set-ups need to be increased. I can go on and on, but, I’m optimistic that 2016
will be a much better year, hence let’s put our minds to it, work and pray
towards it.
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