Ebony would have been greater if she was alive — Father

The impact the late Dancehall artiste, Ebony, had on the music industry in one year was huge with her hit tracks, including Sponsor and Maame Hwe. For many, she would have been Ghana’s biggest female artiste if she were alive.

One year after her death, her father, Nana Opoku Kwarteng, spoke to the Daily Graphic and said he knew his daughter would have been a bigger name had she still been alive. 

“If my daughter were to be alive, I am not sure Ghana would have been able to contain her, she would have been greater by now. We all know Ohemaa, the acceleration, the rise was just happening within a short time,” he said.

Nana Opoku Kwarteng said his daughter’s death had not been easy on the family. “It has been tough, but what can we do, we are holding on with the belief that the queen’s legacy will not die but will live on.”

As her birthday, which falls on Saturday, February 16 also approaches, her father revealed that the family would hold a ‘Jollof Party’ on the day. “Ebony liked jollof, that was her favourite food and she was really good at cooking it so the family will be having some jollof party for anyone who wants to be part of my daughter’s birthday,” he stated.

From late 2016 to 2017, Ebony dominated the music charts while also capturing the headlines for her utterances, her raunchy stagecraft and her revealing clothes. Opinions were divided about her image; while some lauded her free spiritedness, others felt she was a bad influence.

Her exploits on the scene were that awesome and it was, therefore, not surprising that she became the first female singer in Ghana to win the overall Artiste of the Year at the 2018 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards after she died.

Other awards she won posthumously included the Afro Pop Song of the Year with her track Sponsor, while her album - Bonyfied - received the Album of the Year at the 2018 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards.

Like many other budding Ghanaian celebrities, including Suzzy Williams and Terry Bonchaka, Ebony left the stage too early when the applause was becoming loud.

She died in a car crash on February 8, 2018 on the Sunyani-Kumasi highway after visiting her mother, along with two friends who were with her, Franky Kuri and Francis Atsu Vondee.

Many of her fans could not believe the news about her death until videos and photos of the car in which she was travelling were published on various social media platforms.

Ebony was laid to rest on March 24, 2018 at the Osu Cemetery.