Give Kofi Kum Bilson more time

Francis Doku Showbiz News Aug - 07 - 2014 , 12:24

If they have only listened to him over the last two years, latter day listeners of radio would not know the legend of Kofi Kum Bilson. They will have the notion that this absolutely fantastic man is but a mere radio presenter. He is more than that!

In the mid to late 90s when private radio had just arrived on the scene and we were all trying to understand what exactly it was, the likes of Kofi Kum Bilson had us by some vital parts so we would never stop listening to their shows.

As the then host of Lunch Time Rhythms on Joy FM, boy, did we enjoy his selections (as we called them at the time)! You could never have a decent conversation with a friend between midday and 2:pm ever! They would leave you to go and listen to Mr. Bilson’s “cool” selections.

It therefore came as heartbreaking news for some of us his loyal fans on the lunch show when the presenter we have grown to love so much was taken off the show as he had to go to Luv FM to help bring up that station.

Kofi Kum Bilson excelled in Kumasi as well and eventually became the morning show host on Luv FM. His versatility then came to the fore when apart from the morning show, he also presented a fun filled Sunday afternoon show amongst others.

From Luv FM, the man we all came to know as KKB was transferred to Adom FM in Tema. From what I gather, he was under the impression that he would be hosting the morning show on the station only to be told that the show had already been taken and that what was available for him to present was the mid-morning show, Work and Happiness.

Above everything else, KKB is a consummate professional and being the classic definition of a utility player, in the radio sense, he accepted the challenge to be the host of the mid-morning show on the Tema-based radio station.

Those who only listen to Cosmopolitan Mix, Brunch In the Citi and the other bourgeoisie targeted mid –morning shows would not know that Kofi Kum Bilson changed the face of mid-morning radio on the predominantly Akan speaking market with his effervescent style back at Adom FM.

Trust me on this, guys, his witty comments, classic Franco-German style of greeting his listeners, his motivational messages (forget that borrowed heavily from Zig Zigler), his own specialized dedication to his friends at Bubuashie and other places and above all, his music got him a hall of fame status on radio.

That Adom FM dream team of Adakabre in the morning, Kofi Kum Bilson in mid-morning and Abeiku Santana in the afternoon to evening is perhaps the best day part team you would find on mass targeted radio in Accra since the so-called liberation of the airwaves. Bilson was in the hole to play his part and play well he did.

Meanwhile, Peace FM had been struggling to fix their mid-morning as they had tried different means without them working and yet down the motorway to Tema Kofi Kum Bilson was rubbing salt in their injury and making it impossible for them solve the problem.

His immense presence on Adom FM’s mid-morning was wreaking havoc on Peace FM’s desire to sort its own mid-midmorning show.

After trying in vain to beat him, Peace FM came calling on Bilson and he responded by jumping ship to the then Mile 7 Junction based radio station. His legend at Adom FM firmly written, he went to Peace FM and there also ensured that he would build a name for himself.

Peace FM’s mid-morning show got the listeners and the ratings shot up in no time after he had arrived as the host. People define radio shows and KKB has shown through his track record over many years and on different stations that this truism cannot be overlooked.

If I recall properly, when KKB arrived at Peace FM, the morning show ended at 9:30am and he had the rest of the time till midday to razzmatazz listeners with his style.

At some point, the morning show ended at 10am and after some commercials and others, he started his show from about 10:15 till midday.

Then at some point it became kind of confusing exactly when the morning show would end. It depended on when Kwami Sefa Kayi and his team of social commentators thought it was okay to end the national agenda they were building. We are still in that era.

I was listening to the show the other day and it was 11am when it ended and by the time Bilson was on air, it was approaching 11:30. How many minutes would he have to present his show? Never mind the fact that LPMs paid for on the mid-morning would have to be bundled together and read as announcements.

I don’t know what its internal policy is, but I think Peace FM needs to get a grip on the morning show and decide when it should end. I don’t think it ought to be left to when the Chairman General and his team of social commentators decide to bring their talking to a close.

I have not listened enough to know when Kwasi Aboagye ends his shows, but it ought not to be left to the whims of the presenter as to when to end a show. Kokorokoo must have a time to end so Mr. Bilson can come into the studio with all the confidence to present Working Time.

KKB has too much talent and a lot to share with audience to be thrown a few minutes to do it. Either that or I am probably crying more than the bereaved.

DKB STOLE THE SHOW BUT…

Last week I touched on the fact that DKB would have to excel at the Nite of a 1018 Laughs and Music show to make a name for himself and the Ghanaian comedy industry. Since Sunday his name has gone viral in a positive manner for the good show he put up.

However, in the midst of the euphoria and raining of adulations, and rightly so, on the young man, we failed to look at some of his flaws on stage. I had mentioned in my review of the show that he carried his luck too far on the area of vulgarity and he probably need to look at that in subsequent shows.

There were two other areas where I thought he should have stayed away from. The first area where I thought DKB rode his luck a tad far is where he decided to use rape in a not too tasteful manner as a material to joke about.

In my humble view, rape is a serious issue and must be treated as such and any attempt by a comedian to joke about the subject must come with all the circumspection it deserves so he would not send the wrong signal to both perpetrators and victims as though he is endorsing such a criminal behaviour. I am very certain he didn’t mean it to be so but just throwing in a caution.

Secondly, I think DKB’s joke that drew the most laughs was about a victim of down syndrome, and his way of doing things, who was his mate in senior high school. Whether he made that joke up or it was real, is not as important as the message it would send.

I went to read about the subject and got this definition: “down syndrome is a chromosomal condition that is associated with intellectual disability, a characteristic facial appearance, and weak muscle tone (hypotonia) in infancy. All affected individuals experience cognitive delays, but the intellectual disability is usually mild to moderate.”

In our attempt to crack jokes we should not let victims of such sicknesses or their families feel that we are unconcerned about their plight and not just that but would also go as far as joking about it. I think DKB could have found a different material in place of this and would still make the audience cackle on the night.

Don’t get me wrong, DKB was amazing on the night. He surprised everybody who was in the auditorium of the Accra International Conference Centre, including himself maybe, with a 5 star performance. I will pay to watch him again and again based on the performance last Saturday night.

I am just cautioning that certain topics are totally no-go area for comedy. He was the best on the night as on my scorecard he had 8.2/10 with both Bovi and Dan D’Humorous (the one with pot belly) getting 8/10 each, Funny Bone 7.5/10 and Okey Bakasi 7/10.

A friend asked me on Facebook why I rated him 8.2 and not 10 as he deserved that. I think it must have something to do with some of these jokes.

@TheGHMediaGuru