Okyeame! Okyeame!!
How true! No other song from the repertoire of Ghana’s Rap Doctor Okyeame Kwame best describes the premiere of his Versatile Show last Friday than the much early “Asa Aba So”, a 1998 duet he did with Okyeame Quophi.
That is the song that carries the chorus:
Woana na oto ndwom
(Who is it who sings)
Ma woho popo
(And leaves you shaking all over)
Akyeame! Akyeame!
On the surface, the song may appear as mere bluffi and self-praise but indeed it captures the essence of a young visionary poised to push the frontiers of musicianship in Ghana to embrace theatre, dance and multi-media resources.
Being the first-ever such show, it was perhaps to be expected that there would be take-off glitches and indeed there were quite a handful. The performance opened with uncertainty gaps in the running order including a freeze of the LCD projection.
Again the excitement, generated by Okyeame Kwame’s spectacular entry onto the stage hidden in a fontomfrom drum flown from the stage roof was killed by the Rap Doctor himself who opted to speak to the audience instead of tucking straight into his opening song.
These glitches, however, paled into insignificance once the “mojo” got rolling. Okyeame Kwame knew what he was talking about when about forty minutes into the show, he announced that the real show was yet to come. And when it came, what a great show it was!
A little theatre here and little dance there, (courtesy Roverman theatre group and Noyam dancers) Okyeame Kwame used music as the cement to blend the various parts together into one huge party. His many friends helped him out.
The select list of performers comprised Richie, Samini, Bradez, Slim Busterr, Funny Face, Raquel, Kesse, Old Sodja, Akatakyie and a complete live band in the orchestra pit.
Obviously, Okyeame Kwame would have loved to share the stage with his good friends Tinny and Edem but their association with Glo did not allow them to perform on Okyeame Kwame’s MTN platform.
Still Okyeame Kwame, the innovator that he is, pulled Tinny and Edem in through another door – their performance was projected over a huge LCD screen while Okyeame Kwame accompanied them live on stage!
The audience demonstrated their appreciation of the show by dancing in the aisles and little spaces between seat rows. Everyone seemed to have enjoyed himself. Who wouldn’t with songs flowing from the lips of original performers?
At the end of it all, the Versatile Show came to a full stop at exactly 12.30 am which was commendable time-keeping worthy to be emulated by other event organisers.
If audiences praised last year’s performance tour of South Africa’s Umoja to Accra, Okyeame Kwame’s Versatile Show promises to be in line to receive similar praise as the show rises towards that standard with a little touch-up here and there. And this is why it was a pity that the premiere show ran for only one night.
Certainly, its potential needs to be spread to other venues within Ghana.
By Nanabanyin Dadson
