In April 2010, I did a feature titled ‘How to break the Charter House hold on GMAs’, in which I talked about a number of ways to make the award scheme more of a people’s choice award and to improve its credibility at large. After a review of the scheme last year, when Vodafone took over as title sponsors, I am excited to say that majority of my concerns in that feature have been addressed. Although I called for 100% voting power for the general public, the review committee has now given 40% to the public in lieu of the previous 30%.
The review sees the formation of two new bodies, Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) Board and Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) Academy, which will steer the selection, categorization and voting in the scheme. Both bodies will have 30% stake each in the decision of winners for the awards in the public voting categories; and 50% each in the industry voting categories. The honorary awards will be decided 100% by the VGMA Board, while the Most Popular Song of the Year is decided 100% by the public. The Award for Sound Engineer, Music Video, and Music Producer will be decided by VGMA Board and peer voting.
Other new changes in the voting system include the addition of new channels including Online voting via www.ghanamusicawards.com (limited per IP address), and voting on mobile phone via short code (limited to 20 texts per mobile number). My problem with this for now is that if online voted is limited per IP addresses, then votes from public internet cafes would pose a problem and prevent subsequent voting by other users.
The categories for the VGMA were also reviewed to include 15 Public Voting categories, 12 Industry Voting Categories and 3 Honorary Categories. The newly created categories, which are reintroductions from past schemes, are Gospel Album of the Year, Group of the Year, and Sound Engineer of the Year.
The review also expanded eligibility for the VGMA by taking cognizance of new digital channels of music distribution e.g. Facebook, twitter, RBT/CRBT as such, the word “Commercial’ was dropped because some of the channels are non commercial e.g. Twitter, Youtube etc. Thus a release now refers to any musical work that can be obtained officially through Digital web or Mobile downloads, CD, VCD, DVD and Cassette purchases. To be eligible for a VGMA 2012 the work should have been released from 1st December 2010 – 31st December 2011.
The VGMA Board will compile all entries received into the appropriate categories and will shortlist them into the final nominations list which will be published for public and industry voting. Submission of entries and nominations are currently ongoing and the public can nominate their favourite artists and songs on www.ghanamusicawards.com.
I sincerely hope that these new changes and future changes would go a long way to improve the award scheme. www.dcreisempire.co.nr
Sensational performer and arguably one of the biggest female artiste on recent times has made the headlines for quite a varying number of reasons.
As the debate pends on as to whether she is leaving Lynx” or not, we are rather caught in some of the lyrics of her new single “Go Go wind”. The question that comes to the mind of any impartial observer is “Is Eazzy a “Go Go Wind” dancer?
A “go go wind” dancer is for lack of words a “stripper” or “poll dancer”. The sassy diva who paused on releasing singles to focus on the business side of her career, has resurfaced with a hot dancehall banger and a statement.
The song “go go wind” features dancehall new comer Jupita and is currently one of the most played songs on radio making the comeback and the hype that came with it worth its allowance. As more questions stand unanswered, we will indulge the public as we seek answers to whether the song could be a relatable life story of the singer?
In a related development, a lot of buzz seems to be going on about the unprecedented video shoot tour dubbed the “Go Go Wind Tour”. The tour which is set for 4 cities will engage fans and make them a formidable part of the brand they so support.
Sensational singer Raquel has been identified as the Ghanaian artiste who exposed her genitalia live on stage in-front of a crowd of over 2000, at the just ended Decemba2Rememba (D2R) 2011 hiplife concert, on Christmas Eve at the main hall of the Accra International Conference Centre.
The incident occurred when the “Sweetio”singer, dressed to kill in a sea blue silky straight attire, appeared on stage without any panties and gave free viewing access to her sex organ whiles she was performing on stage. Even though the back of her sleeveless dress was okay, lengthwise, the front was cut too low; above her knee and midway to her hips.
When Raquel was happily singing her latest smash hit “Sweetio” which featured Sarkodie, she allegedly positioned herself in such a way that some members in the audience, especially on the front row including Peacefmonline.com’s Entertainment Reporter, Eugene Osafo-Nkansah, Stone of GTV, and Nana Yaw of Nanayaw18.com amongst others, were left with no choice than to feast their eyes on something else.
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Showbiz icon Delores Frimpong-Manso, popularly known as Delay, has responded to a News-One publication that she was involved in a secret strip-tease business in Milan, Italy.
Though Delay had gone wild with anger when News-One first reached her over the story and she directed the paper to speak to her lawyers, she made a quick u-turn after the publication, agreeing to speak to the paper after the story made the headlines. “Yes I was in Milan and I went to a couple of clubs in the area you are talking about but I never stripped naked. I danced all right because every normal person would sway to good music but I never did a strip tease. It was a personal dance I did and let her who has never visited a club to enjoy good music throw the first stone at me,” Delay told News-One in a telephone interview.
When asked what her mission in Milan was, Delay said she had the constitutional right to visit any country of her choice without seeking permission from any media house, News-One included.
“I saw her myself. I was in a club at Corso Buenos Aires and she was there with three other girls. They were all dancing strip tease and I gathered that was why she slimmed down so as to boost her market,” a source from Milan told News-One, and this was the basis on which the story was put out.
When Delay was initially contacted by the paper and asked whether she was recently in Milan, her response was positive. She was then asked if she ever visited a club at Corso Buenos Aires and again her response was positive. The paper then asked if the club was a strip club and suddenly Delay was furious and said the paper should direct the questions at her lawyer.
Meanwhile, Delay, on her trip to Milan, did not travel with her lawyer. She later sent a text message to the paper’s Editor threatening to go to court if he went ahead with the story. As at the time of going to bed with the story, Delay had still not provided an answer on whether or not she indeed stripped and danced in the club.
News-One checks revealed that Delay is a very close friend to a popular celebrity who owns a night club in Accra and that night club is known for organizing strip teases at is VIP section.
Indeed the owner of the said club is herself a former sex dancer. Though not confirmed beyond doubt, the owner of the said club and Delay were said to have taken a couple of Ghanaian girls to Milan and given them out to agents for the strip tease business.
At age 28 plus, Delay insists she is still a virgin. By all standards, she is an accomplished lady for her age. She has a mid morning show on radio and has a talk show on three television stations.
She also goes by the name ‘Efia Targor’ and is not a pushover in celebrity circles. News-One can confirm she has bought a house at East Legon in Accra and has just bought a new ride, a 2006 Infiniti QX56 4×4 which is yet to be registered.
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A public Awards ceremony constituted and branded “The Annual Ghana DJ Awards” - the first of its kind to be organized in the country - will be held this year for the first time in Accra with a sole aim of promoting and rewarding the best achieving Ghanaian Radio, Night Club and “recognized” mobile Disk Jockeys.
The programme, put together by Merqury Republic Events has been designed to bring more excitement to the DJ profession which according to Merqury Quaye, “has prevailed as a pivotal and inevitable element in the promotion of Ghanaian culture, music, as well as provision of quality music entertainment on radio, online and at social gatherings to compliment the work of the Ghana Tourist Board and Ghanaian musicians”.
Organizers of the event have emphasised that the Ghana DJ Awards will be held to empower Ghanaian Disc Jockeys, to create a loyal patronage for Disc Jockey driven events and also to create exciting activities or promotions that would help sustain public interest in the art of Disc Jockeying.
GHANA DJ AWARDS will be held solely in honour of the country’s most hardworking and dedicated Disk Jockeys who promote Ghanaian culture through music, as well as skillfully play music to entertain music lovers in Ghana and other parts of the world.
According to Miss Linda Larbi, a member of the planning commitee, a list of categories and nominees will be relesed online via www.ghanadjawards.com and other major websites. After filing for nominations, nominees for Radio and Night club categories will be selected by a panel of music industry professionals who are broadly representative of the Ghanaian music sectors; music media specialists, music artistes, promoters and Disk Jockeys themselves. After this selection, nominees are then publicly announced.
“The public are then invited to vote through the official website of the event and a text short code to constitute 35 percent of marks to compliment 65 percent to be adjudged by specialists to decide the final winners at the designated venue for the awards night.
Date for filling of nominations will be announced at a press conference to outdoor the event in March".
Meanwhile all Ghanaian DJs are encouraged to follow the Ghana DJ Awards page on twitter@ghanadjawards for updates.
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“Issues about love have always been betrayed”, Machiavelli, the Florence philosopher could be described as a sure predictor in this case.
It is so unfortunate a loyal singer and the heart of many music lovers, Adezoa Stokes (formerly of Mentor 2 fame) has fallen victim to this statement.
When the story about Adez’s secret relationship with Stonebwoy, the ghetto love hit maker, surfaced, it became a very difficult task following the proceedings of the relationship. If anyone told me journalism had this tedious task, I would have looked elsewhere. Being a secret relationship, the two (Adez and Stonebuoy) kept their togetherness from the public domain in order to give fans mirage of the tittle-tattle.
Investigation by this reporter had scanty information about the relationship. Adezoa Stokes, who has been through all the phases of music (from live band music, backing of songs of Kojo Antwi and Hugh Masekela, Stars of the future and Mentor 2 reality shows) who fell in love with the reggae demon, Stonebwoy, had the best of time in the very beginning of their love life. As always, the beginning is sweeter and the end justifies the means was a measure gauge statement for these two love birds. Unknowingly for Adez who many big names in the showbiz describe as a lady who has paid her dues in the music industry, Stonebuoy was in a secret relationship with her cousin (name withheld). Suspicion about the relationship of Stonebuoy and Adez’s cousin grew stronger in the instinct of Adez. In order not to be a possessive lover, Adez in her usual charming voice woke her “soon to be husband” in the middle of their sleep and told him about her recent feeling which Stonebwoy denied in an anger. “You listen to your friends so much, ahhh! What kind of woman are you?” Stonebuoy rhetorically asked Adez. “Whenever I call you, a woman picks up and you always say she is your sister. I know all of your sisters and which of them is that who can’t mention my name when she picks the call. Or you haven’t even saved my name on your phone?” she asked Stonebwoy. These words of the two were heard in a secret recording. The tape about this conversation which has so many personal chats of the two will circulate soon.
Efforts to reach Stonebwoy proved futile as his phone has been off for quite some time now. In a telephone interview with Adez, she told this reporter that she has nothing to say about this case because she is not in the best of moods to do so. In her usual thin, sharp and communicable laughter, she said bye. Sources close to Adez, made the story two sided, until Derby, the prominent Ghanaian Promoter, revealed few about the story. “I have known Adez for a long time and she is so emotional about such things. It will break her heart so easily. How can you date your girlfriend’s cousin, who does that?” Derby asked.
Adez, who is in preparation for the birth of her album, is in a rehab. She wants to gain full recovery psychologically before her album hits the stores. Before the album gets to fans, Adez has released a song titled ‘Budiin’ which features Stonebwoy. The song talks much on her experience with Stonebuoy. Is it that Adez finds her rascal lover the best to tell the story of their life or it is a piece of advice using their life as an essential example for others not to repeat such mistake? In the song, Stonebuoy apologies for his wrong do whilst Adez laments about the whole incidence. Unless you listen to the song, do not judge Stonebwoy as a cheat.
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Wiz Khalifa’s still riding off the high of his smash single “Black and Yellow” reaching triple platinum status, but that high may soon come crashing down. News broke today that Wiz has been served with a lawsuit claiming that he stole the concept behind his hit single from another Pennsylvania artist.
According to AllHipHop, songwriter Max Gregory Warren of Sharon, PA filed a suit against the Pittsburgh rapper for allegedly stealing the concept for “Black and Yellow” from his copyrighted ’07 track “Pink N Yellow.” Warren contends that Khalifa and company “engaged in a scheme to defraud [the] plaintiff out of the fruits of his copyright of the Subject song.”
The lawsuit also names “Black and Yellow” producers Stargate, Wiz’s label Rostrum Records, Wiz’s publishing company PGH Sound, EMI Music Publishing, Warner Music Group and Atlantic Recording Corporation. The plaintiff is seeking $2,375,000 in damages for a litany of charges, including deceit, copyright infringement, civil conspiracy and unjust enrichment.
A full copy of the lawsuit can be found over at AllHipHop. DX will keep you updated on the case as more information comes to light.
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