An Open letter to Shatta Wale

Dear Bandana,

I don’t even know if you still respond to the name Bandana anymore, but I had to use it to make a point, to let you know that, I have been around from when you stepped on the scene with Moko Hoo  till now.

From the time you dropped your first single featuring Tinny, which made waves on the Ghanaian music scene, stopping everyone in their tracks, a lot has happened in-between. You have been in the news for everything but good reasons. You are either caught up in a video smoking weed which is usually not a Hi-grade or insulting Event Organizers and any other perceived entity standing in your way in the full glare of the public.

It is time to focus on the man in the mirror because the only person you hurt is you and your future, as long as your music career is concerned. Nobody will contract a perceived irresponsible icon to be their brand ambassador, which is bound to affect their image and reputation nor support your cause. It is good identifying with the grassroots but isn’t that typical of anyone who is not at the top yet? It is time you look at the bigger picture.

Honestly, Apart from your hard work which is not usually acknowledged by the larger audience, I must say you rose to prominence because of the empathy many of us had on you after your rants and raves at the aftermath of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards. Some of us thought you deserved some acknowledgement to serve as a platform for you to work harder, but I think the little recognition which could be assumed as fame has gotten into your head.

The earlier you realize that you are in a competitive world and playing by the rules of showbiz (show business) the better for you to start pulling your acts together. It is high time you realize that you are in a competitive world with scarce resources where no one will dole their money to manage or produce an ailing and non-performing artiste; an artiste that is so cocooned in his own world without being mindful of the values its society holds dear.

How many people do you expect to buy and play a song that has pussy, suck your morda and other unprintable words in them? How many brands can you become an ambassador for, let alone talk about being a model for the upcoming artistes? 

Maybe, your management is not helping enough, but it is time to build a brand. It is time you build a brand that has the potential of convincing everyone that, you are a work in progress. Many of us believe in your raw talent and hail you as the self-acclaimed Dancehall king that you are, simply because you have paid your dues to the genre. When others were swaying to play other genres, like Afro Pop, Azonto and Alkayida, just because it was what was in vogue and bankable, you remained faithful to the genre.

As much as beefing in showbiz is a thriving force for record boost and sales, your beef with Samini Dagaati, the Music man, is needless and uncalled for. It is probably making you lose sight of the main act which is how to brand and present yourself to the public. Your presentation is very necessary as long as the business part of the show is concerned. 

I know you are in business. I know you need some money to defray your cost, to build a brand and to probably start recording in platinum studios. Fact that, you don’t play your gigs in orphanages and on the street alone shows that you are not in a charitable venture but business. You have to take yourself serious.

It is undisputed that you are now the acclaimed Dancehall king “inna di whole Ghana’ not necessarily because of your hits but fact that, it is all you have known and represented, but you really need to relax and learn one or two things from Samini, who is nationally and internationally known, versatile and appealing on all fronts. Samini has worked with a lot of musicians which eventually has given him an in-depth experience and exposure you can tap from and make it to the very top. Sit back and sift through the comments and opinions of the very masses that will make or break you and tailor your game according to their needs. 

However, I must congratulate you for making it to the levels of Samini. Fact that you are being compared to him on the big stage alone is even a feat you can bank on. It means, the people have recognized your efforts. It means the people are divided on who to support. Do not make Samini your standard, work on the contents of your song, your image and personality as far as the public is concerned and you can become the official poster child for Dancehall in Ghana.

Shatta Wale, we love you for your perseverance, we love you for thriving against all odds. We love you for whipping a renewed enthusiasm in the music industry and for bringing the Dancehall genre to the fore. Once more, we love you for making the music scene vibrant again. Shatta Movement for life!

Your Biggest Fan 

The beauty of writing

I know a lot of people who knew me some two years ago would have noticed an apparent change in me and it is even remarkable how they have not taken the pain to ask or pass a comment on the evolving me, but I reckon they are also working hard to finding a balance between their evolving selves. Perhaps, they don’t have time to spare. Maybe, they just don’t care or I can even die for all they care. We all have our devils to deal with.

Is that hypocrisy or plainly telling me in the face that I can go hug an ECG transformer which is bound to kill me anyway? I doubt if that’s really what the case is, because I probably may have been a part of the deadlock thus making it quite difficult for a few who could have broken through the territorial shield. 

Sometimes, I like to refer to this change in attitude as growth. I feel it is just me trotting ahead of the big run. Yeah, just like you, I also get skeptical, knowing that this big run may never come off, but I don’t give a mind as long as the trot is making me build momentum. It’s good as long as the trot occupies me and leaves me no luxury of time to sit with hands clasped in my lap. That is me growing out of group-think. That is me biding goodbye to playing to the gallery. That is me being practical with this rationality thing.

Shouldn’t things make sense to me?

I haven’t become uptight; I just cracked the code. I just chanced upon the blue print that keeps you busy all night around the round table. I am now privy to the game plan even though it threatens my very existence. I just stopped saying yes, when the answer should be a bold no. I only stopped laughing at your lame jokes. I just stopped dabbling in frivolities even though you think my absurd situation has just worsened. I know you know that, so let’s keep it on the down low.

Well, Check out if I have changed that much? I haven’t been in Church in a while and same applies to school, even though I would give anything to return to both sooner than later.  Never really been scared of death in a while, because all it does is to take my loved ones away from me. I have also taken a particular interest in how money works now, because apart from death, it is the second most factors to have scattered family and friends abroad and also because it can help me make a rippling positive impact on my generation and probably beyond.  It has simply denied us those positive vibes we used to share, but not by any means necessary.  

I haven’t read a book in a while neither have I swum in a while because I dreamt I got drowned.  Do not be too quick to conclude that I’m being superstitious. I call it trusting my instincts. Let’s just say I trust it because it is the only significant other who stays here with me through it all.

Dear Reader, before you start wondering what I’ve been up to lately, with those times and resources, then let just say, I have been finding a continual equilibrium between the old and new  me since it is being run on pilot basis. Talk about the gains and losses, the times and its related experiences and the need to delve into the nothingness; the void.

 All I do is to take a kingly ride through my Utopian alleys and rat-runs. I also like to watch the wind whirl around, while i wait for my time. I just bask in my comfort zone and watch the world go in slow motion while i ride alone in the fast lane. <cackles> I’m over speeding again.

Why do I heed if it doesn’t make sense to me?

Why do I agree if I actually disagree?

Why am I being compelled to keep appearances?

Is the unnecessary interplay between power a means to prove superiority or dominance?

Humph!

Sometimes, unnecessary thoughts such as, would we have made this stride as humanity without democracy, which prescribes the vital few to speak and eat on behalf of the masses? Thoughts like, are we ever going to have a revolutionary sort of a President who would crack the whip and save the gullible and the dying? Did Bandana have to demonstrate that unnecessary drama to be acknowledged and accepted in the Ghanaian Music Industry and beyond? Why are the Officiating Pastors still asking the newlyweds to recite same old epitaph of a wedding vow which becomes an albatross on their necks when they can actually be allowed to say a word or more to express how they actually feel before the trusting congregation? I also wonder what Rick Ross means when he says “I fuck her good”. Yeah, I keep wondering if Rick Ross could actually fuck that well and tell it to the whole world. Progressive, right? 

The aforementioned and other thoughts occupy my mind and leave me no space to even think about productive things. They make life intriguing for me. They make me want to scream. They make me want to get lost. They make me want to have power to at least, stop some of these absurdity and positively so, they make me yearn for enough wisdom to understandably navigate through this labyrinth of a life. 

As long as the fool will still be thirsty in the abundance of water and the rich man’s wealth being the center of attraction in the city, we as a people must face the truth to make life a lot easier for us. If we can stop the charade and come together as a people fighting a common enemy, and as a people synergizing to overcome our overwhelming woes, we would forever remain a hateful lot. We would supple in idiocy by rewarding bootlickers with high economic returns or even social praise. In other words, let us call a spade a spade.

Sometimes the careful and creative stringing of my real or imagined experiences plus the ability to say everything there is to say, just by creating a character makes me write these stuffs. It’s just one of my insane thoughts I would like to table before your sane mind to ponder on.

I have read some beautiful stories in my life and no matter how fictional they were, I was bound to relate to a lot of the scenes in the real world which only leaves me appraising their writing styles. I wonder how they do it so well and easily. To me, it is the flair with which they throw words about, devoid of conventional writing styles and the outstanding oddity is what becomes the icing that gives it that extra oomph which leaves the reader in admiration. It is that edifying moment when you realize that there can be endless possibilities. Even though I really wouldn't know if I was able to captivate your thought and imagination thus far, but without further ado I would like to say I was just practicing a writing style.