Edward Effah leads Fidelity to 79% Profit increase

In March 2001, Edward Effah was selected as one of the best twenty young leaders in Ghana for the inaugural class of the Ghana chapter of the Africa Leadership Initiative. Since then his name has never left the top performers list. Fidelity Bank under his leadership has recorded some phenomenal successes over the years and shows promise of continuous growth. In the industry, the bank has won several awards including the prestigious Best Bank- Customer Care for the Ghana Banking Awards under his leadership. He is by all standards a high performing individual.

In 2014, the nation was faced with an economic downturn that presented a turbulent period to the financial sector. In spite of this challenge Fidelity Bank recorded an appreciable performance under the leadership of Mr. Edward Effah in 2014 when profits increased by about 79% from the previous year’s GH¢63 million to GH¢112.5 million in 2014.

At the bank’s annual general meeting, Mr. Effeh said; “In the year under review, operating income was GH¢326 million, representing a growth of 67 percent over last year’s figure of GH¢195 million. Growth in operating income was as a result of a 59 percent growth in the net interest income from GH¢117 million in 2013 to GH¢186 million in 2014. Growth in fees and commission on the other hand increased but was below expectation due to the shortage in foreign currency and decreased international trade activities in the year”. He said that effective cost savings, notwithstanding the higher inflationary environment, supported the profit performance, saying “operating expense for the year came to GH¢183 million, 57 percent above that of the previous year.”

According to a news item published on the company’s website; assets of the group soared significantly by 85 per cent from GH¢1.69 billion in 2013 to GH¢3.14 billion in 2014. The bank’s profit after tax increased by about 90 per cent from GH¢43.86 million in 2013 to GH¢83.38 million at the end of last year, buoyed by about a 71 per cent growth in operating income from GH¢197.1 million in 2013 to GH¢336.7 million in 2014.

Mr. Effah attributes the Bank’s performance to improved internal processes substantially, enhanced delivery of service to customers and increased footprint in the Ghanaian banking landscape. He said the bank brought on board IBM, a leading IT company to provide the latest technology platform to serve its customers, invested in a state-of-the-art contact center to serve customers as well as the acquired ProCredit Savings and Loans Limited to ensure expansion of its activities. These factors are largely responsible for the growth. Mr. Edward Effah noted that the integration has been very smooth and that Fidelity currently has the best combination of Human Resources in the sector.

Board Chairman of the Bank, Dr. William Panford Bray, touching on the acquisition of ProCredit noted that the acquisition of ProCredit had helped the bank to increase its footprint across the country with an extended network of 80 branches and 110 ATMs. With the integration of processes and credit methodology well integrated, The bank can now boast of customer base increase from 485,000 to 621,829 helping to improve deposit base by 31 per cent to GH¢1.8 billion.

High performance in the financial sector enables high performance in all other sectors of an economy. With the likes of Edward Effah at the helm of affairs, there is light at the end of the tunnel for Africa as the Cheetahs, slowly move to the front-line. Mr. Effah is a classic example of high performance; a person who’s very presence in any group forces change in the upward direction.  Team SPiD-UP is working hard to find out what his driving philosophy is and when this is done, we hope to bring you an inspiring article that will encourage you towards being the best you can be. In the meantime, keep brightening your corner. #SPiD-UP

If you know other high performers, nominate someone into the performance recognition Program

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David Sakyi Recognized for High Performance

Since we announced our search for high performing individuals i.e. ordinary people doing ordinary things in extra-ordinary ways, we have received all kinds of nominations. The initial list was overwhelmingly long and the truth is that were not prepared for it. It took a while to go through it all. The very necessary assessment was another task in itself. We had to visit nominees at their locations to be sure they are what nominators say they are.

While some were a difficult decision to make, others made it very easy. One of the easy decisions was Mr. David Kwaku Sakyi; a well-known radio and TV personality who also runs the famous Kwaku David Photography here in Accra. Most people do not know that he also serves as a minister with the Lighthouse Chapel International. He is also a passionate speaker and has been featured on many frontline events like TEDx and PESC. He’s also been hosted on the KSM show.

But it is not his Jack-of-all-tradeness that fascinated us the most. It is more how he does what he does when he chooses something to do. Without training in radio, he very quickly became the main voice of Hebert Mensah’s Xfm when he hosted the Xpress Breakfast Show for almost 2 years. His outstanding voice and depth of knowledge won him a large following that is still growing with everything new thing he does. When he decided to move to TV, he was invited to host Capital TV’s morning show almost immediately after he had been guest on the show which was then hosted by Kwame Danso (E-nice) of Echo fame.

After leaving Capital TV, David was swooped up by TV Africa to co-host the flagship show Media Today. At the end of his tenure, David decided to concentrate on his photography business but was soon called into action by the Citifm’s breakfast show team. He had previously been a regular on Jessica’s drive time show, Traffic Avenue.

I have personally seen Kwaku David as he is affectionately called at work in his photography hat. What he does with a camera is astounding. He literally talks to the camera and makes it do the most amazing things. He talks passionately about unusual angles and going the extra mile to get shots that will bring memories to life. He puts a lot of time and energy training and retraining his team very regularly because he wants to make say they are always on point. But that is just the thing with people who go the extra mile. They always have some unusual idea in their head that needs to materialize. It is not the same with a person who shows up, points and shoots. He and his team travel regularly around the country and the continent taking pictures in the most unusual of places.

As an astute businessman, he has recently evolved his operation into what is now the KD Group where all his many hats have been brought together under one roof. Mr. Sakyi might be a jack of many trades but the various trades are not too far apart and he demonstrates passion in every one of them. Upon our assessment, it was easy to recognize him as a high performing individual who is also very likely to make the SPiD-UP® Fellowship status in the very near future. If we learnt something from Mr. Sakyi, it is passion for what you do and the ever elusive high performance mindset. 

Look around you; there are high performing people everywhere; working, pushing, fixing, growing, impacting and doing above-average things. You can brighten your little corner too by simply nominating them into the SPiD-UP® Performance Recognition Program to show your appreciation and contribute towards a better Africa. Most importantly, let Mr. David Sakyi inspire you to give your best wherever you find yourself. He will be speaking at our workshops in the very near future. Be sure to join us then. #SPiD-UP®

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Dr. Adjimani Recognized - SPiD-UP® Performance Recognition Program

It appears there are people who have no other interests besides making this world a better place. Such people seem to give their best purposefully regardless of where they find themselves. They do it so effortlessly it is almost as if they do not think about it. Dr. Jonathan Adjamini of the Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of science —University of Ghana is one of such personalities.

We showed up in his office unexpectedly to present him with the recognition award. It was surprise visit of a sort. Nobody had mentioned it to him of course. From the moment we walked into his office it was evident that he was a high impact individual. He was in the middle of a private tutorial with a student. We will soon learn that he keeps a list of non-performing students for special attention. Now that must sound like a simple thing to do until you see the size of the biochemistry class and the host of other things clamoring for his at attention. If you know anything about Ghanaian lecturers, you know he is not the norm.

He gives meaning to high performance. The interesting thing is that he has a whole philosophy to what he does and you know that interests me a great deal. He has decided that in spite of the myriad of challenges he still has an opportunity to brighten his little corner. If you think that sounds like something you hear every day, rest assured; the majority of people who profess this idea do not even come near practice. This man lives the idea.

He pointed out; “I do not need a huge platform or fame to make impact. I can do that here. I believe that if I can come this far, these children can go even further because they have more opportunities than I did. Besides, many of them are actually very intelligent without knowing it. I do what I can to bring it out of them and the result is exciting”. We were told in confidence by some students that it is not unusual for Dr. Adjimani to go out of his way to do things that sometimes puts his hard-earned reputation on the line. He doesn’t just teach, he builds lives.

In the middle of our conversation he dashed to his desk, spent 5 or so minutes looking for a document which he eventually printed out. “Let me show you something” — he handed me what looked like an article from a website. The heading read; Prof. Ada Yonath Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2009; for the studies of the Structure and Function of the Ribosome. I do not know what ribosomes are and I frankly have no plans of googling it—these science things give me headaches. But this one was exciting; apparently the good Prof. Yamoth and his team made 25,000 attempts just to make this discovery. You might have heard about Edison and his famously worn-out 999 light bulb attempts. You have my permission to laugh at the difference. These people are on a whole other level; 24 steps up. You have to be out of your mind to want to attempt something 25, 000 times. Prof. Yanoth is clearly not a normal person and they do say like attracts like. I am especially fascinated that Dr. Adjimani was excited about this enough to take time and print out the article for me. It is a demonstration of his performance consciousness. High performance things excite him.  I learnt something new—if it excites you, share it.

I still have the article and it is going into a frame that will sit on my desk. Not because I plan to google the ribosome thing but more because I want to see it every time I sit down to work. To say I am inspired will be an understatement. There are those just want to do their best; they are different from those who do it because they want fame and money. Dr. Adjamani of the biochemistry department of the University of Ghana is of the former breed and I was honored to have met him. I rejoice in the fact that there are still men of his kind working in our institutions. Such men and women give me hope by keeping the dream of a better continent alive.

I had to do my very best not to take too much of his time as there were students waiting outside. I really wanted to stay and talk for a while. Dr. Adjamini was nominated into the SPiD-UP® Performance Recognition Program by a former student who is now a practicing dietitian. She thought it was a good way to express her heartfelt gratitude to this seemingly ordinary man doing extra ordinary things in the lives of young people. She told us, “at a point it didn’t look like I was going to make the grades until Dr. Adjimani stepped in to do a little more than he is paid for”. Our conversation with other past and current students revealed that they have all been impacted positively by him and are in fact very fond of him. No one had mentioned this to him until the surprise visit of team SPiD-UP®. Among his many achievements is the authoring of three books in his field that are used in universities across the country. With another book under construction, I could not think of a better way to extend one's impact.

   

He epitomizes high performance. For that we celebrate him and his work as well as the institution that thought it was a good idea to hire him. There are people out there doing wonderful work and not getting recognized. At SPiD-UP® we consider this an injustice. Like Dr. Adjimani, they may not be chasing fame and as such, will not indulge in the lobbying and the bribery that many do to gain recognition. This is because such people are selfless—they give without expecting anything in return. Performance theorists have taught us, that such persons are often high performers and Dr. Adjimani exudes the traits.  In fact you will find such traits with the likes of Einstein and Tesla.

It is imperative to recognize and celebrate such persons—it is our way of brightening our little corner and making our continent more performance conscious. Look around you; they are everywhere; working, pushing, fixing, growing, impacting and doing above-average things. You can brighten your little corner too by simply nominating them into the SPiD-UP® Performance Recognition Program to show your appreciation. Just like the person who nominated him. Most importantly, let Dr. Adjimani inspire you to give your best wherever you find yourself. He will be speaking at our workshops in the very near future. Be sure to join us then. #SPiD-UP®

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PESC 2016 at hand

Last year our very own Shakiru Akinyemi aka the Shakmellon was at PESC’15. He filed this tastefully detailed report that almost captured everything that was said at the event. We are especially excited about PESC because we believe entrepreneurship can eliminate poverty from the continent. High Performance in entrepreneurship can definitely do even more. We have to have entrepreneurs but we have to have results producing high performing entrepreneurs who can take us to the next level.  PESC is promising in this regard.

There are many entrepreneurship events in town these days. But they are not all the same. For any event like this one to be useful, two factors must be considered. Content; what is being said and who is saying it. The second is structure; how has the event been organized and how is it being delivered—this influences participant experience. The participant must leave feeling inspired and eager to start something.

PESC has achieved this consistently for the last three years. It is for this reason that we recommended the program to all entrepreneurs and even those who are waiting to make the jump.

Project SPiD-UP® supports PESC ’16. We think you should too.

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Preview: Role Model Africa Corporate Dialogue III

I saw this poster and it was easy to recognize the source. Samuel Agyeman-Prempeh! Invents!! Role Model Africa!! I took a closer look and what I saw drew a wide grin upon seeing two names headlining the poster. Michael Okyere Darko – OBRAFUOR and the ever enigmatic Bernard Avle.

(Food: paused, Standing fan: switched to maximum speed, Sleeves: Folded up, DVD: slotted in ‘Pae mu ka’ CD. Songs played in background)

About five years ago, on one quiet breezy afternoon, and in the company of three friends, I found myself in a certain house somewhere in Accra. Our hosts were setting up the compound to host a group of Believers to a bread-breaking time as Christ himself has ordained. As we waited for the action to begin, I saw this beautiful little girl, running around, playing and smiling. While my friends and i played with her, my host told me that the little girl is Obrafuor’s seed. Wow. 

Until then, I had not met the ‘Executioner’ in person though I have always admired his literary, oratory, musical and lyrical powers. He is in my candid view the Okomfo Anokye of Ghana Rap. Surprisingly, My host said Obrafuor was indoors.

“Obrafuor? Here?”

“Yes”

I did not believe my host for all the banku in the world. It did not strike him to challenge me to a bet; I’d have lost.

Nothing, Hell nothing showed that legendary Obrafuor could be in one of the rooms of that humble building yet it was true. We urged our host to let us see him. He agreed.

After few minutes, Obrafuor came out, smiling, saw his little girl and patted her before coming to greet each one of us who were then seated. My heart raced. We stood up too. I was dumbstruck as I peered into his face hoping to see the content of his mind through his head. I wanted to know how he does it. Ok, hold on right there. Something happened which fortified my respect for the General.

“Obrafuor, can you give us a free style?” I asked.

“Bro, my style is not free” he answered with a lovely smile of a father to a son.

My goodness! what a sharp mind in every sense of the word. We took photographs (not selfies. selfies were unimaginable then). He thanked us for our time and without fanfare went back into his room. That day, my love for his works and for the beauty of poetry in/and music was strengthened.

And for those ruling the airwaves now with their music; Sarkodie, Manifest, El and Co, who also are putting Ghana on the world map and generating millions in revenue, they have this man, Michael Okyere-Darko to thank profusely for setting alight their paths.

Bernard Avle? The first time I saw him, He was Master of Ceremony at a Fidelity/Graphic Business Meeting at Alisa Hotel. The second time, he was Master of Ceremony at the 2016 National Convocation of Springboard and after the event was hounded by ambitious youth who wanted all styles and degrees of Selfies. From a corner, I watched him, his fluidity and humanness. Twice, Yes, twice, but I follow his weekday acts on Citifm via my twitter handle @sharkmellon1

This is the third edition of Role Model Africa Corporate Dialogue. What do I expect to gain from the conference? To hear Obrafuor and Bernard say things I don’t already know, to challenge me to success and to blow my mind. What about you?

Samuel and the Invents Team. You are biiiiiiiggggggg men (In Bernard Avle’s voice). See you there people! 22^nd May, 2016. 3pm, African Reagent Hotel.  

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"YOU CAN RAISE CAPITAL IN THIRTEEN DIFFERENT WAYS" CALEB AYIKU

The guest for the second edition of the Role Model Africa Corporate Dialogue addressed the theme “Financing the African Business”. Caleb Ayiku, who is a corporate trainer, business coach and entrepreneur drew insight from his rich experience in business in addressing the concerns of participants. He has strong business development skill; he is a strong leader with exceptional strategic, communication and networking skills capable of building teams for flawless execution of business strategies. He is the founder of the renowned management consultancy, Breakthrough Consult and a co-founder of the Camarie Group and Rex Oil, an Oil Marketing Company in Ghana. Caleb has worked in a number of corporations across the continent, where he has gained key experiences and knowledge in business. He is a former Managing Director of Engen Ghana, Engen Kenya, Engen Tanzania, Herbalife and Oando Ghana. He is a Chemical Engineer by profession and offers career and life coaching to young and aspiring leaders and entrepreneurs. Caleb is also a Management Consultant, and has trained and consulted with several corporations including Barclays Bank, Citi FM, Enterprise Insurance and FEDEX. He is also an author books covering the areas of business, motivation and health.

Caleb, during the dialogue, educated the audience on the nuances of entrepreneurship and business. He emphatically stated that, the path to financial success requires a multiple stream of income. Hence, the need for entrepreneurship, exploring new ideas and transforming the ideas into profitable ventures. He postulated that, every business must have a business plan. He described a business plan as a document that spells out how you want to implement your business ideas. “As one who wants to start a business it is imperative to have a business plan.” He added that a business a business plan is the surest and best way to secure way to secure credit.

He further took the participants through some ways of securing funding to start a business and expanding it. According to him, raising capital as an entrepreneur is one of the many challenges faced and not the only one. The sources of funding, he mentioned include: one’s own money, through partnerships, free money from family and friends, loans form family and friends, loans from financial institutions, venture capitalists and private equity funds, angel investors, listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange and benefitting from government programs and from donors.

Caleb, in the course of the dialogue spoke against the Ghanaian mentality of wanting to own a business solely. He thus encourages partnerships among businesses. He urged the youth to learn to collaborate in partnerships in doing business. He stated that, “There is magic in partnership” he said as the discussion came to a close, stressing that, “credibility is the currency of business”. In a more compelling tone, he instructed all who have business ideas to start their businesses. He encouraged them not to be afraid of failure, but rather embrace it in order to learn new ways of doing things.

The Role Model Africa project comprises a variety of packages including an Exclusive One-on-One mentoring session, the Business Mentoring Class, the Mentoring Hubs on the various tertiary institution campuses and the Corporate Dialogue. The maiden edition of the Role Model Corporate Dialogue was held on Sunday 27^th September 2015 under the theme, “Doing business with Integrity”. Dr. Samuel Onwona, an Ex-World Bank official was the role model for the first edition.

Role Model Africa, is a mentoring platform that seeks to engage African personalities whose influence span beyond Africa. The initiative, a project organized by INVENTS on a quarterly basis is designed to identify African personalities whose contributions to the continent and beyond are worth emulating. In a story telling format, a guest (role model) is engaged in a discussion by a host to a live audience. The dialogue engages the personality of the individual together with their corporate experiences.

The dialogue was moderated by Dr. William Okyere-Frempong a medical doctor by training and the country Chief Executive Officer of the HuD. The Co-founder and C.E.O. of Galaxy Capital, Mr. Samuel Bright-Kaitoo delivered the keynote address to start off the dialogue. He emphasized in his address, the role of mentorship in national development. He cited examples of some noteworthy individuals who attained notable feats by reason of their association with mentors. He mentioned Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg was mentored by Apple founder Steve Jobs. In a similar fashion Bill Gates was mentored by Warren Buffet. He further encouraged the participants to submit to role models in humility.

There were other high profile individuals present at the Corporate Dialogue, they included Mr. Martin Luther King (C.E.O., Journalist for Regional Integration), Henry Afrifa (Migrations Officer, British High Commission), Johannes Akuffo (C.E.O., ASN Financial Services), John Ntim Fordjour (2016 Parliamentary candidate), Edem Adzaho (C.E.O., Spec Consults) among others.

INVENTS Co-founder, Samuel Agyeman-Prempeh expressed excitement at the many young people who were present at the dialogue. He also announced that plans are underway to connect young people with mentors of different backgrounds. Mr. Agyeman Prempeh used the opportunity to award some executives who have been dedicated in their service to raising magnates and dynamic leaders across the continent. In concluding, he excitedly announced the date for the next edition to be on Sunday, 22^nd May, 2016. Further details will be made available in the press, he assured.  The date for the next edition was announced to be on Sunday, 22nd May, 2016 at 3pm under the theme “Employing the media to sustain the African Business”.

Role Model Africa is an initiative by INVENTS, a mentoring organization that focuses on raising young people as Leaders and Entrepreneurs before they turn 25. Since October 2007, Invents has been consistent in using personal Leadership models and projects to reach out to millions of young people. Our flagship programs include: She Magnate Project and Ideas Pulpit. Our events have attracted remarkable personalities such as Bishop N.A. Tackie-Yarboi; Founder and Presiding Bishop of VBCI, Dr. Yaw Perbi; Global C.E.O. of the HuD Group, Dr. Mrs. Ellen Hagan; Founder and C.E.O. of L’aine Services, Mrs. Comfort Ocran; Co-Founder of Legacy & Legacy, Dr. Samuel Onwona; Former World Bank Official, and Mr. Caleb Ayiku: Co-founder of Rex Oil..

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Miriam's Career Fair

The Enquiry Agency begun in the year 2013. As a student I always wanted to study tourism however my dad mistook it for hospitality management and I wasn't allowed to read it. Gradually upon interaction with an aunt my love for procurement was kindled. Based on this experience the Enquiry Agency was born. What if I had received the opportunity to interact with anybody in the area of tourism? Perhaps I could have read tourism and lived my dream. Every 4 years students all over Ghana are faced with this challenge. Sometimes young people have little knowledge about the areas we have interest in. The Enquiry Agency seeks to give every student the opportunity to interact with people who are successful in the areas the student seems to have interest in. 

Sometimes these students are given the opportunities to volunteer. Are we going to give up on our dreams just because are local universities do not find our grades worthy of programs we have interest in? Why do we then give up? We give up because like any normal student we are scared; scared because we have no idea as to where to go or who to look up to in our areas of interest. If only we have the opportunities to interact with people who were once like us but yet against all odds run after their dreams, we will be inspired to do same. Come join us at the career fair on the 9th of April 2016 Grab a ticket :0248165851/0206080406

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Team SPiD-UP considers this program a very useful one for young people to gain some knowledge of industries they might be interested in. This will help shape their thoughts and influence their choices for life towards a better Africa. We encourage you to participate.

Markus Kennedy Katey- Project lead

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Sharkmellon and his 59 stories

Shakiru Akinyemi alias Sharkmellon alias Shark is a Poet, Writer and emerging Business Leader. His Poems 'Ekurase' 'Street Children' 'Ivory Horn of Africa' have been published by Poetry Foundation of Ghana. Two others, ‘Rascals and Good Morning’ have been published by Kalahari Review and ‘The Traveller’s Song’ has been published by the Lunaris Review.

Shakiru has been featured on CitiFM Writer’s Project of Ghana and remains favorite performer at Leadership and Governance Events. His deep thoughts, unique voice and dramatic persona help to wow his audience. His much listened Piece ‘This I Put to You’ has been played on Unique FM of Ghana and West Africa Democracy Radio in Senegal.

He has performed alongside Rhymesonny at Google hangout and also performed at ALEWA, a poetry event organized by the People of Equal Thoughts and Spirits (POETS) and occasionally at Ehalakasa. In 2009, Shakiru was Guest Poet to an audience of about 2,000 people at Maiden Stage Productions ‘His Birth in the 2^st Century’ and ‘His Death in the 21^st Century’ organized by J-Nissi Productions.

Unlike Poetry, he has for a long time kept his collection of short stories in his archives but when some friends sighted the works, they implored him to make them public saying “Shakiru, why are you keeping these beautiful stories to yourself?”, thus, the reason for hosting ‘The Storyteller, 59stories FOR 59pesewas’ on 12^th March, 2016 in commemoration of Ghana’s 59^th Year of Independence. Shakiru blogs at Sharkmellon@blogspot.com, tweets at @sharkmellon1, instagrams at @ceo_shakiru  and facebooks at Shakiru Akinyemi. He lives in Accra.

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Isaac Wallace and Mosquitoes

My conversation with Isaac Wallace was challenging. It turned out to be nothing near what I had expected. But that’s what you get for approaching another person with your preconceived notions. It gets even more complex when he is an authentic musician who approaches his trade with a personal philosophy. One that you may not be familiar with. Given that he reminds me so much of Lee Scratch Perry provides enough grounds for me to label the man eccentric. But that’s another thing I probably should not do. You cannot really box this man, he is his own man. You don’t define him, he tells you what he is and you simply make an attempt to understand.

His history is complex. He has and continues to work with three generations of musicians. His influence is very diverse. His philosophy is original. Put all that together and the result is ntumtum akeka me dwe—the title of his debut album. But if you think a debut album is all there is to this man, think again. In his tracks are many hits produced for and with some of Ghana’s most celebrated artist including the likes of Ofori Amponsah and Kwabena Kwabena.

He has a different view of hi-life. He argues that it is not really a type of music or even a style for that matter. It is just “high” Music and perhaps as you will get with the music of Bob Marley. I shall desist from explaining this view for fear of misrepresenting the man. Like I said, I wasn’t sure if I understood he idea enough.

Currently n tour in Australia, here is a link to the video of our conversation when I met the man recently at the Achimota retail center with . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRVBd4AcmVU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Geid75jkbaw&feature=youtu.be

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Maanaa unfolds the Black I journey

For the morally-conscious individual, it is very easy to write off dancehall music because of the disturbing lyrics (often violent and near-pornographic) that have come to characterize the genre. Those who understand the music however, will contend that this is not a true reflection of the original dancehall music that started in Jamaica as a sub-genre of the conscious, liberating and righteousness powered reggae music. Like a normal child, dancehall became more morally decadent with every step it took further away from its mother genre. In the process, love gave way to hardcore pornography and the rant for justice gave way to wanton violent lyrics strong enough to shock the unprepared mind.

The situation is however, not hopeless as the genre also benefits from the work of both young and veteran artiste who are championing what is referred to in reggae-lingo as roots and culture. This breed of musicians, are working hard to bring moral sanity into the music while pursuing the restoration of true African values that are in sharp contrast to the now mainstay. In Jamaica, musicians like Anthony B, Louie Culture, Bushman, Capleton, Buju Banton, Jnr. Gong and many others are senior officers in this Special Forces unit of the Army.

The scenario is not that different in Ghana. Since dancehall music slowly begun to gain mainstream attention, it brought along the violence and the explicit sexual lyrics. Indeed it is this kind of content that has defined Ghanaian dancehall music with the conscious soldiers having to strive harder to project the positive, progressive, youth-conscientizing, love-promoting and nation-building aspect of dancehall music. This is what can be referred to as the “clean-up exercise” now being championed by Atlanta based Black I aka Nii Quarcoo. On the Ghanaian scene, he is the commanding officer in this unit of the Army.

Black I shot onto the scene with the bellwether-ing Tininii Kwano (the right way) that effortlessly forced a fan base into place leaving them yearning for more. His latest offering; Maanaa is a love story like no other. It is a commendable reverence of the African woman through the Rastafarian cultural conduit leading to the much needed heavy dose of consciousness for the neutralization of the debauchery in the music. The lyrics glorify culture in countless ways as much as it upholds the powerful image of the African woman. It promotes the unadulterated version of her character and bares the often not so evident African man’s love for his woman. Maanaa is a masterful work of art not only in lyrics but also in sound and quality. It is a well-crafted crossover born out of a fusion of traditional dancehall and hip-hop that is guaranteed to win the hearts of even non-dancehall enthusiasts. This great piece was produced by the young Golden Kid under the guidance of the indefatigable Atlanta based Kaddafi who has been behind the many hits from the Black I camp. Maanaa is bound to shift the Black I engine into 5^th gear leaving many behind as far as Ghanaian reggae and dancehall is concerned.

In Ghana and Africa for that matter, talent abounds. The bane of artist has always been character and discipline. Black is a combination of talent, discipline and sound reasoning and this is demonstrated not only in his lyrical dexterity but also his choice of sound. Maanaa epitomizes all three into one work of art. If you haven’t heard Mannaa yet, get ready to be wowed out of your skin. If you are not a dancehall fan, prepare for your baptism. Maanaa is juts that song and Black I is just that artist. Listen to maanaa here https://soundcloud.com/blackimusik

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