The Vim Views & Versions - Blogs of a MIghTy African

It's been a while since I did this. I figure I should do this before the next Ghana Music Awards :-) Ekow Fisho posted on Facebook asking "Your favorite song to listen to this year was ….." I posted a non-Ghanaian song (I would leave you to guess that). I attended the #MQF DMV End-Of-Year Soiree last weekend. I then told Fisho that my top Ghanaian song of choice for 2024 was " Sisi Fiaa ". This and some other songs have been living Rent Free in my head in 2024.  Before we get into this, see a list from 15 years ago when I also spent some good time in the DMV area. Here are the starting eleven songs, in no particular order or formation. #MusicWeDeyFeel indeed.  Defe Defe by Team Eternity Ghana ft Naana Asiedu I am blogging this on a Sunday. It started trending and you could not pass anywhere without hearing about this song. I said I would listen to more gospel this year and this jam defeated all the others. Lomo Lomo by Kidi feat Black Sherif Do you know th...

I love watching African movies. Sometimes when people introduce themselves in Konnect Groups (run by GhanaThink) and say that they like movies, I ask them about their favorite Ghanaian or African movies. I saw some billboards for the PAWN movie by Lynx Entertainment and Tigon Creative Studios, and I said to myself that this movie would break my cinema going duck. 100 is more affordable than what I thought the Silverbird Cinema ticket price would be after some horror stories friends shared on WhatsApp. So 1 fine Saturday, after attending a family related funeral with my sister Stacy and her kids, I decided to head to the Accra Mall to watch PAWN. How did you read that?  🤣 Get your mind out of the gutter and read this blog post, so that I can convince you to also go and watch PAWN. I did not watch the trailer before going to watch this movie. It actually did not occur to me. So I entered the cinema after getting my ticket with no expectations. I expected great music because of Richi...

In line with listening to more gospel music in general in 2024, I tuned in to Trace Gospel on Sunday, September 15, 2024. They played a long list of Joe Mettle songs. Great stuff. Great gospel music. Inspirational inside. Positivity. It made me think about gospel songs that especially have positive vibes, and vim. Just like the other #MusicWeDeyFeel   Starting Eleven , I have formed another team. This time, let's play the common winning formation, 4-3-3.  Lean On Me (1998) Kirk Franklin (USA) Goalkeeper, Number 1 I am here. You don't have to worry. I can see. I can see your tears. Your tears. I'll be there in a hurry when you call. Yes I will. Friends are there to catch you when you fall. Here's my shoulder. Here's my shoulder, you can lean on me We need a very reliable goalkeeper to lean on. I really love the  movie of the same name . Yes, the one with Morgan Freeman. The man many says is God in the movies. I had seen this movie on TV in Ghana. Miraculous saves....

In December 2023, I started blogging about some of my favorite musicians. I created a tournament squad of 23 musicians . There are some songs I really like, some of which are not by these 23. They are positive songs. Songs that drive me, make me feel good, ambitious, proactive, productive, in my element, etc. I present to you - this eleven songs that can take any football field and win any game!  We are playing a 4-4-2 formation. I am old school but a millenial. I am not Gen Z. The second striker is the maestro like Abedi Pele.  The Man Aloe Blacc (USA) Goalkeeper, Number 1 Stand up now and face the sun Won't hide my tail or turn and run It's time to do what must be done Be a king when kingdom comes Well you can tell everybody Yeah you can tell everybody Go ahead and tell everybody I'm the man, I'm the man, I'm the man Yes I am, yes I am, yes I am Aloe Blacc. I had to google his name to see what it means. His birth name is Nathaniel. He calls himself Aloe because h...

 I have been meaning to do this blog post but my last few weekends have either been out & about (you can guess for what reasons), restful (important right?) and chillaxing (tres imporant aussi). The weekend that just passed was the one that included the 25th Ghana Music Awards. " If I add Telecel, I would get money? Okay ". The Telecel Ghana Music Awards - 2024 edition - was at the Grand Arena at the International Conference Centre. I would have loved to go, but some weekends eh, when I get home on Friday, I do not leave my house till Monday morning. Yes, the Ghana Music Awards was sponsored by Vodafone for many years. More money right? Anyway, we have been talking about Ghanaian music these last few days, so there is no better time to finish this blog post. I have asked a few Kosmos Innovation Center colleagues about their all-time top Ghanaian songs. Not favorite, but top. Like Most Popular Song of the Year (MPSY) category, but since the inception of Ghanaian music...

I met Kwame Nsiah-Apau and interviewed him in 2008. I came away very impressed. He was working towards his Bachelor's Degree at KNUST. Really smart dude. Time has proven that he is a really smart dude. Growing up in Ghana, we say the smartest folks become the doctors. He calls himself the Rap Doctor.  He helped popularize Wear Ghana and has become one of our best #MadeInGhana ambassadors. More on this later.  He and Okyeame Quophi helped popularize hiplife through Akyeame, one of the first great duos. His successful solo career took hiplife to another level. Mesan Aba is one of my all-time favorites, and his rap on this track is legendary. Word play be what. However, we're talking about his solo hits . He called himself the best rapper alive. I started this series with Obrafour and ended with Okyeame Kwame, it's apt - they have some small history together. I think Okyeame Kwame challenges him for best Ghanaian lyricist ever . Let's listen to the music. Woso (2009) T...

One cannot talk about Ofori Amponsah without talking about Daddy Lumba, methinks. DL aka Daddy Lumba aka Da Legend released some songs at the turn of the century featuring Mr All4Real. A couple of years down the line, he became the biggest musician in Ghana. He led the Contemporary Highlife genre, in tow with my buddy Kofi Nti, helped ragga become part of mainstream Ghana music through his features with Barosky.  Ofori Amponsah became born-again (which makes me think about Lord Kenya's song of the name and Lord Kenya's story as well). He never quite had popular gospel songs. His highlife songs are classics and they live on. His music features heavily in Ghanaian weddings too. His songs feature in my favorites .  Otoolege (2005) I believe Otoolege is one of the top five songs ever from Ghana. Apart from it being well-written, well-composed and well-sung, this song ended the dominance of hiplife from 2001 to 2004 at the Ghana Music Awards. I love singing this song in the shower...

March 6 is a very important date for me . I think you know why. March 23 is also very important. You might not know why. It's not because it is the date I am writing this blog post . It is because it is 23-3 , the date. You get it now? 233. #233moments . This is the date within #HeritageMonth that I chose to write about what I did on the date for which March is also called #GhanaMonth . I had a memorable day.  I wanted to go for the #HeritageCaravan this year. But even though I carved out the time; time, chance, expenses, responsibilities happened to it. I remember how I shouted "No, No, No" when I heard on the Citi Breakfast Show one morning in January that it was sold out. I'd come back to that in another blog post. I spent the first weekend in March in Elmina due to family engagements, great way to start the month actually. I kept wondering what I would do for Ghana's birthday . I was not going to attend the parade, I listed many reasons around that in an...

The last time I saw Sarkodie perform was at the #PresecBonfire night in 2022. I was chatting with some Odadees and all of a sudden, people stopped chatting and started paying attention to the stage. You Know What Time It Is ! It was Sarkodie who had appeared on stage and everyone had to listen to him, see him perform, and sing or rap along. He thoroughly deserved to be crowned the artist of the 2010s decade in Ghana. People believe he is the true torchbearer who took over from Obrafour. Sarkodie has been freestyling for ages in Tema and releasing mixtapes that went viral. He's become very commercial, but why shouldn't he? He deserves his success in my opinion.  Haa baako y ɛ  10K! I just love the way he reps Tema . One day, we shall find a way to bring Sarkodie to Barcamp Tema , that's a dream. SarkNation is a thing. It's not just the music, it's the aura, it's the concerts, it's the songs he drops with the pulse of the people. Truly, an artist. I am going...

Buei!!! Samini was the first young Ghanaian musician to really cross our borders as a superstar. VIP is a group, they did theirs too. I went to him in Dansoman in Museke 's early days. He was a feeling brother! Since then, we have spoken a number of times, and he even joined a Konnect group! If you didn't know Samini was the GIMPA SRC President once, then you should look at him in a better light o. Akye saaa! He's one of the best live performers from Africa, maybe on a global scale too. Breaking News!!!!? You should see him perform live. Or watch this video .  He makes serious music, timeless music, danceable music, lovable music, the kind of music hits you and you feel no pain. There are so many top songs from Emmanuel Andrews Samini to go to bat with. Man! He should be knighted in the music industry. Batman  aka Dankwansere aka Samini has a Midas touch. Bam bili woy! Where My Baby Dey - 2009 Nsem pii. Hmmmm.  I was so excited to hear this song. How can you not shout ...

Wutah Fire!!!! They feature in my  my top 10 Ghanaian songs of 2009 ,  my 10 favorite Ghanaian songs ,  my African wedding songs playlist  and the soundtrack to 1 of the best Ghanaian movies ever made - Perfect Picture . One of the best Ghanaian groups ever! I just don't know why they hardly made music videos. I mean, like why, like how? They need to be fired for that though :-) I was sad when Afriyie & Kobby split, though they were making great music individually. For instance, Love Of My Life by Afriyie - one of my wedding playlist songs,  #MightyAfricanLove . I remember when they released Bronya , I was so excited they were back together. However, that song does not make my top 3. They are still making some songs individually, and Afriyie 's Country Hot is a classic for the ages, composed and released in the midst of the #FixTheCountry movement, a song that should be played consistently on radio, everywhere. Anyway. back to Wutah Fire! Esikyire...

I am a very big fan of Akwaboah's music. One of my favorite YouTube videos to listen to is this one - a performance he did at the EMY Awards. I would love to see him perform live, surprised I have never? Me too. I would have loved to be at Citi TV and he was making us rally around the flag , or the various #Cituation related shows. I always love hearing his songs on the Citi Breakfast Show hosted by Bernard Avle and Nathan Quao.  Akwaboah is the king of love songs in Ghana, currently. Maybe ever. Kojo Antwi? Okay, debatable. I already gave Kojo Antwi his props too.Before I get into my top 3, have you heard Akwaboah's song Posti Me ? This song eh? You know I love social media. I love to be romantic on social media too. See  #MightyAfricanLove . W8! W@!?  I just realised he has done a song with Efya and Adina ? OMG! Check it out, I Still Love You ! Okay, onto the faves. I Do Love You - 2013 This was one of my wedding songs. Self-explanatory. Thinking about this is maki...