The Vim Views & Versions - Blogs of a MIghTy African

This article first appeared on The Raw Africa in 2017. I have not been blogging as much since but I think these nuggets are still relevant.  Be consistent with what you blog about I started my first blog in 2005 on GhanaThink’s GhanaConscious platform. I was really passionate about Ghana’s development at the time. Hiplife had also become the dominant genre in Ghana and I love it, especially Obrafour. I wanted to marry development and music so I came up with Abocco’s blog — sounds on da ground and see-ins on the scenes . From the blog name, sounds have to do with music while ground means relevance. See-ins was a play on words about what I am seeing and was related to scenes which signifies what was happening in Ghana. I always blogged about Ghanaian songs and how they related to society. An example was a post about Obrafour’s Ako which touched on politics and verbal battles. I blogged often , at least once a month so that the blog didn’t become stale. You do not want a disappoint...

Look at this cool poem that Cecilia Amoafowaa. This is too awesome! Ɔdadeԑ bԑsene abrempong Ɔdadeԑ a ↄde neԑmapa wuso wiase Yԑbԑfrԑ wo nnyuma akrobԑto The unsinkable ship, The unshakable great tree, Your birth must be noted with grandeur! The MIGHTY AFRICAN with the spirit ‘CAN DO’ Lie on your back and take a rest Yes! A well deserving rest In just a day out of the many, Where you restlessly fret to see life’s best for all. Celebrating life’s celebrant must be done with sewn wordsthat sparkle This is the only gift from afar I can give For you to see the impact of your birth No need to say more, the sun is shining it out Beckoning the world to pay its respect On the score of the MigHTy AfriCan! Ɔdadeԑ Ato Ulzen Appiah a ↄsene abrempong Ɔdadeԑ a ↄde neԑmapa wuso wiase Yԑbԑfrԑ wo nnyuma akrobԑto        Happy, happy birthday!       Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia for the Mighty African Ɔdadeԑ Ato Ulzen...

I used to live life from the hip And then something came and really zouked me The familiar got different The life on a change The peculiar got consistent The thing don't change So I got into a relationship By then, the something had already hooked me Elles demandent attention to give, we know L's provident affection to give, follow Ma cherie as we demonstrate one love, that Is telepathy of doves above, phat Together, we are melodies that make music With another, we’re diversities tryna sync Danced to every cranny and nook Still got the naivety of a rook Lifes still contained in book after book Versus high-fives as open as zouk I stayed true to the homegrown beat I swayed anew to the exotic rhythm True, the outer enjoyment got hipper and livelier But the inner excitement got deeper and deeper The high life was all over amiss, true The zouk made me say I miss you I yearned for more Amor amor amor What I knew intoto was hip What was new was at my h...

In honour of Africa Liberation Day which is today may 25, I want to post this poem to pay tribute to where my heart calls home - Africa. #tobeAfrican is to love Africa, and love our sweet motherland. Happy #AfricaDay It takes a village to raise a child It takes a male child to start a village It takes a female child to educate them all In Africa One man’s inactive car Is many other men’s community service Because you will need others When your own car breaks down in Africa It doesn’t fall into winter And then spring into summer People may be raining away But life and warmth never run dry in Africa Tangerine tree, football field, sugarcane seller Very different but similar Who needs Mapquest? In directing and navigating All landmarks are on deck, in Africa What if the peanut seller is sick with malaria? There are a hundred and one people Minding and carrying their own business on the streets Of Africa who would give you some help Cock-a-doodle-doo, hold up, kokrokoo… Meat that has been ...

Info about this arrived in my Facebook inbox and I said 'vim!'. TransTales Entertainment is a company devoted to telling great and interesting stories using inspiring visuals. Check them out at http://transtales.com/ Think of them as bringing African tales, or tales with African characters to life with animation. Read a press release about Trans Tales from where else " Africagoodnews.com " An African film company is gaining global attention by producing award-winning 3D animation titles made from an African perspective. TransTales Entertainment was started in 2005 on a budget of less than 5 000 dollars by Segun Williams and Obinna Onwuekwe, and is the first film company to produce African themed 3D animation films to fill the void in animation with myriads of authentic African stories. The titles produced by TransTales are widely acclaimed by industry experts and the animated series "Mark of Uru" recently won the United Nations World Summit Award for the use...

Deborah Ahenkorah sent some info about Baobab Prize 2009 out recently and it has inspired me to write about African writers and African stories. Growing up, my favorite novels to read were the JAWS (Junior African Writers Series) books as well as those from AWS (African Writers Series). I used to be really intrigued by them and this followed into my love for books like Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe), Half of a Yellow Sun (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie) and Our Sister Killjoy (Ama Ata Aidoo). Many of the famous African novelists are still writing but a whole new generation of writers are starting to join the gang and the Baobab Prize is encouraging that. Maybe, I'll also write a novel soon, who knows. According to the website, "The Baobab Prize is an annual award designed to encourage the writing of African literature for young readers. It has been birthed from a recognition of the dearth of fictional African literature that focuses on the youth and encourages them to explore an...

I was checking my favorite news feed source yesterday - Africagoodnews.com . Yes, the name is self-explanatory. They try to aggregate good news about Africa. One story which struck me was that 5 Africans had been named in Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of the Year 2009. I was not surprised to see President Paul Kagame in there, I just blogged about him a few days ago. The other name that struck me was Dambisa Moyo's. I thought to myself, this lady is doing it big. Her 'Dead Aid' book is probably the most important book written by an African in the last few years, and no, it is not a novel. Dambisa and Paul are joined by William Kentridge,(South African artist), Hadizatou Mani (Niger), Barbara Hogan (South Africa's current health minister). Congrats to all these individuals and may they spur us all on to become as influential. I want to dwell on Dambisa Moyo , her Dead Aid book and the chatter it has generated at the water coolers in the blogosphere. I ...

So I've given you guys some poems to read on this blog, but how about a short story? I was going through my stuff and came across a short story I wrote shortly after I finished Presec. I was a new Odadee. It's titled - Dangerous Highway. Reading it reminded me of how we used to write when we were in secondary (high) school, using all the biggest English we could find and playing with the language to prove we had an excellent command of the Queen's language. In fact, some of the words and phrases I used had me laughing hysterically and I don't understand some of the words (anymore). Well, here it is for you to enjoy. "Dangerous Highway" - I am not going to give the story away. Just read. This piece has never been edited, it's important for us to read it at its untouched stage to appreciate the beauty of the writing. Or the horror, if you may. I wrote this piece on paper, in 2001, I wasn't used to Microsoft word so this piece doesn't have the benefit...