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A breakdown of Stonebwoy’s world-class performance

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On June 1, 2024, Ghana’s music scene glittered with the 25th Telecel Ghana Awards (TGMAs) held at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC).

The night was filled with celebrity appearances, but one performance truly stole the show: Stonebwoy.

Stonebwoy, whose real name is Livingstone Etse Satekla, took home the coveted “Artiste of the Year” award and the artiste with the most awards on the night[6], also dominated the stage with his live band.

The iconic Afro-Dancehall/Reggae artiste performed songs including ”Manodzi” which features multiple Grammy-award-winning songstress Angélique Kidjo and ‘Your Body” an unreleased song.

His world-class performance left a lasting impression on a massive audience, not just the 3 million watching live, but on fans around the world.

Below is a breakdown of the World-Class

CREW

Creative Director: Elisabeth Efua Sutherland (Great-granddaughter of Efua Sutherland)

Technical Director: Nana Kwame Adu-Gyamfi

Visual Effects Manager: Kwaku Kwakye

Band: BHIM Band

Elder/Appellations: Christian Kobla Tetey

Cultural Troupe Performance: @tombotch1z

Dancers: @teochronic @addis_ababa @eddielove

Choreography: @incrediblezigi @efuasutherland

CONCEPT

To represent Stonebwoy’s origins, the performance started with appellations from an elder from the Volta Region, Christian Kobla Tetey, a member of the Lododo Art Foundation.

This foundation, led by Dr. Sarah Dorgbadzi from the University of Ghana, focuses on preserving Ghana’s intangible heritage through storytelling, proverbs, folk songs, and oral histories.

The team collaborated with Thomas Nii Lantey Botchway, founder of the Indigenous Vibes Band, to incorporate traditional drumming, dance, and music. The 30-member cultural troupe, based in Jamestown, Accra, performed the Sohu dance and Borborbor from the Volta Region.

To emphasize themes of representation, legacy, and hard work, elements of flags and fire were incorporated throughout the performance.Song Selection

The primary focus was to showcase Stonebwoy’s vocal prowess and highlight his maturity in music and stagecraft. Stonebwoy worked closely with BHIM band leader Acoustic and DJ Sedem to perfect the setlist, ensuring the energy progressed seamlessly throughout the performance.

PERFORMANCE BREAKDOWN

Intro: The performance opened with a video showcasing life in the Volta Region,

accompanied by proverbs spoken in Ɛʋɛ by the elder, and dancers from the cultural troupe

displaying regional dance.

Stonebwoy entered the stage with his back to the audience, symbolizing the escape from the

Ewe people from Notsé. This historic event, where the Ewe people ingeniously escape oppression by breaking through the walls of Notsé, was a powerful representation of resilience and liberation, mirroring Stonebwoy’s journey and triumphs.

* Manodzi: “Manodzi” symbolizes reigning and staying on top. This was represented by a lion,

the King of the Jungle, and the waving of the BHIM flag by a dancer with two flags around

Stonebwoy, signifying victory through perseverance.

* Life and Money: This song emphasizes creating good music, enjoying life, and prosperity.

Visually, it was represented with images of cowries on the screens, symbolizing historical

wealth.

* Your Body: An unreleased song performed as an acoustic duet with a pianist, accompanied

by two dancers. The screens displayed a silhouette of a woman’s body, creating a captivating

visual and highlighting Stonebwoy’s voice.

Into the Future: The most popular song on the album, performed with vibrant energy and

smooth, tropical vibes. Urban dancers led by Zigi elevated the performance, with the band in

full swing.

* Apotheke: A fun moment showcasing the longstanding collaboration between Stonebwoy

and Zigi. The dancers performed close to Stonebwoy, who joined in the choreography.

* Ekelebe: This song heightened the energy, featuring sharp and aggressive dance movements,

fire fans, and the return of flags, symbolizing victory through domination.

Overlord: The performance concluded with high energy, more flags, and effects. The dancers

converged around Stonebwoy, with Zigi draping his jacket over him, establishing him as the

Overlord.

Summary

The meticulous attention to detail in song selection, running order, visual representations, and

choreography ensured that Stonebwoy’s TGMA performance was a tribute to his roots and a celebration of his artistic evolution.

Watch the performance below

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Entertainment

Peter Okoye reacts to alleged song ownership by twin brother

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Iconic Nigerian singer Peter Okoye has responded to allegations made by his twin brother Paul over ownership of a new song “Winning.”

Peter Okoye shared a detailed account of the song’s creation, clarifying his role and collaboration with others, including Ghanaian producer Vampire and songwriter Calypso.

He questioned Paul’s claims, citing their agreed-upon creative process and Paul’s removal of his (Peter’s) vocals from joint songs.

Peter also addressed his temporary break from music, stating he took time to recharge before returning with “Winning.”

He wrote on X: “If you have followed my journey as a solo artiste and even before, you will notice that I give people their due credit where necessary as I am a firm believer in teamwork; I know my strengths, where I need assistance or guidance I am not afraid to ask or work with those who are strong in the areas I am not; this includes the process of creating music, executing concepts and ideas etc. I will always credit people for their contributions to my projects.

“Sometime in June 2022, I stumbled upon a producer based in Ghana named Vampire, and my team and I also personally reached out to him via DM, that I liked his work and was interested in working with him. Before getting him to Lagos, I presented the idea of this producer to my twin brother and our team, getting their buy-in before I got him flight tickets and flew him to Lagos.“

It was when he got into Lagos I asked if he would be open to working on P-SQUARE’s next album project, that the 5 songs I had penned down from my end to be presented to our A&R team for the album project were: JAIYE, WINNING, FIND SOMEBODY, LEGENDARY, and ATTENTION, based on tracks he had produced.

“We started with my own 5 songs that needed to be submitted for PSQUARE’s album, which he produced for me: The idea for WINNING came from one of his beats that I discovered. I came up with the idea of changing the chord progression from the original version to what it is today with my own producer Goldswarm who is the co-producer of the song WINNING.

“I had also engaged a songwriter known as CALYPSO who wrote and composed the song WINNING and sent it to me on the beats through a voice note. And we started working on the song. Mind you, he worked on some other songs that were to make the album as well, so my brother was aware of his input to the production as we were all in the studio during this period.

“Then when my twin brother heard the song WINNING, which we had already created the hook/chorus for, he then wanted to start creating a verse. Our agreed-on process for each song presented by us was: arrange the song, leave a verse for the other person, then we both harmonise the chorus and refrain bits together. He wasn’t supposed to until Calypso and I finished it as part of my own song submission to the LEGENDARY ALBUM.

“After that, we finished and shared verses among ourselves. I do not wish to get into details of why the album didn’t see the light of day till date but it takes a different level of psychosis for one to steal what is theirs already; as since the release of this song, I have been labeled and called all sorts online and they have even gone as far as asking for the song to be taken down on various platforms, to what end?

“It was never part of his 5, now 6 (according to him) songs for submission, yet when he felt I was not interested in making music because I chose my sanity over the constant berating and drama that seemed to come up over creative direction in the group.

“If it were his song, why do I have all the music data including initial conversations and picture/video evidence on the above-mentioned titles/songs? Which of his songs do I have its data in my possession in that case? All because he was hoping for me to quit music. Even when I learnt that he had removed my vocals on songs we did together, suggesting that he sing the entire songs including the ones that he planned to present for the album without my input (a very absurd idea as we both make up the duo not just the one), but we both perform them on stage, I begun to have a rethink of the entire situation. Let me leave this here.

“Maybe because I was not posting anything music-related on my social media page for over 4 months. He believes I have lost interest in music. I took a breather to get my mind and head in the right space and when that was done, my epiphany was WINNING!”.

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Entertainment

DNA test more important than naming ceremony- Don Jazzy

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producer and executive, Don Jazzy, has urged men to prioritise the paternity of their children, stating that it is more important than a naming ceremony.

On his Instagram story, Don Jazzy emphasised: “DNA test is more important than naming ceremony.”

His statement comes amid ongoing debates about the necessity of DNA tests, fuelled by recent high-profile cases of paternity fraud.

Don Jazzy known in real life as Michael Collins Ajereh is the founder of Mavin Records – through which he has signed artistes including D’Prince, Rema, and Ayra Starr.

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Entertainment

Pastor Love jailed 48 months in hard labour for stealing

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Pastor Hammond Love, widely known as Pastor Love, has been convicted of theft and sentenced to 48 months in prison with hard labour.

GBC Ghana Online reports that Pastor Love, a former husband of gospel musician Obaapa Christie, was found guilty of the offence after seven years of trial. 

Before he was sentenced, Pastor Love pleaded with the court for mercy, adding that he was willing to pay any fine that would be imposed on him. 

The court presided over by Isaac Addo, took into consideration the fact that the convicted Pastor Love was a first-time offender.

The court held that as a Pastor, he was expected to hold a high level of integrity, especially in matters of trust, and therefore handed him the 48-month jail term as a fair deterrent. 

The facts of the case as presented by ASP Frimpong was that in 2016 one Samuel Amankwah, a resident of the US, shipped a 4×4 vehicle into Ghana and tasked Pastor Love to clear it from the port. 

The convict cleared the said vehicle with his money, after which the complainant told him to sell it for US$50,000 and deduct the amount he paid as duty.

Later, the complainant told Pastor Love to hold on with the sale of the vehicle as he would travel to Ghana and refund his money. 

In April 2017, the complainant arrived in the country and contacted Pastor Love for his vehicle, but he could not produce it despite several demands. 

The complainant complained with the Police and Pastor Love was arrested in May 2017. 

During interrogation, the convicted Pastor Love told the Police that he secured a loan of GH¢40,000 with 20 per cent interest to clear the vehicle and was accruing more interest, so he sold the vehicle at GH¢80,000 without the consent of the owner and paid GH¢70,000 to the loan company.

Meanwhile, Pastor Love was unable to lead the Police to the said loan company to verify the claim and could not also tell who bought the vehicle. 

The Judge said the convict was dishonest to the Court.

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