My first Kojo Antwi Experience

I have always wondered why huge crowds fill out Kojo Antwi’s 24th December concert year after year; and after my first experience this year, I perfectly understand that it is usually the only real concert in Ghana all year round and I am willing to be a part of this annual ritual from here on.

From the setting of the stage to the selection of performers, it was clear that a lot of thought and preparations had gone into the production. There was something for the old and young and the culturally conscious ones were not left out at all. With supporting performances from Ghana and the rest of Africa, the excitement and anxiety grew with every passing minute until Kojo the Music Man got on stage.

The night kicked off with a cultural performance from the TQTJJ Drama and Dance Ensemble and as the night went on, the experience was spiced up with thrilling performances from the likes of Black Prophet, Okomfo Kwadee, and Wutah. And while these artists rocked the stage, I couldn’t say the same for Pricky from ‘Obaa F3f3’ fame. He looked like a fish out of water compared to all the other Ghanaian acts, his lyrics and unwarranted Jamaican patois left very little to be desired. Even having half naked girls dancing with him on stage couldn’t save his act and I think he was a bad inclusion. What made it worse for me was that he used some swear words in his intro; wrong crowd wrong move.

As usual, the Maestro included some acts from Africa in his concert this year and since I haven’t seen any of the past shows I cannot compare the selection from this year to previous editions. However I wasn’t particularly impressed with Ethie Sing from the Republic of Congo. Before she came on stage, most of the previous performers had performed to a large extent with a live band and so the atmosphere and the minds of patrons had been tuned to that richness of sound but her performance was CD backed and most of the time I couldn’t even hear her actual voice. I thought we were passed the era of miming or whatever it was that she did. And to make it worse, she couldn’t bring in the Francophone vibes with her dancing. Her Congolese colleague, Lelo did much better with his song and dancing though. The francophone groove was felt in his waist wind and that of his dancers. It was not surprising that he had a better response from the audience. Nigeria’s Flavour of ‘Ashawo’ fame did not disappoint either as he performed his hit song much to the admiration of the crowd. I even caught former First Lady Agyemang Konadu Rawlings even singing a few lines of the song after she had danced with one half of the duo, Wutah earlier on the night.

After all the supporting acts had performed, it was time for the main event. Kojo made a grand entrance in a Jiao (Chinese palanquin) carried shoulder high by 6 Chinese men (well maybe Korean or Japanese but they all look the same to me) amidst soothing vocals from a Chinese singer. He was gently placed on stage and revealed with immaculate theatrics. When he got out of the litter; he went straight into his act and charmed the crowd with his classic hit, ‘Me Nya Ntaban’.

From the opening act, there was no looking back as he rocked the auditorium of the National Theatre with one hit after the other. With a catalogue of hits spanning two decades of a glorious musical career, Kojo Antwi was spoilt for choice and even the crowd couldn’t decide on which songs they wanted the icon to perform. Whenever he asked the audience which song they wanted to hear, there was a chorus of indecision. No matter what song he performed, Kojo Antwi was simply amazing and clearly only a few Ghanaian acts could perform non-stop for almost two hours with the sustained energy he put up, especially at his age.

My favourite performance had to be ‘Happy Anniversary’ taken from his latest album, ‘Mwwaah!’ The ballet of sort treatment he gave the song was simply breath-taking; relevant and classic. One of my other highlight was seeing Efya Awindor render Kojo Antwi’s hit song, ‘Dadie Anoma’ with such soul and ”divacity’, truly Ghana’s got talent. South African singer and friend to late icon, Marian ‘Mama Afrika’ Makeba, Sontae gave a glowing tribute to the late singer when she performed ‘Pata Pata’; and Kojo’s duets with Nana Yaa, as expected, ware classic acts.

Oh what a night! I wanted more but after performing ‘Adiepena’, the Chinese singer was back on stage and I knew before long that it was all over. I enjoyed every moment of the show even including MC KKD’s unorthodox hosting skills and stunts. They surely were interesting fillers love him or hate him! I wish I could join the long queue of fans who wanted to grab their photo moment with the icon after the show had concluded, but I had to leave so I could tell the world of the wonderful experience I just had. See there next year.