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Stonebwoy Speaks Against Racism During His Billboard Live At-Home Performance

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1 year ago

June 2, 2020

Stonebwoy addressed both pandemics plaguing the world, coronavirus and racism, during his poignant Billboard Live At-Home performance Monday (June 1) that raised money for My Friend’s Place, which supports the homeless youth.

Performing from Ghana’s capital of Accra with his DJ, Stonebwoy (real name Livingstone Etse Satekla) started off his set with none other than “Black People,” a painful and incredibly timely testament to feeling lost in the world that doesn’t want to acknowledge him as a Black man, let alone respect him. Although not directly naming George Floyd, the Black man who was murdered in Minnesota last week at the hands of four white police officers, Stonebwoy took the time to honor the protests against racism that have sprung up throughout America’s major cities in Floyd’s memory.

“The world’s in serious times right now, we see what’s going with the world from coronavirus straight to the brutality and all these things that is happening,” he said. “We stand against racism in any case.”

The 32-year-old singer wailed over the reggae beat for “Black People,” “I’m losing myself/ As a Black man inna this world/ I’m losing my identity/ Inna the society/ I’m losing myself.”

Stonebwoy supplemented his testament to making people like him feel seen with enjoying being alive, which is what his song “La Gba Gbe” (from his 2020 album Anloga Junction) translates to in his native tongue of Ewe. As if Stonebwoy’s performance couldn’t get to the heart of the matter even better, he closed it with “Strength & Hope,” a mantra for those mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically dejected for whom he calls upon God as the source of such positivity by proclaiming “Jah Jah,” the Rastafarian term for God.

Find strength and hope by Stonebwoy’s entire Billboard Live At-Home performance below, and donate to My Friend’s Place here.

The music video for “Strong God” off of his Long, Live, Love album will be released tomorrow, and with it, Franklin said he wanted to “salute the people that are standing on the frontline on so many levels during this pandemic — we have several pandemics at one time.”

– Story By: Heran Mamo/Billboard.com

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Multiple Grammy award winner, Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo, is expected to perform at this year’s Grow, Unite and Build Africa (GUBA) Awards.

The awards are slated for November 7 and 8, 2021, and would mark a centenary of the passage and resilience of Nana Yaa Asantewaa, the influential warrior and Queen mother of Ejisu, who rose to lead an Asante army against the British.

Speaking at a media briefing on Monday at Kempinski hotel in Accra, Chief Executive Officer, (CEO) of GUBA, Ms Dentaa Amoateng said, the celebrated African musician who hails from Benin would be honoured on the day.

She noted that the ceremony would be attended by prominent people of various background including former President of Liberia, Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf,the seventh Director–General of the World Trade Organisation, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, market women among many others.

Dentaa Amonteng further noted that Nana Yaa Asantewaa’s ravery,immensely contributed to the country’s independence story, because it shaped the psyche of the nation, that they could stand up for the country regardless of the apposition.

She said for this reason, there was the need to throw more spotlight on her and celebrate the amazing performance of women and empower young ladies to strive to the top.

According to her the two-day event, would first be a durbar at Manhyia palace in Kumasi on November 7, and followed by the rest of Awards the next day at the Grand Arena, Accra International Conference Centre.

Prince Anthony Bart, a member of the team said it would help instill the spirit of patriotism in the youth, “we need to learn about history of leaders who have contributed to our struggle.”

The Year 2021 marks exactly 100 years of the death of Yaa Asantewaa, the last African woman to lead a major war against colonial powers in 1900, where she played the role of the Commander-in-Chief of the powerful Asante Empire.

These events will observe an important moment in African history, one that is unique to the relations between the Republic of Ghana and the Republic of Seychelles and is expected to host several high-profile personalities from the diaspora.

While celebrating Yaa Asantewaa, the awards will also recognize the contribution of Black women in the diaspora and Africa. The 2021 GUBA Awards will also raise awareness on maternal mortality and call for measures to ensure safe child delivery across the continent. GUBA Enterprise believes that every child, born and unborn, has a great potential and must be given the opportunity to fulfill this potential