What I loved most about Samini Experience Tour

The just ended Samini Experience Tour may have been an avenue for the ever-growing consummate performer to show Ghana and the world why he is the reigning MTV Africa Music Award (MAMA) best performer on the continent. But from watching the final lap of the concert at the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium in Accra, I observed more than just a splendid stage performance from Samini; the promise shown by several budding talents gave me hope of a bright future for entertainment in Ghana.

From reggae to hiplife, and from R&B to dancing, there was an abundant showcase of young and contemporary talents that should fill up auditoriums and captivate the minds of audiences in the near future. From my observations, three acts stood out for me and with the right support and opportunities these performers as well as the many other talented ones all over the country could change the face of our entertainment for the better.

Although I am a fan of the vocals of Skinny Legend, I have been holding the opinion that perhaps he lacks originality, ever since I saw his video for ‘Secret room’. However, after seeing his craft on the Samini Experience stage, I want to look at his talent differently now. Apart from getting to hear some of his other songs and knowing that he is not just another one of the many ‘one music video’ artists that we have parading around on our TV screens, I realized that he is a good performer too. Skinny Legend’s attention to choreography, and ability to dance while singing is a trait that puts him ahead of most of his contemporaries. Richie may come close but pound for pound, SL as he likes to be known now comes tops. With a dash of good looks, SL could be a ladies’ man competing with Usher, Justin Timberlake and Chris Brown. Laughing out loud? Seriously though, he rocked the stage.

After seeing the performance of Super Babes, I sighed, ‘Ghana’s got talent!’ Wow, those girls can really dance. They showed amazing skills, tenacity, energy and choreography with each stomp, hop or split. And with slinky moves accentuated by sexiness and swagger, it’s no surprise that I am a fan only after seeing them for the first time. We need to see more of them and their talent on many more platforms and even music videos; instead of the usual skimpy-attired booty shaking vixens that we see all over currently.

I was happy to see G-Girls, winners of TV3’s Gang Stars prove to me that they are not just products of another redundant reality TV series. They have improved a lot more from what we saw on the singing competition and even though they performed just one song, they sounded really cool. I am sure with some radio airplay and a nice music video to carry it; they could get a good following. The group reminded me of how Destiny’s Child looked when they started off; only perhaps less sexy. Their cheap hair extensions didn’t do much for me but their stage performance was quite exciting to watch and with more work on their overall look, I wouldn’t mind seeing them on stage over and over again.

Even though there were some great reggae talents on the night, I chose not to write about them not because I don’t like reggae. But rather because I hold the opinion that reggae songs are message songs and their rhythms are usually not difficult to perform. With the right melody and lyrics, you can have your audience swaying and doing the Jah Salute. I congratulate MTN for providing the platform for me and many others to see the talents of these young performers; although I still need better and more affordable telecommunication services from the network. Ghana’s got talent!!!!