The Talk Party Series

 

The Talk Party, organized by Accra[dot]Alt, echo to Sionne and Mantse, has been going on for quiet sometime now. I have attended all but one and the reason I missed that particular one is because I had to perform somewhere. The Talk Party is a place where people meet to talk/discuss about a common issue and it has been a great platform where I realize how people think, and it has been a place where I have met good people from all over. There is always food at the end of every talk and that makes it exciting*grins*.

I have a whole lot to say but I will keep it very short and simple. Last night’s talk party (29^th June, 2012) was about Money, Power and Sex and 4 people who attended the Money Power and Sex Conference in South Africa came to relay to us, what went on at the conference. Nana Darkoa, Crystal, Kobby Graham and Elvina(pardon me if I am wrong) did a good job by sharing with us what they saw, learnt and experience during the conference. I think Nana Darkoa did a good job by not holding back with her words. She talked freely about sex and I think you should all check her blog out.-adventuresfrom.com

I actually learnt a whole lot and even though I was busy with camera, I was actually listening. What I have realized with most of this talk party series that most of the times we veer off the main topic that is to be discussed and last night’s was no exception. At a certain point I was totally confused and I really thought I wasn’t listening but a couple of friends, about 3, also complained to me and at a point one guy stood up to contribute and said the same thing.

All the same, I think it went down very well and I respect the effort of the organizers who make this talk party possible but what I really want to see is action and not just talk and talk. I remember there was a topic where we discussed the burning of computer parts and other things that is harmful to the environment around Sodom and Gomorrah. That was a very enlightening topic and the short video that backed it up made things look very serious. In fact, that situation is serious and it’s still going on. Instead of us just coming to sit and talk about the situation, I think there should be action too. Our talk-talk won’t solve anything, we should get out there and take action!!

Paapa, a member of the skillions gave audience 3 solid performances and Amai Kudi from Toronto also came through with some deep songs. She was backed by our own Kyekyeku on guitar. The Talk Party Series happens every last Friday of every month and it happens at the Passions Café Osu Ringway, around Country Kitchen. Hope to see you next month. More pictures of this event can be viewed here.

Vim.

Ama Is In The Sky With Divers

June drops tears on the window pane,
transmitting to us, an ounce of that widow’s pain.
Now the clouds gather beneath the skies upon rivers
because a pure soul has been exhumed by divers.
But she’ll rain in common hours and flood her previous premises,
marry man’s friendly smile to acquire the title of missus.
Ama loathes heights but she now resides in an acme,
but she has no fright because God understands Fanti luckily.

A saint on earth graduated into an angel above the skies,
Gabriel knew those soles were not for red sand but white roses,
and heaven wanted to replace a billion fireflies.
Now memories of a certain smile linger, they are gone so no more doses,
tears are frail and weary, eyes settles mournfully on wheelchairs,
bony jaws drop like beltless pants,
but a gentle smile descends from above and the bearer steal stares,
from His bosom, in the midst of bliss, so hold your rants.

Ama is gone, she eloped with eternity,
shameful angel of death now has clipped wings, I know this with certainty,
because he missed, hitting the bulls eye needs skill.
Who administered this, to even cause the wind to be still?
Ride on queen, you are sheltered in several hearts,
don’t find reason, for this is difficult to understand like abstract arts.
This world is prison and freedom comes after death,
How I wish time could reverse, to the time of your birth.


I usually don’t write poems like this, I am not talking about the theme or subject but this style of poetry, but I had to do this for a beloved from Maame Ama Koomson. I wrote this poem in 45 minutes.  May she Rest In Peace.

Ambolley's Launch

 After the Youtube Ghana Launch, we went to another launch. I had totally forgotten about this until Wanlov reminded me. This was an album launch and there was no way I was going to miss this. Gyedu Blay Ambolley was launching his twenty fifth album called Sekunde.

Ambolley is one of the artists that I respect so much and you will be surprise to know that, I started following and singing his songs when I was a kid. If you really grew up in Ghana, then I guess you know a couple of his ‘rap’ songs by now. He is known as the ‘father of rap’, not only to Ghana but to the world. His first album SIMIGWADO was released in 1973 and it was a rap album in the fanti language so this title makes sense to me. He has received so many awards including…..so many!!

The launch was at the Alliance Francaise and the place was so packed with people who had come to grace the occasion, it was difficult for us to even find a parking space and it was surprising to see that they were not charging at the gate. I hope people bought the album.  Ambolley took us through a couple of his old songs and audience hummed and sang along, I had to dance at a certain point. One thing I would like to talk about is the sound. Alliance Francaise’s sound is always on point and last night wasn’t any different. The right levels and you could hear every instrument. Such a sound is already a ‘motivation’ to me and I was wishing I was on the bill to perform but….

After performing about five songs from his past, he gave the audience a taste of what to expect with his new Sekunde album. One word that comes to mind is SOLID!! The style of Ambolley is so unique and the ‘crispy’ sound of his voice has always baffled me. I always comment on his voice. This is his twenty fifth album, I mean 25th. I just have one album out (PHOTOSENTENCES), when will I get to twenty five?? I think he has come this far because of his uniqueness and also because he represents where he comes from. No fake things like some Ghanaian artistes do now.

His launch inspired me in so many ways and an idea descended upon me for poem when I was listening to his lyrics in one of the songs he performed. I hope to be successful with my artform and I hope to get to album number 25 one day. More vim and I know this new album of his is going to do well both on the Ghanaian and International market.
Pictures from this event in on mutombogh.tumblr.com

Youtube Ghana Launch

21-July-2012 was that other day. I had a solemn morning and also a calm early morning and then around 2pm, I had to meet Wanlov and Mensa so we go to the Youtube Ghana launch at Citizen Kofi. We ‘chopped’ fufu first at a base around Asylum Down, I hadn’t eaten the whole day so I did justice to the fufu.
We were to perform at this launch and in my mind, I thought it would be fit to perform something around the theme ‘YOUTUBE’ but I had nothing like that. The notice came a little late so I didn’t have that time to write something down.
The launch was graced by familiar faces, people in the media and all. A youtube representative who came down from Spain took audience through the ‘youtube journey’, thus, where they started to where they are now. Some of the figures he mentioned was baffling to me especially the videos people watch on youtube daily. I think the figure was 4 billion. So why don’t people watch my videos then? Anyway, here is my youtube channel-www.youtube.com/mutombogh. He also told us about how people are using youtube to make a name for themselves and stuff like that. It was an awesome presentation even though I wasn’t attentively.
I took to the stage and did a spoken word performance, took them down memory lane to the period where youtube wasn’t around and told the audience how every person is capable of being a star nowadays because of youtube. Those days, it was just the television but now we can shoot a video with our phones and other video gadgets and just upload on youtube. Other youtube reps came to basically talk about how people are using youtube and how people can use youtube to their benefit. The beautiful songstress, Efya took the stage to perform a song and after, XO Senavoe joined her on stage to do a song for mothers. It was awesome.
What basically went down was how to use youtube for results and at a point, five people were engaged in a short interview. This was basically about when they started using this website and how beneficial it has been to them. This panel included Ameyaw Debrah and my Pidgen Music Label boss, Panji ANOFF. The Fokn Bois finally performed and as usual, they were so fokn on stage. They force the host to say the name ‘FOKN’ and Estelle struggled a little before saying this.
It was a good launch and we welcome YOUTUBE GHANA. You see, I forgot that Carlos Sekyi came to talk and represent the Ghana Music Union or something like that. He didn’t say anything proper and was dry charley. We were given a youtube bag with some youtube goodies and I am even using the portable mouse now. My thing is, why is it so necessary to have YOUTUBE GHANA (www.youtube.com.gh)? Like what difference will it make??
Pictures of this event can be found at mutombogh.tumblr.com

Men Of Yesterday And Today

17th, June 2012 was Fathers Day, I wasn’t aware of this until I went unto my timeline on twitter and saw people mocking me. I am still not a father yet, it’s true and if you know me well, you will be surprised and will be asking yourself questions. I love kids, I really love kids but this life isn’t fair, let me just say that for now. And before you start drawing your conclusions, I am very potent.

I will have a baby soon, latest by next year, I will also have a baby and I will let you all see. I know all the tricks in making a baby girl, boy and even twins. It’s all in the thrust, the season and the meal you eat before having sex. No questions, because it’s not the reason why I am writing this post. I am writing this post because several things crossed my head yesterday, Fathers Day.

I was raised in a Ghanaian household where everything was bliss and complete, I say complete because I didn’t lack anything. I went to very good schools and basically had what every child needs. The only thing that I didn’t have was a father. He was away, I don’t mean that he was working overseas, there was simply no father. My father didn’t take care of me, I had no idea how he looked liked and my mother never talked about him. The only time she talked about my father was when she was ‘cussing’ me and I hope most of you know or have an idea how she cussed me. I don’t want to pull back memories.

I grew up with 2 other siblings, they had one father, who did well to take care of them. At a point, around the mid 90s they had to move from the house to live with their father in Kumasi and so It was left with me, my mum and grandma. We were not poor, far from that, my mom was a very strong woman and did her best to support the family. I also had so many uncles (mom’s siblings/grandma’s kids) both in Ghana and overseas who also supported the family and I actually thought that one of them was my dad until I got old and wiser. On Fathers Day, I realized one thing, my mother was also my father and she played that role perfectly well. This can be confirmed when you look at me, and sometimes when I compare myself to some of the friends I grew up with, I give thanks. Most of these friends had both parents around and if you look at their lives now, you will be sad. I have mates who are dead because of crime, who are on the streets, some are in rehab and some still can’t find a rhythm to their lives and funny enough these are people who grew up in rich homes with both parents.
Now here is the twist, my father didn’t live far away, neither was he a poor man. He lived about 15minutes walk from my house but my mum did so well to tell me lies, just so I don’t start searching and finding. In Senior Sec. Sch., I saw my dad for the first time and it wasn’t through my mother but a friend helped me. This happened when my mum died. The funny thing is I was in the same school with my siblings at a point but had no idea they were, I was playing with my own siblings but seriously had no idea. I want to know why men do this at all. They get a lady pregnant and just leave like they have finished with whatever they need to do, like they have played their part. That man left my mother the first time he heard that she was pregnant and I still want to know the reason why. If you know you don’t want to take care of a baby, or can’t take care of a baby, then why do you get that innocent lady pregnant? Does that even make sense? This thing is still going on and a friend of mine is going through the same thing now in the States. Knowing me and my history with children, I don’t think I can EVER do such a thing. I really want to be a father, I want to be there for my children, I want them to be complete and not lack that fatherly love that I didn’t have during my childhood.

If you speak to most of these kids on the street and all, you will realize that they are on the street because there is no father and their mother can’t do enough for them. Due to this, they have to hustle on the streets to cater for themselves and sometimes their mothers. Is it supposed to be so? Why bring a child to this world and make them suffer? I simply don’t get it!! I always pray that my generation slides away from this practice but on the real, I think this will be hard. I say this because most of my peers cannot stick to one woman. They have the main girlfriend and they have other ‘chicks’ on the side that they mess with. I think this is how it really starts. A huge number of the guys that I have come across recently cheat on their girlfriends and it looks so normal in modern times. I have had some funny and stupid reasons why people cheat, I will save that for another post. I have had friends who sleep with three girls in a day and imagine all three gets pregnant, how would they take care of them? This is how it starts.

 I have lots to talk about but like I said in one of my previous posts, I hear you guys don’t read long posts so I will just cut it short. We should be wise, there is no way I want to be like my father and before I leave, let me tell you a story. I only saw my father twice, the first time was when my mother died and the second was when he was close to death. At his funeral, I met almost all my 24 siblings, they came from all over the world to bury this man and just before they were about to cover the coffin, they asked the kids to gather around it and cry. Some of us never cried and those were the children he didn’t take care of. There was no love and I really hope that he is resting in peace wherever he may be. The greatest torture for a child is to grow up with no father and I know what I am saying, I am talking from experience. If we are starting by keeping two or more women then we should sit back and check our lives. If you have the money to be with two women, feel free and let it be legit but don’t do something that will make an innocent baby suffer, that is a ‘not-not’.
I want to be a father, how many of you are fathers or want to be a father one day?

I have heard the news!! I don’t want to believe, but unfortunately, what I heard this morning is true. I have had a very rough 3 weeks and this has made matters worse. If this is true, then I will draw my conclusions about life and for that matter death. If death can take such a calm and pure soul, then I am nothing on the face of this earth that man lives.

I met Maame Ama Koomson a couple of months ago at a friend’s party and we suddenly ‘clicked’. I love bothering quiet people a whole lot because I always have my way so I took that chance to bother her on the first day. It was fun on the first day, she later told me that she already knew who I was and even had a copy of my album which her sister wants to take from her. I later realized she was following me on twitter so I followed her back and since then, we have been talking constantly. Via whatsapp and phone calls.

She was a new friend but we talked about things that most of my oldest friends still don’t know about because she made me believe her and she opened up to me easily. She encouraged me like a sister and I remember the day we talked about my poems/spoken words. She refueled me, she gave me hope and she said that once she likes the album, I should believe that everyone would love it. My fingertips are heavy, tears are gathering and my heart is heavy. This shouldn’t be true!!!
I remember our time out, after the charlewote festival, we went to KFC and as Glen and Kafui were ‘fooling’, she laughed and laughed and would chip in a word or two intermittently. I was staring at her, that day I looked at her so many times. That was the last time that I set eyes on her but it was our plan to meet again to chill but situations didn’t allow us, then she got sick. I now know why we both kept on stealing glances and later laughing over that on whatsapp. She was relaying a message to me, ‘this is the last time you are seeing me.’.

Maame Ama, I thank you for helping me find the Anomabo Beach Resort, and I really loved the place but it’s sad we cant go there together. I thank you for everything, you know I can’t say everything here. It won’t be apprioperate. But one thing I know for sure is that, you will always be in my heart.

And where ever you may be, Mi Ma Wu Damirifa Due. Da Yie

The Locals Acquired a Foreign Accent

I am back again with all the vim I have. All those who don’t understand vim should make me aware and I will explain it. Maybe you can ask in the comment section below this post. I know I have readers from all over, United States, Iceland, England, Japan, Kenya and the rest so you won’t understand some of the slangs I use in my post. I am ready to help.

I didn’t know what to post today even though I have loads of things to talk about, well I went through the subjects in my thoughts and selected a perfect one. If you follow me on twitter (@mutombodapoet), you know that I have talked about this several times and I do so because it bothers me whole lot. It’s also sad to see ‘brainy’ people do this, denying their own.

Why do people who have lived nowhere apart from Ghana try to sound American? This is something I want to understand and I pray that one day, it will all make sense to me. We call such practice in Ghana, ‘Locally Acquired Foreign Accent’ (LAFA) and it is very common among the youth in this country and funny enough most of them have never been to America before. We need to remember that there is a difference between ‘lived in America’ and ‘been to America’ and to ME you have to live in America for more than 5 years straight before you can say, ‘I have lived in America.’ I know some people who have visited America for some few weeks and came back with an ‘American accent’, with those people when they speak, you can find ‘potholes’ in them. I wonder why people do this, do we really hate how we Ghanaians sound? Is it really that bad for you to switch your accent just like that?

I will focus my attention on a new genre of music that recently arrived in the country called ‘GhRap’, and I wish I had the courage to show you some videos from youtube but I know I will be attacked since most of these peeps know where they can find me. It is a beautiful genre and I personally have some friends who are trying hard to put this genre on the map, they want it to be on the same level with highlife and hiplife which are also other genres in Ghana. Hmm...they have a long way to go! This genre is just like rap/hiphop but by local artistes and I am not happy to say that most of these local rappers are sad, very sad indeed. I love hiphop/rap and have been following a couple of foreign rappers for a very long time, I am into the conscious kind of rap, I mess with Talib Kweli, Common, Nas, Typical Cats, formally known as Mos Def and I can go on and on. I get amazed with the way all of these rappers market the country that they hail from. If it wasn’t for rap, I wouldn’t have known so much about things going on in America especially their lifestyle because I have never been there.
Now, back to these GhRap guys, what are they doing with their music? Highlife has made Ghana travel worldwide and I know with time hiplife will do same, but is ghrap going to sell Ghana at all? No, I don’t think so because these rappers are already faking their identity. They don’t sound Ghanaian to me even though they are from here. I can say for a fact that about 98% fake their accent. Is this right?  Let me give you an example of how a Ghanaian sounds like, just listen to how Kofi Annan talks (look for his videos on youtube), now that is how the Ghanaian accent sounds like. He has worked abroad for over 30 years but still echoes the Ghanaian sound where ever he goes.

These rappers don’t portray their identity at all and my heart weeps when I hear some of the things they say. I am sure all of them want an international appeal and a simple way of doing that is by ‘repping’ where you are from. What I mean by this is, talking about how you live, what goes on in your country or community and things like that. Why do you think we all know the alcoholic beverage Alize and even make ‘noise’ about it? It is because the Jay Zs and Kanyes used them in their rap songs. I have heard some of these ghrap songs, I have listened carefully and I know some of the things they say in their lines. It’s sad to say that they are copying blindly. These rappers are good, no doubt about that, I can name a few of them but I really don’t want to include any names in this post. I have heard rappers in Ghana say things like, ‘…I’m cold as snow….’ I live in Ghana, and I have never seen snow before, cant they use lines/metaphors that I can easily relate to? Can’t they replace ‘snow’ with, let’s say ‘ice water’ since more people here in Ghana can relate to that than snow? We have drinks like asana, pito and palmwine here in Ghana, cant they replace the Jack Daniels, Alizes etc with these. And in doing so, they are promoting what you have here in Ghana like what all those other rappers do for their countries. I hope I am making some sense here. I might be wrong though and pardon me if I am.

All I am saying is we should use our art form to promote our land, this is a responsibility of every artist in a country.  With such an accent, where would you belong? Let’s say a kid in China hears their song, he will say the rapper he is hearing is from the States and this is false. He will say so because of your accent which has done well to confuse him. Let’s say another kid in America hears their song, he will know that the artiste behind the song he is hearing is definitely not from America because he knows how a true American sounds like. Where is the identity here? You are lost, you have nowhere to belong. Am I lying?

I have lots of things to say but I hear you people don’t read a post when it’s very long, is that true? Ok, before I sign off, have you asked yourself why Reggie Rockstone introduced hiplife? He lived out of Ghana for a very long time but yet, came back and introduced this genre. We should stop faking and be true to ourselves.

Self Loving

I am gathering the courage to write about a topic that most people shy away from. Not because I am also shy but I don’t really know how most of you will take it. I am putting your private business out there. No one should be angry with me after this, please. Since I became aware of this act in 1997, I have never seen or heard one person openly talk about it before and that has got me thinking. Is there a stigma surrounding this? I don’t think so because all you out there who have sex, feel proud and good and never hold back when talking to your friends about the good sex that you just had.

I guess by now you know what I am going to talk about? Yes, masturbation!! For those of you who don’t know what this is, I will try and break it down using my own two by four english. Masturbation is when you play or stimulate you penis or vagina with the aim of reaching your peak or orgasm. I hope I did well with this definition. Some use toys especially the women and with others, just the palms. The guys use their palms most of the time and no wonder some palms now look like vaginas. Masturbating can be performed with or without a partner and in this post, I want to talk about masturbating alone, ‘under secrecy’

Like I said before, I got to know of this practice in 1997 when I entered the Secondary School. No one had told me about it and I hadn’t read it anywhere at all. A friend of mine brought a porn magazine and I had the chance to bring it home. I was going through it in the toilet because I didn’t want my late mum to see what kind of magazine I was reading and then I suddenly started touching myself. That was the first orgasm that I experienced and yes I hadn’t had sex before this incident. In fact I masturbated for several more years before I had real sex and I won’t disclose if I still do this or not…..ok fine, I stopped doing it a long time ago, let’s just keep it at that. It might be a lie though. Whatever!

My thing is, why do people stay off from this topic? No one ever asked me if I masturbated until recently and funny enough the guys mostly shy away from this topic. I have had more girls tell me that they masturbate than guys even though I know almost all of my male friends have done it before or still do it. Reading from a couple of sources from the internet, most of us in our prime do masturbate and I agree with this 100%, no doubt. I have stopped quoting the bible and referring to the bible for everything but for you Christians out there, is masturbation in the bible? Has the book labeled it as a sin? Why do you not talk about this act but you are every ready to talk about the guy or girl you fucked? If fornication is a sin according to the bible, don’t you think masturbation too is a sin?

I have seen a couple of my friends masturbate before, they still don’t know and anytime this topic comes up, they act like they don’t even know what masturbating is. I am watching them and I am going to raise this topic again soon and when they fight it, I will refer them to that unfortunate day. I will never lie about this, I have even confirmed to some of my friends that I have done it before. Why should I lie about this and brag about the girl I have slept with? No way!! If you ask me, I think masturbation is even safer and more ‘easy’ than actual sex. I am saying ‘easy’ because you don’t go through the hustle of finding a partner and all of those stuff. I don’t think anyone has had HIV and all those other sexually transmitted diseases because he/she masturbated but I am sure a couple of people have these diseases because they had sex with someone. With all these reasons, why are we still shy to say, ‘I Masturbate!’??

I find my dog masturbating in the open, yes, when they lick their genitals and all that what do you think they do? I think it is normal for man to masturbate and be proud about it and I say this because almost all the times you have sex with another person, you feel proud because finally a mission has been accomplished. I can say that masturbating boosted my brain power because most of the time I had to use my imagination. I mostly imagined having sex with a particular person whilst I work on myself because I didn’t have a porno mag all the time. And most of you won’t believe this but when it comes to mental health, masturbating fights depression and stress. No pregnancies especially when you are not ready for a baby. It develops self-love and helps you discover yourself. Wink!

However, people feel guilty after they masturbate and I think its because of how the society sees it and in some areas, it’s a taboo to so. I have experienced some bad things because I masturbated anyway and I am ready to share them. I will agree if you see them as disadvantages, and remember, In every good thing, you find some bad. I have bruised myself several times whilst masturbating and this normally happens when there isn’t enough lubrication, there have been instances where I have had premature ejaculation and this mostly happens when u masturbate shortly before sex. Sometimes I ejaculate prematurely when I masturbate a day before having sex.

I would want us to see masturbation as having sexual intercourse and speak about it when need be. A friend of mine who is married recently confirmed to me that he masturbates even though he has a wife and gave me solid reasons why. I respected him for that but most of you will lie about this and come to me with all glory and tell me about the girl you just shagged.
Get Outta Here!!!

Twitter Curse,Twitter Blessing

In April 2010 I joined twitter, I had signed up several months before but deactivated my account after a couple of minutes because I didn’t understand what was going on. A good friend of mine kept on exerting pressure on me to sign up again because it would help me promote my ‘stuff’, so I did. When I signed up in April, I took that time to sit back and study the whole thing, now I am noted as the guy who tweets so many times within a minute.

Twitter is a very useful social media tool that has really helped me to promote my spoken words, make people know where I am performing next and get personal with my fans. I have been on hi5, myspace (I’m still on myspace), and facebook (still on facebook) and I used each one of them to promote but to be honest, twitter has been way effective than all of them. And it’s funny since you have only 140 characters to say whatever you have to say. But like we all know, in every good thing, you can find some bad dangling loosely around it and twitter is no exception.

I know most people want to have so many tweet counts and because of this, they tweet just everything that crosses their minds without realizing the implications. I don’t know most of my followers personally, I have never come across many of them even though we interact smoothly on this platform. But I can tell you what goes on with them on a daily basis because of what they put out on their twitter. Not just things about them but their families and individual homes. I am aware that we are all different when it comes to our ways and doings and what I see wrong, most of you will have no problem with it but think about this, why skip a personal friend you know personally and tell strange people what you are going through or what is bothering a family member for that matter? I don’t see the sense at all. Twitter wants us to tell him what is going on with us but do you think it is right to tell him very personal things?

People use this platform as a penpal website and meet new friends and become ‘friends’. When there is a misunderstanding between them, they come on twitter and cuss each other out for others to realize what has gone on between them. I see this all the time and I wont hold back to say that, at the beginning of me on twitter, I got entangled in a similar situation. Man is wise now and I look past all of those mediocre stuff. On twitter everybody can fake their personality for all sorts of purposes. Some use theirs to create fun and others to inflict deep emotional wounds on others and you will never find out who is behind those parody accounts because they don’t use their real names and avatar. One of such accounts is that of a class talkative who has taken jabs at so many stars including Reggie Rockstone, Wanlov, Yvonne Nelson, Benny Blanco, and other random people on twitter. He has even talked about me before, didn’t have any idea of what he was talking about anyway. This parody class talkative account, with the name Naadu saw a rise in the number of followers in a very short time because people are interested in ‘kokonsa’.

Twitter is a blessing and a curse if you ask me and this really depends on the individual who is behind that computer or phone tweeting. Since I joined this platform, I have gained many fans(I had a fanbase before twitter) and I have actually been able to spread my work to a larger audience within and out of the country. I have made helpful contacts including poets, show organizers and other artists. For a person in the arts, I would recommend twitter on any day and I think it is the most effect if you ask me. I am still finding ways of stepping up my marketing moves on twitter and also forming a group where we will help others in the society, they don’t necessarily have to be on twitter. Last 2 years I tried to bring together a couple of people on twitter so we could help the less privileged around us but it didn’t work. Some people were willing but a majority was not with it at all. They were rather interested in the next party or show coming up, I think it is time we realize the good in helping others. Life is more than this.

My main purpose for this post is to make people aware of what they tweet, of what they talk about on twitter because it’s not safe out there. Someone might capitalize on your tweet and it will go a long way to tarnish your image. I might be wrong or you might disagree with me but this is my personal opinion, what I think and I won’t argue if you think doing otherwise is right. People are tweeting for money, people have been employed because of twitter. People have been beaten because of twitter and I am sure there have been deaths because of this platform. It’s all up to you, you choose. @mutombodapoet is my twitter handle and I use that to promote my spoken words and also other personal things.

I know a couple of artist who are using the social media to sell/market their stuff and it is working for them. I think that, no matter what you do, be it banking, sports, IT or school you can use twitter as a meaningful tool to share information about your field of work and you might be surprised with the good things that will come your way. I am glad that I finally signed up on twitter and thanks to Naa Kofi for that pressure.

Driver Banzah

I have been driving since 2000 or 2001, cannot really remember and I hope no one questions me if I have a license or not. That is not what I am about to answer in this post, thank you.

Driving in Ghana is not fun at all and this morning, on my way to legon, I saw something that really got me thinking. I am still wondering how the black man thinks. On the  new N1 Highway, aka George Walker Bush Highway, I saw a couple of trotros (public buses) in an act that needs to be checked by the authorities in this country. They had stopped by the street to pick up passangers when there was a bus stop staring right in the eyes of those four drivers. If you are familiar with this highway, you will know how cars speed and I always move with caution when I am on this highway.
I mean why can’t these drivers follow simple instructions? Is it stupidity, ignorance or illiteracy? I have witnessed so many accidents on that road so anytime I see a motorist misbehave, I get so alarmed and bothered, to say the least. I think the problem comes from the authorities and when I say authorities, I mean the policemen who are suppose to check traffic offenders in the country. They are the cause of all these things going on in the country. The driver knows that, when the policeman arrest him for a traffic offence, all he has to do is to hand him a few cedis and he will be released so they always keep extra cash on them. With this practice, how will we go on as a country? How many of these drivers even have a valid license? Most have worked for so many years without a license. Is this life?

I have bribed the police several times myself, I wont lie, but even though I do this or have done this before, I always question myself. Will I commit the same offence when the law takes it course? I don’t think so because next time, when I see the red light, I will stop. Sometimes you try to correct a trotro/taxi driver and you will be showered with insults even though he is wrong. What kind of mindset is this? My people are always talking about development and when they do, all the want is good roads, electricity, portable drinking water etc but they forget that development starts from obeying simple rules and regulations that govern us as a people. On the real, we will never develop if we don’t start from somewhere.

I don’t cry and go sad when I hear about a gory motor accident nowadays because you will go deep into the story and realize it was because of the driver’s stupidity. Why should I be sad? i beg!! How many of you passengers talk to the driver when he is doing something wrong on the road? You just sit and all you think about is the time you will get to your destination, let’s hope you arrive safely.
Godspeed!!

They interviewed me

http://feintandmargin.com/feint-margin-spotlight-on-ghanaian-poet-percy-a-k-a-mutombo-da-poet/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FeintandMargin+%28Feint+and+Margin%29

My Vodafone Pester Campaign

I Am Grown And Sexy

 Rockstones Office, which is located behind the Police Headquarters, has been the chilling spot for tons of people in the past few years. I have been there so many times and it’s the only joint that I love to be, not because of Reggie Rockstone and not because I always get to enter free, its because of the environment and how relaxed the place is, especially if you go there early. Nice waiters and workers and yes, their waakye as well.

What I really want to focus on is what happens on Wednesdays at this joint. Grown and Sexy is a mid-week entertainment ‘thingy’ that goes on at Rockstones Office and it’s the best thing to ever happen to peeps that have nowhere to chill during the week. Grown and Sexy is more like an open mic where random people can get on the mic but each Wednesday has a special guest performer. And the most amazing thing is, every performance is backed by a band. This is where artists get to test their skills with a live band and I have seen a couple of acts flop because most of them do the miming thing all the time. Oh Ghana!!!

Rockstone’s Office is a place to be on Wednesdays because you also get to meet random people, make some connections and basically chill. I am mostly there on this day just to see people work the mic and I have performed there on so many Wednesdays doing my spoken word thing and sometimes messing with some rap lines with my homie, Simpol Tinz. I have seen so many artistes like Gyedu Blay Ambolley, Ben Brako, Kwawkese, Tinny, R2Bees, Mensa, Wanlov, Okyeame Kwame, Efya, Yaa Pono, Lady Jay, Zigi, EL etc perform there on Wednesdays and most of the times, the grandpa himself, Reggie Rockstone who is also the owner of the joint gets on the mic too.

Its hosted by KOD and I simply love the way he engages the audience and calls random people to the mic sing, rap or do anything. You will be surprised that, you get all this entertainment for free no matter how big the artiste is. All you have to do is to buy drinks, chill and watch live performances from stars from all over. Reggie should be recommended for creating something like this and to all those other joints, you are late!! We need to start getting innovative and try out different things. The ‘party this, party that’ is becoming much, let’s create charle. More vim to Grown and Sexy and I hope it stays around for a very long time, just like GBC.

 Bless Da Mic (BTM) is here again and being a part of it from its inception, I am elated. Yes, I have been a part of BTM from the start. I was performing alongside rappers, during those days, I was the only spoken word artiste. Well, maybe. BTM Music and Art Festival was a 2 day event and the first day, June 1 was patronized by a crowd mainly made up of young people who wanted something different.

I got to the Alliance Francaise at around 7pm and the show hadn’t started, it was suppose to start at 6:30pm but finally started at 9:41pm. Yes, I was looking at the time one my phone all the time because I saw people leaving and it was not a good sight. My friend, Fred who got there at 6pm with his wife and a friend had to leave at around 8pm. They had to get their money back at the gate. It was quiet a scene since the people at the gate were not ready for a ‘refund’. I had to intervene and they finally got back their 45ghC. Tickets were selling at the gate for 15ghC

Joel who has been with BTM from the beginning and is now a presenter at YFM was co-presenting with a lady called Agnes. I don’t know who she is but she looked stunning I must say. Her accent didn’t go easy on my ears and I sometimes pray for these people to slow down for me. They said the show would start with a cypher but honestly, I didn’t see any cypher going on. I might be wrong here but my idea of a ‘cypher’ is what goes down at the BET Awards, when a couple of emcees gather around and take turns in rapping. With this BTM Cypher, artistes were being introduced one after the other onto the stage to do their thing. Too bad I cant remember any of the names but I have pictures and I will be putting them up on my tumblr (mutombogh.tumblr.com) so do check them out.

Kwesi Trigga came on stage with a backpack and a Beat by Dre headphones around his neck and gave the audience a couple of songs. He was backed by a beautiful lady on one of the songs and his set went well. I have been following him for time and he has improved in so many ways. His stage craft was on point and he used the stage very well. I sometimes had to chase him with my camera just for shots.

I saw this lady perform for the first time, I have never heard her name but sources say she has been around for a while. Her name is Lousika. I won’t forget her outfit and I am sure some guys there were ‘worried’ during her time on stage. She came to mime to some of her songs and honestly, if it wasn’t for the pictures I took of her, I wouldn’t have remembered her at all. She had some ‘vim’ though but the sad thing is, she wasn’t miming right. I am sure she was not hearing herself so the miming was a little bit off. The one and only Macho Rapper in the country came to bless the stage which surprisingly went well because before his performance, he was telling me how he was feeling dull and all. I was expecting him to tear his shirt though like he mostly does but I waited in vain. He has been with BTM for time now and I remember those days at the weekly open mic sessions that we used to attend at Hypnotiq and Base Lounge.

All of these performers that I have talked about didn’t use the live band but the used a DJ and I would like to take this opportunity to echo DJ Mike Smith, he plays at Rockstones Office. dude was on point with his music on this night. My only problem with him was that, he didn’t play lots of tracks from Ghana. Maybe one day. The Skillions came on stage and they brought their own equipment/gadgets. I would love to shout Jayso out at this point and say well done. He has kept this group alive and their set was on point. The effects that were introduced were LIVE. No dirt on their performance at all and I know that this group has a whole lot more to offer. Shaker, Rumour, Paapa and other skillion member performed and I know they spent over 30mins on stage. I didn’t realize until after their set. It was Jayso birthday too but he looked to solemn. Well maybe he was reflecting because man dey grow!!

Kweku T came on stage to do a quick one, I think he wasn’t part of the line up, he was just acknowledged and he had this camera follow him on stage. To all of you ‘yoyo’ boys, you should have seen the Swag Society perform. I don’t like that ‘yoyo’ ‘flexing’ kind of rap but the energy these boys had got my attention. They worked the stage well and this group of 2 kept on galloping the stage back and forth and one of them had this long necklace in his hand throughout their time on stage. Charle, in Ghana we have everything and I would love you to take that time and go through my pictures to at least get a picture of what really went down.

Jay Town was the first act who performed with a live band and I thought the band was a little too loud. Jay Town is always on point and he was supported by Joey B. Jay has been in this game for time and has always paid his dues. He was clad in a Ghanaian outfit (boubou) and was one of a few who actually sported something local. Enough love to XO Senavoe. He took the stage next and dude was on point. He also did it with the live band and I really loved how he engaged the crowd with his talk about his upbringing, who he is working with and all that. His outfit was also on point and guess who joined him on stage to do a song? The beautiful Efya. She performed one song with XO. Chairs were brought on stage for them to sit and this was actually one of my best performances for the night. Everything from Efya’s voice to how their outfit matched and the whole concept was off the top. XO is really putting in work, I must say. The Madman himself Kwawkese joined XO. They performed a song together and Kwaw’s presence made the crowd go berserk. He skimmed through some verses from a couple of his songs and if I am allowed to say this, I think Kwaw is one of the best performers in Ghana, hands down. Kill me!

Jazzy, who is a poet and a rapper performed with EL and the latter took control of the stage after their performance and did a couple of songs with the live band. He performed Kaalu which was loved by the crowd. BTM has been a platform for the upcoming and underground artistes and you will be amazed with the talents you will come across during this Music and Art Festival. C-Real joined EL on stage and they did a couple of songs which to me went well. Too Tuff and Shocker aka Ella Shaz ended the first day of BTM with awesome performances. Too Tuff, a 2 man band did most of their hit songs and Shocker brought his whole army on stage to do ‘Odorna’ and other tracks by the Shaolin Mun’fuck (spelling).

June 2:I was supposed to perform at the Day 2 of BTM, but I had to leave since the rain messed everything up. I waited until 10pm and left because I was losing ‘vim’ and had some neck pains. I heard it was just okay but there were just a few people because of the rain. I was there when I heard of the plane crash at El-Wak Sports Stadium and RIP to all those who lost their lives. I should also add that the band, Afro Harmony did a very good job and I have performed with this band on so many occasions. They always get things right. Shouts to PY and the whole Bless Da Mic team, I hope next years will be bigger and better and I hope the month is changed because last year, the rain nearly messed up the whole thing.
Vim!!!

Pay’oh’la!!

So I have been thinking. I have been thinking about a whole lot, especially when it comes to radio in Ghana. I can see a whole lot of them springing up frequently so I guess that sector is doing very well. I have had the chance to go on some on these stations for interviews etc and I will recommend most of them when it comes to programming. I also love the security system put in place and one station that comes to mind is radio gold 90.5.

I am not going to talk about programming, neither am I going to talk about their security and all that, but I want to touch on the help/support that they give local artistes when it comes to airplay. I am aware that there are so many artistes in this country who are struggling to make it. They don’t even get shows to perform for some ‘coins’ and it’s hard for them to put out a song since they face difficulty getting funds to take care of their studio time.

After going through all that to put out a song, a DJ/presenter will first take payola before playing your tune on the station/programme. This payola business has been with us from day one and I have personally heard artistes complain. I sometimes wonder why it has to be like this since the dj/presenter is getting content for his programme. Quiet recently, instead of taking money, they take all sort of things that will be of use to them like call credits, clothing and other items. When you listen closely to the radio, they mostly play songs from foreign artistes including Jay Z, Eminem, Rihanna, Asa and other well known stars. i know of several programmes where almost 90% of the songs they play are foreign. Let me take this chance to applaud KOD for his programme, African Safari.

I want to know something, do they take payola from these foreign artistes before playing their songs or they patronize so they can feel cool? I don’t think Jay Z or Eminem will pay a local dj/presenter to play his music. I might be wrong, I am sorry because some of them might have direct contact with these celebs. I am just saying!!!! Why do they take payola before playing songs from local artistes if you don’t take from foreign ones? Does that even look or sound right? Your country man has a track out and you take him money before you play, But play a foreign song for free…are you crazy????
When will Ghana even start paying royalties to her artistes? I am wondering when they will put that system in place so artistes can start enjoying life. This is happening in other countries and as far as I am concerned, our artistes need to benefit from this too. Ghanaians don’t buy cds, but listen to the radio a lot, this is how it is here so radio and tv stations should start paying artistes for playing their songs. Until a show comes up, the artistes is broke.

I really hope that one day Ghanaian artistes will start enjoying the fruit of their labour and get the necessary respect from these media people.

It's Raining

 At the beginning of this year, I said on twitter that this 2012 will see more rain. I said this because…. I don’t even know why I tweeted that. Well let me say it was just a feeling. Last year we didn’t see enough rain. I missed rain! We are not even half way through 2012 and we have experienced heavy down pour and as I typing this post, its was pouring.

 I love the rain, when I was a young man growing up in North Kaneshie, I always looked forward to the rain for just one reason……so we could play!!. I, my siblings and friends always looked forward to the rain. And it was during those wet days that parents got worried. My mom and grandma would do everything possible to see us indoors anytime it rained because we were eventually going to get cold and the weak ones would eventually fall seriously sick. But we still loved the rain, I still love the rain.

Now when it rains, I see and hear my peers think and talk about just one thing, SEX. Well,at this age it is understandable but there is more to this life. I have some wicked friends. I call them wicked because they will ‘massacre’ in this weather. I know what I am saying. I have been there and done that, yes I thought of sex sometimes but not anymore. That phase is totally gone because quiet recently, my brain has been filled with so many issues that I am dealing with. I still think when its raining though. I think about a whole lot.

Ghana sees rain and lots of sunshine, lots of rain and sunshine throughout the year. Hope you get what I am saying here and during these periods, things really get messy in Accra. I am saying Accra because that is where I live. I have lived in Accra all my life and I am proud. The drainage system in the capital is bad as far as I’m concerned. I say this because a small amount of rain can cause problems. I have seen people drown in big gutters and I have seen water sweep flimsy structures such as kiosk, stalls and billboards. Yes, I wont lie. 

The government has always promises to improve on drainage but the same thing happens every single year. I remember last year, a couple of people lost their lives at Circle and I know that this year, if it rains heavily, trouble!! I am not hoping for the worse for anyone, but this is a fact that cant be disputed if you know what I am talking about. I don’t understand the politician, why promise if you know you cant deliver? Eventually, the person giving you his/her vote will see the light and you will be doomed. I don’t know how the nation’s resources are being used but I will talk about this extensively in another post.

When its raining, trotro drivers especially don’t take any precautions and all they do is speed and speed in their rickety lorries, they even ignore simple traffic regulations and this amazes me a whole lot. How reckless can one get? Charle, I cherish my life a whole lot, I know that no matter how careful I am, I will still die but some death can be prevented. Don’t you think so? Most of these motor accidents can be prevented and care should be taken during this ‘rainy’ season. I hope that NADMO is prepared for any disaster and they should be well equipped and should act urgently when need be.

This season shouldn’t be all about sex and sex, there are more things to do like plant corn for you family to eat. At least, you get to save some money for your pocket.