MENSA’S STYLE WAS SO VERY DIFFERENT, HIS SOUND WAS SO VERY MATURE THAT HE BECAME AN OVERNIGHT SENSATION. REGGIE ROCKSTONE WAS ONE OF THE ARTISTS WANTING TO WORK WITH HIM. MENSA SUBSEQUENTLY FEATURED ON AND PRODUCES REGGIE’S ALBUM MEKA AND THEN LATER THE LAST SHOW WHICH SOLD IN RECORD NUMBERS. HE WROTE THE LYRICS OF K K FOSU ON REGGIE’S HIT SONG “AH”. MENSA HAS WORKED WITH A LOT OF HIGH PROFILE GHANAIAN MUSICIANS SUCH AS K K FOSU,VIP,T-BLAZE,OBRAFOUR,WANLOV,REGGIE, ETC
BELOW IS THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE INTERVIEW.(UNEDITED)
9:26PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
Hello Mensa
9:26PMMENSA
hey
9:26PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
how are you?
9:26PMMENSA
I’m good! thanks…you?
9:27PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
cool can u give ghanacelebrities.com a few mins of ya time?just for a small chit chat interview for your lovely Fans around the Globe?
9:28PMMENSA
sure! right after you tell me a bit more about it ie Ghana celebrities anaa? lol lol dont mind me
9:31PMMENSA
cool sounds good lets do it
9:31PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
cool so mensa, Can you tell us about your background and family?
9:31PMMENSA
full pedigree ghanaian… both parents Got a big nuclear family, step sisters and borthers…all very close and somehow artistically inclinedbeen lving overseas for almost a decade now, live mostly in london…but I spend a lot time working in the states
9:35PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
Mensah, re u there? or have lost you?oh cool, you thereHow did you get into music and what was your first break, Mensah?
9:40PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
Mensah, u there?
9:45PMMENSA
yupI lost you for a sec
9:45PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
really, i thought you were lost
9:46PMMENSA
been here
9:46PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
let me ask the question again then
9:46PMMENSA
its Mensa**no ”H”
9:46PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
ok Mensa, got it correct this time How did you get into music and what was your first break, Mensa?
9:49PMMENSA
I’ve always as a kid been into music… everybody says that… but my dad has been playing the guitar since he was teen, my mom was in the choir… my dad later on went to tour and write songs for Osibisa… I was playing the piano by the age of 10, and I was in my church choir as the pianistso apart from my later introduction to secular music in ghana, I’d been around a lot of soul, classical, jazz and a lot of the orinigal highlife music that we dont hear anymore
9:49PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
oh so it something u started from infancy,
9:49PMMENSA
YUP
9:50PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
So,How many albums do you have to your credit?
9:51PMMENSA
hmm, my own albums or ones I’ve done for othersmost people dont know, but I actually put KK Fosu on the scene… produced and recorded Sujwe for himI did a whole album for Reggie Rockstone
9:52PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
really, you did Sujwe for K K? wow,thats great
9:52PMMENSA
lol…
9:53PMMENSA
and the song he did with Reggie (fa mi boni che mi)
9:53PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
Oh I know that song,called AH!! what did u do in that song? production or the beat or what?
9:58PMMENSA
production… I wrote the song for KK to sing
9:59PMMENSA
yeahI wrote the lyrics too
9:59PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
oh really? that is great
10:00PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
So what do you call the kind music you do Mensa? hip life,hip hop, afro pop or what?
10:00PMMENSA
I dont like to put my self in a corner, i do all sorts of music
10:00PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
So can you tell us some of the musicians or have passed through your hands or have worked with so far, the few you can remember since i know you have worked with a lot
10:00PMMENSA
I produced Kokonsa for Wanlov the Kubolor… we’re actually in the studio right now working on a new projectI worked with obrafuo ,Obrafuor*, VIP , Reggie Rockstone,KK Fosu, Tblaze, Lifeline Family
10:03PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
It looks like Mensa has moved from the frontline of being an active musician to production and stuff? is that what you re concentrating on now?
10:04PMMENSA
being a producer IS being an active musician…I’m still touringplay with bands..still singand I’m working on releasing my album before the new yearshould be excitingI got a single coming out in ghana next week actually
10:05PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
oh really? so you going to ghana next week then i guess?
10:05PMMENSA
nooololmy music gets there before
10:06PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
so how re u releasing a single in Ghana whiles you re in london, sending music before you?lol
10:06PMMENSA
I’m working on a project in LA California til xmasthen I’ll be in ghana in the new year to finish my project with Wanlov and start the major pomotion on the album
10:08PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
You and wanlov, what you people working on now , a new project or still promoting Greencard album(Konkonsa song)
10:09PMMENSA
a new project altogether
10:09PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
Will u wanna give us a chip in about this whole new project?
10:10PMMENSA
basically its going to be mind blowing… and I’m not just saying that!
10:11PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
Really, we cant wait for this to come out then
10:11PMMENSA
its something thats never been done before… on the entire music scale….worldwide….never been done beforeyou’ll understand when its done…then you’ll know why I’m saying its never been done before
10:12PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
wow,this sounds great, Fans are waiting, so you working on this project with wanlov as a producer or an artist?
10:12PMMENSA
both
10:13PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
oh , that is wonderful What are your plans (future) for Ghanaian music Mensa?
10:15PMMENSA
man… I feel like the revolution for quality music has just begunand its only going to get better
10:16PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
So apart from music, is Mensa lookin at other projects and if yes, what are these projects?
10:16PMMENSA
looking to put our music on the map in a globally accesible manner… not just music for ghanaians..but also without losing its identity…that has always been my thinhlooking to find myself a wifelol
10:17PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
find yourself a wife? lol
10:18PMMENSA
yupa nice naija wife! lolI’m a sucker for naija girls chale
10:18PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
naija wife? why not a ghanaian wife? ur ghanaian female fans will see this ooo?
10:18PMMENSA
I like their feistiness….yeah, ok then I need the feisty ghana girlslol
10:19PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
What challenges do you face in the Ghanaian music industry?
10:20PMMENSA
none… personally, i tend to disassociate with low quality creativityso if I feel someone or a group of people are into something(music) not for the passion, then I dont want to knowharsh but true
10:22PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
yes, about creativity and the strength of contemporary ghanaian music, what is your take on that?
10:23PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
what do you think artist are doing wrong in today ghanaian music industry?
10:23PMMENSA
we’re the most gifted people on the planet…. oozing positive energy all the time… we just need to instill all our qualities in the youth and give them that sense of pride and belonging… and keep making that great music !
10:25PMMENSA
some have lost the plot…making music for all the wrong reasons… the industry though is growing nicely, with more respect for artists and the arts…the way it ought to be!
10:25PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
so before we go, What are your hobbies and pastimes?
10:27PMMENSA
I like a good book every now and then… and the company of insightful pretty women and a bottle red wine going round lol
10:27PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
lol aight Mensa, thanks for your time,Give us your Parthian shot – last words.
10:28PMMENSA
lol
10:29PMMENSA
being ghanaian lol in my opinion is probably the coolest thing!! lolI dunno… I’m distractedthanks anyways
10:30PMGHANACELEBRITIES.COM
thanks man
10:31PMMENSA
cool
This post was published on March 17, 2010 7:25 PM
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