What Really Happened to Hiplife Duo-Nkasie? | I Hope a Tuabodom Curse Did Not End Their Musical Career…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k7JZ7tLx-U

The hiplife duo, nkasie shot to fame in 2006 with arguably, the most controversial song of all time in the history of Ghanaian music. The song, tuabodom, catapulted them to a pedestal of success.

Ironically that song has proved to be their undoing, as they have taken a hiatus ever since. The group, made up of Kwame Godlove Yeboah (Shy) and Isaac Mensah (Naa K) happened to be the first group to collaborate with Reggie Rockstone, the pioneer of hiplife genre. Their hit song, Ekomamu released on the album Bisa in 2000, still resonates in my mind and is a favourite of many revellers.

The song was a like a tsunami. It shook the foundation of the musical landscape. The people of tuabodom, a country side in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana who were the subject of the derogatory remarks of the song, felt outraged and vowed to deal with the artiste through any means. It caused a great uproar, prompting a legislator who hails from the region to call for it outright banned. Some even tried desperately to hide their identity to avoid any further ridiculing.

The song itself is a folktale. It portrayed the dwellers of the town as lacking civilizing influences.

As the story goes, many years ago a school in tuabodom was invited to participate in a sports competition in Kumasi. Prior to their departure, one of the teachers of the school decided to teach the students a very unique song that will make the people of Kumasi acclaim them as “the brutal of the brutest.”.

Nkasei’s song further taunted the people, saying they have never seen a tarred road before.  In a bid to add elements of creativity to this non-fiction, punctuated by witty lyrical content, Nkasie rather caused a measure of alienation to a section of their fans.

The queen mother of the town also made matters worse when she was purported to have said she will only respond to questions as regard their fury with the group if she is presented with mobile since she has never owned one before.

My imagination is running wild. The long silence of this talented group is quite suspicious. Could it be that a cursed was pronounced on them by the most powerful deity in the town to prevent them from attaining any success in their musical career? Or perhaps they aren’t that skilful and have evaporated into a shadow of oblivion, just like the many Ghanaian artistes who couldn’t sustain their fame?

The last time I checked, Naa K was said to have gone solo. He released a gospel song that is yet to see the light of the day. Considering the fact that majority of Ghanaians are obsessed with gospel music, I still wonder why Naa K is still struggling. And shy is still languishing.

Perhaps, it is a curse from Tuobodom…