It is coming soon, and it is coming big; it is the series premiere of the next big thing to hit the big screen in Ghana- ‘Guy Guy’.
The brainchild of talented artist 2Ras, this is a show guaranteed to blow the minds of a Ghanaian public a little too comfortable with mediocrity. Well acted, well directed, star studded, the show is as ‘guy guy’ as its title holds.
The premiere episode ‘Best Rapper Alive’ is set to air on Saturday, August 8 on GTV. A premiere must always be one of the best episodes of any given show, as it acts as the first crumb thrown into the sea to hook the fish, and so it should be a particularly juicy crumb.
‘Guy Guy’ has a lot working for it before it even airs, the cast of characters which is a highlight reel of a ‘who is who’ in Ghana showbiz, and its head character Kalybos, is probably the hottest commodity in Ghana these days. Still, the pilot meets expectations in many ways.
Before getting to the meat, a little look at production values. Often cast and crew is a delicate balance that heralds every good show. The best actors in the world would flop if the other side is not that great, whilst putting on the greatest production would not get by if you have mediocre actors. Luckily ‘Guy Guy’ strikes that balance and I think the premiere makes that abundantly clear.
The picture quality is concise enough. Often Ghanaian shows have this terrible sound production, where it’s a little too loud at times and barely audible at other times. ‘Guy Guy’ avoids that, although at times they are too eager to throw in the soundtrack, which sometimes briefly obscures the character’s speech.
‘Best Rapper Alive’ refers to one of the characters, an aspiring rapper who currently operates as a taxi driver to make ends meet, ‘Kenya’, played with gusto by Laud Osei. Kenya is a man with too much confidence for his minuscule talent.
He somehow put together a substantial sum to book studio time with none other than Hammer of the Last Two, but he might as well as listened to his best buddy, who tried to dissuade him. The phrase ‘throwing money down the drain’ had never been truer, and Kenya and Hammer have a very hilarious scene to close out the episode.
Now let’s get to Kalybos, the only boss with one ‘S’; the eccentric genius in my two part title. Kalybos plays himself, displaying most of the traits of his short skits version. As a ‘boyfriend’ of Derby, the fair skinned ‘Legonite’ played by the lovely Nikki Samonas, Kalybos is in charge of helping her out academically. Derby’s roommate, Chelsea, is Kalybos’ kryptonite, and their interactions comprise most of the episodes comedy.
Describing Kalybos as eccentric is something of an understatement. He’s a box full of antics, claiming what he cannot do, as he is famous for in his eternal chase for Miss Patri. This of course crerates hilarious situations, which in this case he does not have to extricate himself from, because Derby needs him. They’re still hilarious antics anyway.
The thread running throughout the entire episode is one of people puffing themselves way above their abilities, hence ‘Guy Guy’. It is a show full of ‘Guy Guys’ and nothing gets them into trouble much more than their own hubris.
As a pilot episode ‘Best Rapper Alive’ does its job well enough. It introduces and establishes the characters we are going to be seeing over the next thirteen weeks, whilst the guest characters paid their dues. Hammer, laid back as always, is the highlight of the episode, putting the hopelessly inept Kenya firmly in his place.
A show for the youth, I have no doubt ‘Guy Guy’ is here to stay. Just the sheer number of guest stars would draw people in to try and see what all the fuss is about.
Next week, ‘Church Girl’ is another eventful episode, with Keche, Wutah Kobby, and Kaakie all making appearances.
“Guy Guy” Series hits the screens on Saturday, August 8, 2015 and airs on GTV at 9:00pm (each Saturday).
“Guy Guy” is proudly sponsored by Kasapreko Alomo Silver and Vicco Malt.
“Guy Guy” Series is written and produced by Ghanaian Rapper-2ras and directed by Kofi Asamoah of “Kalybos in China” – it was shot on various locations in Accra.
Check out the promo video of ‘Guy Guy’ below…
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRmPSVXTemM