Guest Contributor, Author at GhanaCelebrities.Com

Ghana Vrs USA: How Ghana Can Beat USA-World Cup 2014

06/15/2014 6:55 pm

“When I get older… I will be stronger … They will call me freedom … just like a waving flag …and then it goes back… oh oo o ” … Four years ago, Somalia’s K’naan rose to prominence with this theme song for the World Cup in South Africa, and while Shakira’s Waka Waka had a groove about it, Waving Flag just tugged at your heart strings in a special way…

Four years ago, Nana Borro’s “Aha y3d3” became another unofficial theme song, especially after Ghana games; Four years ago, Octopus Paul was your go to guy for match predictions; Four years ago, the Cedi was 1.4 to the Dollar…. Oh how the times have changed since the last World Cup!

But those moments are back; those moments when you, including your boss, steal office hours; dash from the office to the pub or rush home, if your wife is the “house master” type, to catch the action live on TV, or simply tune in to radio commentary from your car. For one long month from June 12 – July 13, our daily routines will be rearranged because the 2014 FIFA World Cup is here; live from the home of football, Brazil! and you know what that means; a football party!

For us this side of the Atlantic, we are concerned with how our beloved Black Stars would kick start the campaign against perennial World Cup foes, United States of America (USA), on Monday June 16, 2200 GMT in Natal. In keeping with the World Cup fever, I have got a couple of tips for Black Stars coach Kwesi Appiah on how to beat the USA from a purely scientific angle, nothing Kwaku Bonsam-ish. And oh, while I am at it, I will attempt an ideal line up too.

Arrest Michael Bradley

US Coach Jurgen Klinsmann, a former German international, recently stated that formations do not matter as much as tactics. In the lead up to the tournament, Klinsmann has departed from his favoured 4-2-3-1 in favour of a diamond 4-4-2 and tried several combinations with different players, although one has been ever present; Michael Bradley, son of former US and Egypt Coach Bob Bradley.

What Do Jay-Z, Dr. Dre and Ghana’s E.L Have in Common?

06/10/2014 3:46 pm

by Guest Contributor

For the past few years, we have been witnessing a remarkable “transformation” of the African music industry. We hear of Forbes’ list of the top 10 riches African musicians, endorsement deals with multinational corporations, MTV Africa Music Awards, international collaborations and other staggering developments.

Many African artists are on the hunt for universal recognition with special focus on being accepted in the African-American music scene. And yet, even with their tremendous and commendable efforts, it is still not common for anyone to watch or listen to P-Square feat. Rick Ross’s Beautiful Oyinye or D’banj feat. Kanye West’s Scape Goat on mainstream European and North American television or commercial radio.

As much as African artist are aggressively shooting for fame, the millionaires’ club and a global fan base, it is not particularly clear whether they are even ready for such a great leap. Given the accomplishment of many African-American music icons (e.g. they have their own record labels, a number of artists they manage, they sell merchandises & own other ventures ), it is only natural to hear the majority of African musicians talk about their dream of becoming like them.

For instance, during an interview with TOF TV in Toronto, Canada, the award-winning Ghanaian rapper E.L told the TV host that he looks up to Jay-Z and Dr. Dre. “Those [ Jay-Z and Dr. Dre] are the epitome of what that whole music thing is about. They have taken it to that level so of course I strive to be as good as them” , he proclaims. As we learn during the interview, the Azonto Pioneer desires to be recognize as a creative African artist on a global level..

Key Management Team Members You Need For a Successful Music Career

05/26/2014 3:34 pm

by Guest Contributor

As a musician, the team you build to help you with your career is very important just as the quality of music you make. Having the right management team is critical to the success of every artist.

Every successful recording artist has become that way because of their talent and the management team that works to build his/her career. Many recording artists may feel comfortable enough in their talent to believe that is all that is needed to succeed but they quickly discover that is not the case.

If you want to take your career to the next level, then you have to work with a team that understands the industry and work diligently to get your music out to the public.

Take a look at the key members that are supposed to be on your team and the role they should play in making your dreams come true.

Personal Manager

Your personal manager should be the most trusted and important person or persons within your team, and in some way, he or she will be the CEO of the brand, which is YOU!

Your manager’s job is to guide and counsel you for the building of your brand. In addition; your manager should assist you in the administrative tasks associated with the business of music, and advise you on important business decisions.

Your manager should have an understanding of the music industry especially contract and intellectual property law, deal making, publishing, royalties, booking, touring, accounting, and marketing and business planning.

He or she should have at least a detailed plan as to how they are going to take you from zero to “Music Hero” in a reasonable amount of time.

Bad management can really mess up your chances of ever succeeding in the music business no matter how talented you are.

How to Become Successful in the Music Business…

05/2/2014 9:20 am

by Guest Contributor

There are a few guarantees that you will succeed or reach the point that you seek in today’s music business – even a deal with a major record label isn’t necessarily going to make you rich. The music business is probably one of the most interesting yet difficult businesses in the world. Music is one of those vocations that gets in your blood and keeps you dreaming throughout most of your life, unless you do something about it. A person with great dreams can achieve great things.

If you have that dream of becoming a star, let me help you with some truths about the music business that may make the journey a little smoother and save you a lot of heartache and money along the way.

There are three elements that make anything successful – a goal, a plan and a team. The music business is no different. It is usually the dream that leads to the goal, but then the plan and the team seem to be a problem for most artistes. Most singers, songwriters and musicians possess a very creative mind, but they want someone else to handle the business side of things. The artist who can develop both their creative and business minds are more likely to have great success because they understand what needs to be done and why it is being done in their careers.

Psychology plays an important part in the music business as well. Understanding the mental side of the music business is very important, beginning with mentally visualizing your dreams coming true. A large part of this business is out-thinking your competition and coming up with unique ways of doing things that will get attention.

Here are some tips that will give you the edge and put you on the path to success in the music industry.

Good Music

You can’t make it in this business unless the music you make is good. ‘Good’ means that it has a market (beyond your loyal friends and family) and that you can write and produce to a standard substantially higher than average.

It’s a harsh reality to face but, looking at the law of averages, it stands to reason that not everyone will be above the centre line. If enough unbiased people are telling you that what you do is impressive, do everything you can to become even better. Devote time, effort and – yes – money to fuelling your dream. If nothing is ventured then nothing is gained.

Why It is Difficult For Me to Call Myself Beautiful…

05/1/2014 7:34 pm

by Guest Contributor

Beauty is a woman’s pride, so why is it hard for me to call myself beautiful. The images I see don’t look like me. I see shades of white, brown, and tan but none like me. I see structures so tall and so thin but none like me. You see, I have chocolate skin not too light not too dark. I have a wide nose which I think fits my face, but some find it big. I have small eyes and specks of details which flow through my face as if I was hand crafted. Details place thoroughly throughout my body, little moles, freckles, and birth marks which identify me as unique. I’m one of a kind consider me a rare gem, so why is it hard for me to call myself beautiful.

Don’t tell me I have low esteem because I do. Don’t tell me I’m insecure because I am. Why shouldn’t I. Don’t point out the obvious instead dig deeper? I wasn’t told I was beautiful, so how would I know what beauty truly is. From a young age, I was taught that to be beautiful I must have European features, so this means the straight hair, narrow nose, and most importantly fair skin. So I rush to bleach my skin, perm my kinky Nubian hair and I try to fix everything they considered imperfect. The creator’s perfection turned flawed. But still what is beauty?

Still Unsuccessful? 12 Reasons Why You Might Not Make It to the land of Success

04/21/2014 10:16 am

by Guest Contributor

So what does it really take to reach success? Success is a very complex phenomenon that cannot be summed up in a few sentences. Depending on who you ask, success means different things. If you were to ask me, I’d say it means having improved lives with many gifts. If you were to ask … Read more

6 Brand Building Tips for Artistes

04/12/2014 2:12 pm

by Guest Contributor

What do you think Beyoncé, Jay Z, Kanye, Coldplay or Lady Gaga have in common? Not music. They all have built compelling and lucrative brands based on music.

Any marketing guru will tell you that the biggest and most important aspect of marketing is branding. This is as essential in the music business as it is in any other. Potential fans need to be able to remember and associate with you. With so many other artists and bands out there, it is important that you take the necessary steps to stand out in the crowd and not just fade.

Once you start to treat your music as a business and understand the importance and value of branding, things will start to fall into place and you’ll be taking steps in the right direction. The brand is the foundation of your business, and once the foundation is laid you can build upon it. Without a starting block, a business cannot be built. When it comes to your career, you don’t want to be going around in circles, you want to move forward

Without doubt, the biggest challenge most artiste face is getting their music heard. So it’s important you give yourself the very best chance of cutting through.

Sadly, just having great music is not enough. Artistes frequently spend months writing and recording new material and then rush it out before considering the importance of presentation or brand.

To stand out in the crowd, here are 6 things you should do as an artiste…

Be Unique and Distinctive

Differentiate yourself from all the other acts out there so people will always remember you. A persona makes you yourself, it is a representation of yourself, and that makes you unique.

You’re an artiste right? Well so is your neighbor, his cousin, and her boyfriend – music fans have a bewildering array of choices these days so you have to give them a reason to recommend your latest CD, buy tickets to your show and follow you online.

LOOK! It’s Me. Believe Me, Asamoah Gyan…

04/6/2014 12:58 pm

by Guest Contributor

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vxgD3xEeJY

Have you seen the above Melcom television advert starring the soccer maestro, Asamoah Gyan together with the little girl? There’s something remarkable we can learn from that piece.

You’ll realize that the girl doesn’t recognize Asamoah Gyan and as well fails to believe who he claims to be, until other people take a big opportunity away from her. Interestingly, Baby Jet had apparently given the girl every reason to consider him as that popular celebrity. He had performed his popular dance and as well did a ball juggle. Yet the girl remained in her state of unbelief, indifference, insensitivity and skepticism.

In the end, she is left with a big disappointment on her sad face. By the time she realizes it is indeed Asamoah Gyan, she’s driven away and all is lost.

Who knows? She would have found herself in the arms of that international superstar, been a lucky beneficiary of a fully-sponsored shopping and would also have taken all the media attention that day.

But the little girl was as blind and unresponsive as you and I. More often than not, we do not appreciate what we have until we lose it to others. All the goodies are around us, within our reach; yet we fail to recognize and believe.

Every now and then, we tend to look so long at the closed door that we don’t see that one which has been opened for us. It is true that we don’t know what have gotten till we lose it, but it’s also true that we don’t know what we’ve been missing until it arrives.

Who Said ‘TWEAA’? Lesson Learnt!

02/1/2014 8:22 am

by Guest Contributor

The Who Said ‘Tweaa’? story plus its associate funny posts which have for some time now gone viral on the social media is one incident we can take a cue from. Nevertheless, this piece is neither to condemn the victim nor to scorn the incident, rather to make an exposition so we learn a lesson or two.

A good look at the video indicates that the District Chief Executive who angrily stormed out of the durbar did so as a result of a remark made by an unidentified person (hence the question, “Who said ‘Tweaa’?”).

He fumes, ‘Am I your co-equal?’, ‘If you’re a hospital worker, who are you?’ and other utterances I find very unwholesome – POOR CONTROL OF TEMPER.

Buk Bak Is Never Going To Be The Same Without Ronnie

01/30/2014 9:31 pm

by Guest Contributor

On the 21^st day of November, 2013, death laid its icy hands on Ronnie Coaches, a member of the hiplife duo – Buk Bak. This came out as shocking news to many, especially to music enthusiasts who patronise the songs of the group.

Bright, also known in showbiz as Blinks Sparkles, the only member of the group who is alive at the moment has stated that Buk Bak will never be the same without Ronnie Coaches. He made this assertion on Peace FM’s Entertainment Review, hosted by Akwasi Aboagye.

According to him, Ronnie was more of a fatherly figure to him and other musicians, strengthening them always when they were down emotionally. He described his friend as somebody who was strong at heart, loving, and caring who always put the interest of others ahead of his.

Have You Ever Wondered Why Homosexuals Are More Vocal Nowadays? This Is The Reason…

01/29/2014 11:51 am

by Guest Contributor

Cast your mind back to some few years. Imagine how being a homosexual during that period felt like. The same cannot be said about today. Many do not consider engaging in a homosexual act to be evil anymore. It is now being considered as a natural phenomenon. Whilst I was facebooking about two months … Read more

When Quantity Is Chosen Over Quality, Shoddy Works Are Produced | The Industry As We See It

01/28/2014 12:19 pm

by Guest Contributor

Without any definition of terms, I assume the words quantity and quality are understood by almost everybody who is reading this article.

In our various works, we all strive to achieve what is best but it becomes absurd when a person decides to choose quantity over quality (excellence).

Let’s delve into the movie industry a bit (focusing largely on Kumawood). Countless new movies are released each and every day. Enter a movie shop you see around and ask for the latest Ghanaian movie in town. Over hundred movie CDs would be handed to you.

There wouldn’t be any problem if these movies are of high quality and good storylines. I sometimes wonder the kind of cameras they use to shoot those movies. I guess my phone’s camera can do a better job than the cameras they use. The picture and sound qualities of most of the so – called Ghanaian movies are nothing to write home about.

Yet, when you complain, all that the industry players can afford to tell you is to support your own and stop backbiting. How do I support something in which those involved are doing nothing to advance it? What is backbiting about putting the bare facts on the ground?

As human as I am, I work hard to earn money. It would therefore be sensible to spend that hard – earned money on things that are of good qualities. So when I patronise foreign movies, it is not that I want their industry to grow and leave ours hanging. It’s a simple logic; I want value my money.

Celebrating Excellence: Ghanaian Female Scientist Admitted As a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK

01/25/2014 6:08 pm

by Guest Contributor

The Royal Society of Chemistry of the United Kingdom has acknowledged the work of a Ghanaian Scientist and included her in the recent list of distinguished individuals who have been elevated as Fellows of the Society.

Dr. Sylvia Josephine Anie is a Chartered Scientist and an Inventor. She holds a patent for a compound she created at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom for Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the gastro- intestinal tract and this was filed in March 1990.

She disclosed to XFM’s David Apinga in an interview, how honoured and delighted she was when she heard the news of her admission as a Fellow of such a prestigious society.

“I received a letter from the Royal Society of Chemistry in November last year inviting me to the elevated position of Fellow of the Society. They commended me for my contributions to science which they recognised as innovative and progressive,” she said.

Preparing Yourself to Escape A Heartbreak

01/24/2014 6:06 am

by Guest Contributor

I was once chatting with a friend on facebook when he asked me to find him a girlfriend. I proceeded to ask him his intention of wanting to have for himself a girlfriend. His answer was quite shocking to me. All that he was interested in was a girlfriend he could date for fun, since almost all his friends were into relationships. To cut a long story short, he was never concerned about the emotional stress he would take somebody’s daughter through.

A psychoanalyst once said love is the only enterprise which is started with incredible hopes and expectations and yet fails regularly.

When a romance fails, the result is often pain and heartbreak. And the sad fact of life is that the only sure way to avoid getting a broken heart is to avoid getting romantically involved in the first place.

Dating is a serious business in which one embarks on to select a suitable marriage mate. Nevertheless, the very nature of dating often makes it somewhat of a trial-and-error process. So it is not unusual for two people to begin dating with the best of intentions, only to find that they simply are not suitable for each other as marriage mates.

Why Every Ghanaian Celebrity Needs A Public Relations Professional

01/20/2014 11:39 am

by Guest Contributor

Just like every businessman strives hard to succeed in his/her business, celebrities (focusing on those in the entertainment industry) also endeavour to be successful in their line of career.

As an independent celebrity, you thrive at doing it all yourself; you create your own blog or website, engage in media relations, and love working on all aspects of your ‘business’. However, it can sometimes be more than advantageous to work with experts.

When it comes to the issue of Public Relations (PR), working with a professional can really serve you well as a celebrity. Sometimes, while one may think all PR does is merely about marketing – related stuffs so he/she may do it him/herself, a celebrity should know it involves much more than that.

PR mainly deals with carving and enhancing a positive reputation or image (something that every individual and organisation go all-out to attain) for an organisation (in this case a celebrity) and liaises on behalf of that celebrity between the celebrity and his/her target audience (fans, corporate organisations etc). These practitioners often plan and organise meaningful events that could lead to more favourable visibility of a celebrity.

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