Guest Contributor, Author at GhanaCelebrities.Com

Ghana: A Step Towards Change…

01/15/2014 10:15 pm

I love my nationality. I love my people. I love my culture but I despise what my country has become. When I examine Ghana today, I become distressed. I see a country abundant with resources but lacking economic stability, a democratic country knee deep in corruption, and a country reminiscing on scattered dreams and promises of the past.

March 4, 2014 will mark 57 years since the Gold Coast changed its name to Ghana. March 6, 2014 will mark 57 years since Dr. Kwame Nkrumah declared Ghana an independent republic. Within these 57 years, Ghanaians have truly defined the nation and its people, but has also diminished the fight for our independence. It has been 57 years since liberation and what do we have to show?

We must ask ourselves, why has our nation become accustomed to depending on aid and loans? Why has our country become stagnant in progression? Why is it that we allow corruption, fraud, poverty, and all these problems to consume our nation? It is not that we don’t know better; it is not that we lack the common sense, but it is because of a lack of concern. We care more about the individual rather than the communal success of the nation.

We are quick to celebrate with one another, but are lethargic to react when it comes to supporting each other. How can we expect progression when we are unsympathetic and callous towards our own?

Forget The Love Songs; Love Is More Complicated Than That!

01/10/2014 11:48 pm

by Guest Contributor

“I will replace my heart with a battery and give you mine to use.” “Because of the love I have for you, I will buy you the world.” “I will take you to the moon for you to know that my love for you is real.” “M3ky3 m’akoma na mama wo half” (I’ll divide my heart into two and give you half). All these are but a few lines from some love songs.

The simplest definition that I can assign to love is a strong affection for someone that includes sexual desire.

For many centuries, we have been hearing countless of songs that talk about love. Be it Rhythm & Blues, Hi-life, Hiplife, Country, Pop, Soul, etc…

Love songs extol true love and sometimes lament love lost. Most, if not all of the songs have strong musical appeal. From their tuneful melodies via heartrending lyrics to danceable rhythms. They touch emotions and can create an almost hypnotic romantic mood.

Do love songs promote a realistic view of romantic love?

Love songs celebrate a world of melodrama and tortured passion, in which love often finds the perfect resolution. Unfortunately, perfect love is very scarce and hard to find in real life. Yet, love songs make us think this is so easy and simple.

When Was The Last Time You Read A Book? | Time To Cure The ‘Aliteracy’

01/9/2014 10:39 pm

by Guest Contributor

A new type of reading problem is currently sweeping this world. It is called aliteracy. It is defined as “the quality or state of being able to read but being uninterested in doing so.”

Reading, which was once indulged in as a pleasure is now often spurned as a chore, and people do not actually view it as fun anymore.

Many adults are aliterate too. It is clear that reading ability is not always matched by reading desire. This is true even among very well-educated people. Majority of people that I have come across, after reaching home from work or school either turn on their television (to watch movies) or radio (to listen to music) instead of picking up a book to read.

The question I ask is; what has happened to reading?

In recent decades, its popularity has succumbed to the attention-grabbing media. Almost every household today is occupied with a set of television and radio. All these media are filled with interest – arousing programs that make it difficult for one to forgo them. Perhaps the most time-consuming competitor of reading is television.

According to research, by age 65 the average person will have spent nine years of his life watching TV. Since the rewards of reading are so often sacrificed to the flickering screen, it would be well to consider the following.

The Power of Music & Music Videos

01/2/2014 2:58 pm

by Guest Contributor

“Music alone with sudden charms can bind the wandering sense, and calm the troubled mind.” says William Congreve in his Hymn to Harmony. Centuries earlier, ancient Greek writings claimed that “musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul.”

The truthfulness of that has been seen by some parents who have observed their teenagers becoming sullen and uncooperative after feeding on a steady diet of music. It was also seen during the 1930’s and 1940’s in Germany when the Nazis used stirring march music to help prepare large crowds to listen to Adolf Hitler’s mesmerizing speeches.

Unquestionably, music can affect minds and hearts and can be used to manipulate us either for good or for bad. For example, exposure of young children to certain types of music is believed to enhance their intellectual and emotional development.

Even when a person is sick, music can have unbelievable effect on him or her. For instance, the effect of music upon patients who have neurological diseases causing movement disorders is astonishing. Anthony Storr in his book ‘Music and the Mind’ cites the example of a female patient: “Frozen into immobility by disease, she would remain helplessly unable to move until she was able to recall tunes she had known in her youth. These would suddenly release her ability to move again.”

Making The Best Out Of The New Year | Remember Life Is Full Of Twists & Turns

01/1/2014 4:35 pm

by Guest Contributor

Over time I have discovered there is no absolute finish line for everyone in the race of life. Our tracks and durations are different. The only thing we have in common is the same empire. For instance, one person may graduate at the age 20 and will struggle for another 5 years to get a job.

Another might graduate at 25 and may get a job immediately. One can marry a virgin and wait for the next decade to have the blessings of children, another may have had series of abortions in her past but will become a mother almost immediately after marriage.

A fellow may become an MD at 38 and die at 56. Another may become MD at 55 and live to be 90.

What a life! Life is full of twists, turns, ups and downs, many surprises and disappointments. Life offers each one of us different opportunities and once an opportunity is lost, it’s gone forever.

It is up to each one of us to patiently prepare, wait, recognize and utilize every opportunity. We learn on the way. No one knows it all or has it better.

The Difference Between A Lasting Musical Career And A Flash In The Pan—Is BRANDING!

12/18/2013 10:56 pm

by Guest Contributor

Like other profitable venture, music is a serious a business; whether you do it out of passion or for some other reason.

Without doubt, the biggest challenge new artistes face is getting their music heard. It is therefore important for an artiste to give him/herself the very best chance of cutting through.

Majority of our Ghanaian musicians think that just putting a hit song out there and playing at countless shows are the most important. These in themselves are not bad, but they are not enough. Musicians frequently spend months writing and recording new materials and then rush it out before considering the importance of presentation or branding.

With so many new artistes emerging every day, it is easy for others to fade out of the industry. To really stand out from the crowd, an artiste needs to be unique and brand him/herself very well.

A branded image establishes one as a legitimate musician and makes it easier for his/her fans to identify with him/her. This makes a performing artiste unique and sets him/her apart from all other musicians. Without a brand, all that an artiste has is just a name.

When the names of certain musicians are mentioned, all that one could think of is maybe a hit song he/she did. With branding, an artiste does not necessarily have to come out with a hit song before people would pay attention to him/her.

I believe that when the name of Wanlov de Kubolor is mentioned, not his songs come to mind, but something different. It might probably be the way he dresses (skirt or wrapper with no slippers) or his attitude in general. That is the image he has continuously carved for himself—to live up to the connotation of his name (Kubolor).

Most Ghanaian Entertainment Journalists/Reporters Are Lazy! Kwame Hagan Throws A SHOT…

12/17/2013 8:13 pm

by Guest Contributor

I have spent time over the years following news circulating in the Ghanaian entertainment industry. There is one particular thing that I have come to realize: this has to do with the one way reporting of issues by Entertainment journalists/bloggers.

Most often, I browse from site to site with the hope of getting varieties of stories to read, but I find the same stories on all the various entertainment websites. When I talk of same stories, I do not mean reporters covering the same event or even writing about the same issue in their own perspective. What I am referring to is exact content being copied and pasted on every site with little or no credit given.

Try browsing from one entertainment site to another and you will find out what I am talking about. Stories with the same headlines and same contents appear on almost all the sites. It is of no use to jump from one website to the other because you are sure to find the same news articles (word to word) on these sites.

I am sure it is only one person who sits down to write the stories. The rest just copy and paste the stories on their various websites after the first has been published it.

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