I am not a fan of Shatta Wale—actually, I think he’s a wazzock but he remains a musical enigma, capable of getting a two-generational crowd of Africans and Caribbeans with a spotting of white folks excitedly shout out “Onya e Soormi” .
The first edition of UK’s Ghana Meets Naija which took place at London’s 02 Arena was just not a musical extravaganza, it captured the success and widely acceptance of Ghanaian musicians in the UK and more importantly, when you juxtapose what took place with events of just a decade ago when Ghanaian concert patrons were squeezed into small and not so elegant auditoriums such as Stratford Rex in East London—then you can nod your head to the fact that, it’s been a successful journey for both the organizers and concert goers.
The 02 was lit; a crowd of two generations—as young as 18 and as old as 50, beaming with excitement queued and went through different layers of security checks after some of them have spent as much as 400 pounds for a super VIP table just to come and watch artists who are largely based in a different continent and are creating music under some of the world’s arduous conditions.