Twenty-five years after they hit the gospel trail, THE TAGOE SISTERS
have not looked back, and they continue to share their experiences with
people all over the world who are affected by their music in different
ways.
Lydia Dedei Yawson nee Tagoe and Elizabeth Korkoi Tagoe
were born to the late Hammond Ayikwei Tagoe of Korle-Wokon, a suburb of
Accra and the late Madam Theresa Aidoo of Dunkwa-on-Offin in the Central
Region on July 27, in the 60s.
They had their education at the
Alogboshie primary and middle schools, near Achimota in Accra. They
continued to the YMCA to learn dressmaking but abandoned it to answer
their call musically. Even though their parents were against their
singing when showed a strong inclination towards that line, they were
not dissuaded and joined the ‘I am that I am’ church choir.
Together
with Hannah Tsia Mensah, they became the ‘I am Three Sisters’ and were
the great force behind the great I Am That I Am Church and toured the
country in year long conventions. They did not sing gospel songs but
collaborated and supported musicians such as Felix Bell, Gemann, Sidiku
Buari and other top Ivorian musicians.
With the Advent Heralds
between 1982 and 1983, the twins performed during the Open Bible Crusade
which toured the length and breadth of the country and came to be
recognized as the first group or duo male and female rendering
contemporary gospel music to the nation. That they are Ghana Queens of
contemporary gospel music is not in doubt. Through their Godfather, Nana
Ekumfi II, they met the late reverend Amoako who became their spiritual
leader in 1985.
“Reverend Amoako pointed out to our godfather
that we were talented and advised him that he should leave us in his
hands.” Lydia told me. “The Resurrection Power Evangelistic Ministries
base and we continued to attend crusades and conventions from the north
to the south of the country with our godfather,” continued Elizabeth.
Lydia
mentioned that in 1987, there was a program in London and he ‘he took
us along. When we came back we released our first album a year later
titled ‘Stay In My Heart’, followed by ‘Nyame Ye Kese’ in 1990’.
According to Elizabeth, in the same year when they were returning to
Accra from a crusade in Takoradi, they had a fatal accident between
Mankessim and Apam and they lost spiritual leader Rev. Amoako. But they
met Reverend Yawson at the ‘Harvesters Evangelistic Ministries’ All
Pastors and Evangelist Conference (APRICON) and that set the twins on
another course.
He started writing their songs and two years
later came out with ‘Yesu Be Ye Ama Wo, Manya Yesu (1994), Anka Matete
(1996) and Watua Maka in (2000).’
Their exciting music has
traveled all over the world transcending cultural and political
barriers, leaving joy and inspirations wherever they performed. The
two-part style of singing and the occasional injections of the two-part
harmony has come to stay, and other gospel duos and trios have picked
that style. According to the twins, God is using them to set people free
from their troubles, sin, mending hearts, inspiring and encouraging
people to believe in the Lord and above all, reach out to the poor and
needy bringing them hope and closer to the Almighty.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Stella Aba Seal
For someone like Stella Aba Seal who’s only hobby is singing, it
doesn’t come as a surprise that has all her energies are geared towards
her work as a professional musician. In the 12 years that she’s been
into music, Stella Ahenewa Dugan (nee Seal) released nine soul -
inspiring and uplifting albums.
As a child, Stella’s first dreamed of becoming a nurse and had no intentions of becoming a musician “I loved to sing very much even as a kid but had no idea I’ll end up in the music industry. My dream was always to become a nurse even though I was scared of blood. Music is something I stumbled on and when I realized that I was cut for that, I run with it till now. I guess it was God’s plan for me to become a musician because the Bible says that ‘even when we were still in the womb, God already knew what He was going to do with us’ and so I thank him for His direction.”
Stella, the second of four siblings, was born to Madam Violet Addo from Anum Boso and Mr. Theophilus Seal, (deceased) who was half British and half Camerounian in the Eastern Region. She started her primary education at the New Town 4 School and continued at the Kotobabi 2 Middle School. Stella trained as a secretary at the Accra Polytechnic after her GCE ‘O’ level in 1981 at the City Secondary and Business College at Caprice in Accra.
“After Accra Poly, I went to a dressmaking school at the former Singer Sewing Company, now known as Kalbs, where I learnt how to sew. I later went to the Ghana Airways Training School where I passed out with AITA’s Basic Certificate in passenger handling, sales and reservations. “All that while, I was still singing in the church — at the Ghana Evangelical Society (GES) in Accra together with a Janet Asomani, now Mrs... Hughes. I joined the Christian Action Faith Ministries (CAFM) after five years at GES for another five years before I decided to record my first album.”
Stella, who said she became a Christian in 1979 in secondary school through one Cornelius Adjah-Cofie, the then school prefect of her school, indicated that in 1990, with the knowledge that she was a Christian with the responsibility to pull others to God, she decided to do that through her God-given talent which is singing. “My first album titled You’re In My Heart, which was released in 1990 did not do very well because I think at the time it did not catch on with people who didn’t understand why I chose to sing in English instead of the local dialect. According to her, she retrieved all the cassettes and compact discs (CDs) from the market.
“The following year, I recorded my second album — Daadaa Nyinara which was a huge success. In fact, to a lot of Ghanaians, that was my debut album - it was actually my second. “The album was so successful and even won the then Entertainment Critics and Reviewers Association of Ghana (ECRAG) award for Best Gospel Album of the Year. “I used part of the profit from this album to offset some of the debts I incurred in my first project.”
But even before she recorded, Stella had been adjudged the Singer of the Year by Rex Image Associates then an entertainment outfit. She also carried the Distinguished Female Personality and Inspirational Voice of the Year Awards in her stride, all pointing to Stella’s versatility in the music field.
To date, her albums include Ahenmanmu, Okura Yeemu, Ontonko with the hit song Gyem Taataa and King of Kings, another English album she recorded for Sterns Records in the United Kingdom.Her current album is Oye Onyame which again brings to the fore Stella’s pedigree as a musician.
Asked if she has any regret not becoming a nurse, Stella said no. “I’ve really enjoyed being in the music industry and I have no regrets whatsoever. “As frail and imperfect as I am, I’m encouraged and spurred on by the fact that I’ve been a channel of blessing for many people,” she revealed.
Now on John Mensah Sarpong (JMS) label, Stella said she admires musician Mary Ghansah a lot because of her tenacity in music. “I’ve been involved in music myself so I know what it takes and how difficult it is to stay in the music industry. You see, it’s not just the beauty of her voice alone but her spirit as well which really draws people to God. I pray that her labour will not be in vain and that God, through her, will raise up young ones to take over from her.
Stella likes to spend time with her family when she is not on the road. Stella has three kids - Ruth -10, Michael - 7 and Seth - 5, who, she says, are very dear to her heart.
She has also undertaken a number of tours outside the country including a tour which took her to London, Germany and Canada.
As a child, Stella’s first dreamed of becoming a nurse and had no intentions of becoming a musician “I loved to sing very much even as a kid but had no idea I’ll end up in the music industry. My dream was always to become a nurse even though I was scared of blood. Music is something I stumbled on and when I realized that I was cut for that, I run with it till now. I guess it was God’s plan for me to become a musician because the Bible says that ‘even when we were still in the womb, God already knew what He was going to do with us’ and so I thank him for His direction.”
Stella, the second of four siblings, was born to Madam Violet Addo from Anum Boso and Mr. Theophilus Seal, (deceased) who was half British and half Camerounian in the Eastern Region. She started her primary education at the New Town 4 School and continued at the Kotobabi 2 Middle School. Stella trained as a secretary at the Accra Polytechnic after her GCE ‘O’ level in 1981 at the City Secondary and Business College at Caprice in Accra.
“After Accra Poly, I went to a dressmaking school at the former Singer Sewing Company, now known as Kalbs, where I learnt how to sew. I later went to the Ghana Airways Training School where I passed out with AITA’s Basic Certificate in passenger handling, sales and reservations. “All that while, I was still singing in the church — at the Ghana Evangelical Society (GES) in Accra together with a Janet Asomani, now Mrs... Hughes. I joined the Christian Action Faith Ministries (CAFM) after five years at GES for another five years before I decided to record my first album.”
Stella, who said she became a Christian in 1979 in secondary school through one Cornelius Adjah-Cofie, the then school prefect of her school, indicated that in 1990, with the knowledge that she was a Christian with the responsibility to pull others to God, she decided to do that through her God-given talent which is singing. “My first album titled You’re In My Heart, which was released in 1990 did not do very well because I think at the time it did not catch on with people who didn’t understand why I chose to sing in English instead of the local dialect. According to her, she retrieved all the cassettes and compact discs (CDs) from the market.
“The following year, I recorded my second album — Daadaa Nyinara which was a huge success. In fact, to a lot of Ghanaians, that was my debut album - it was actually my second. “The album was so successful and even won the then Entertainment Critics and Reviewers Association of Ghana (ECRAG) award for Best Gospel Album of the Year. “I used part of the profit from this album to offset some of the debts I incurred in my first project.”
But even before she recorded, Stella had been adjudged the Singer of the Year by Rex Image Associates then an entertainment outfit. She also carried the Distinguished Female Personality and Inspirational Voice of the Year Awards in her stride, all pointing to Stella’s versatility in the music field.
To date, her albums include Ahenmanmu, Okura Yeemu, Ontonko with the hit song Gyem Taataa and King of Kings, another English album she recorded for Sterns Records in the United Kingdom.Her current album is Oye Onyame which again brings to the fore Stella’s pedigree as a musician.
Asked if she has any regret not becoming a nurse, Stella said no. “I’ve really enjoyed being in the music industry and I have no regrets whatsoever. “As frail and imperfect as I am, I’m encouraged and spurred on by the fact that I’ve been a channel of blessing for many people,” she revealed.
Now on John Mensah Sarpong (JMS) label, Stella said she admires musician Mary Ghansah a lot because of her tenacity in music. “I’ve been involved in music myself so I know what it takes and how difficult it is to stay in the music industry. You see, it’s not just the beauty of her voice alone but her spirit as well which really draws people to God. I pray that her labour will not be in vain and that God, through her, will raise up young ones to take over from her.
Stella likes to spend time with her family when she is not on the road. Stella has three kids - Ruth -10, Michael - 7 and Seth - 5, who, she says, are very dear to her heart.
She has also undertaken a number of tours outside the country including a tour which took her to London, Germany and Canada.
Philipa Baafi
In 1999, Philipa came out with her
maiden album, Nyame Honhon sane, just when she had completed senior
secondary school. In 2002, she came out with her another album, Mogya
Nakasa. She followed up Mogya Nakasa with Okyeso Nyame, which was
released in February 2004.
Because of Philipa’s fondness for the mirror, which she claimed gave her the true reflection of her image, her close pals have nicknamed her “The Mirror Lady”.
She confided in The Mirror weekly that all her life depended on the mirror and because of that she had no hobby. What she did in her leisure time was to grab a mirror and stare into it as if her survival depended on that crave.
According to Philipa, who started singing at the Bantama Methodist Church in Kumasi, she discovered her potential at the tender age of nine.
At that age, she did not confine singing to her church alone. There were times when she went to other churches in Kumasi and its environs to do some renditions.
She continued singing, this time in a more polished and captivating style, when she entered the St. Monica’s Secondary School at Asante Mampong in 1996. After her SSS programme, she enrolled at the FC Institute of Beauty Therapy to study Physiology and Anatomy.
On completion, she proceeded to Cologne, Germany, to pursue a diploma course in beauty therapy for three months.
According to Philipa, her childhood dream was to become a medical doctor but that ambition was jettisoned very early in her life when she lost both parents in quick succession.
She said that that ambition had been rekindled and that she was working towards achieving the goal of becoming a medical officer. She was hopeful of going back to school, especially after she had received assurances from her husband who had promised to support her to fulfil her childhood dream.
At the moment, Philipa doubles as a musician and a beauty therapist. She has two shops in Kumasi and several assistants who help her in her work.
Philipa was born in Kumasi on May 15, 1980, the first of three children born to Ms Grace Acheampong, a trader, and Mr Akwasi Baafi, who was domiciled in Germany, both of blessed memory. She started school at the Kings International School, before continuing at St Monica’s, where she was the Girls’ Prefect, the President of the Scripture Union and the Science Club.
Philipa is full of gratitude to her aunt, Ms Felicia Acheampong, who took care of her and her two siblings when their parents died. She has gospel divas, Amy Newman of Ghana and Rebecca Malope of South Africa, as her local and international role models, respectively.
She worships at the Calvary Baptist Church at Adabraka in Accra and she is grateful to her numerous fans for their loyalty.
Because of Philipa’s fondness for the mirror, which she claimed gave her the true reflection of her image, her close pals have nicknamed her “The Mirror Lady”.
She confided in The Mirror weekly that all her life depended on the mirror and because of that she had no hobby. What she did in her leisure time was to grab a mirror and stare into it as if her survival depended on that crave.
According to Philipa, who started singing at the Bantama Methodist Church in Kumasi, she discovered her potential at the tender age of nine.
At that age, she did not confine singing to her church alone. There were times when she went to other churches in Kumasi and its environs to do some renditions.
She continued singing, this time in a more polished and captivating style, when she entered the St. Monica’s Secondary School at Asante Mampong in 1996. After her SSS programme, she enrolled at the FC Institute of Beauty Therapy to study Physiology and Anatomy.
On completion, she proceeded to Cologne, Germany, to pursue a diploma course in beauty therapy for three months.
According to Philipa, her childhood dream was to become a medical doctor but that ambition was jettisoned very early in her life when she lost both parents in quick succession.
She said that that ambition had been rekindled and that she was working towards achieving the goal of becoming a medical officer. She was hopeful of going back to school, especially after she had received assurances from her husband who had promised to support her to fulfil her childhood dream.
At the moment, Philipa doubles as a musician and a beauty therapist. She has two shops in Kumasi and several assistants who help her in her work.
Philipa was born in Kumasi on May 15, 1980, the first of three children born to Ms Grace Acheampong, a trader, and Mr Akwasi Baafi, who was domiciled in Germany, both of blessed memory. She started school at the Kings International School, before continuing at St Monica’s, where she was the Girls’ Prefect, the President of the Scripture Union and the Science Club.
Philipa is full of gratitude to her aunt, Ms Felicia Acheampong, who took care of her and her two siblings when their parents died. She has gospel divas, Amy Newman of Ghana and Rebecca Malope of South Africa, as her local and international role models, respectively.
She worships at the Calvary Baptist Church at Adabraka in Accra and she is grateful to her numerous fans for their loyalty.
Nobel Nketsiah
His decision to become a musician
instead of a health professional was initially resisted by his mother,
who as a result stopped talking to him for quite sometime.
However, Noble Nketia did not give up his cherished dream and went ahead into the music profession.
Realising that it was his God given talent, his mother, the late Madam Veronica Fayosa, a Dispensary Assistant, co-operated and gave him all the needed support.
His father Mr. Emmanuel Winfred Kofi Nketia, a music teacher and also founder of Greater Christian Singers, seemed to have had an influence on Noble’s interest in music.
Noble Nketia, 27, was born at Winneba in the Central Region. He is the fifth of eight children to his father, but the first born of three to his mother. The only child of the relationship between his Mom and Dad.
He, however, schooled and lived most of his life in Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional capital. He started his education at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Nursery, then to Christian Preparatory School, and to Calvary Preparatory and Junior Secondary School and finally completed his basic education at the Holy Spirit M. A. Junior Secondary School.
He later enrolled into the Anglican Secondary School where he obtained his Senior Secondary School Certificate.
Right from Junior Secondary School Form One, Noble Nketia joined the school choir and participated in various choral festivals organised by the District Education Unit for Schools in the district.
He was also privileged to be a member of the district choir which won the first prize in the regional choral festival which was held in Tamale in 1996.
After school, Noble Nketia worked for some-time, to help the family. Since he did science in secondary school, his mother wanted him to be a medical doctor, or a health professional like her twin-brother who was a Dispensary Technician at the Pharmacy Department of the Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. According to Noble, his mother loved seeing doctors and other health professionals in their white uniforms so much so that she just wanted her son to be one of them.
"On one on one basis, I told her I wanted to be a first class musician and a C-class doctor because she didn’t like the idea of me going for choir practice. However, to me, music was the best gift and a man is known for his gift, so I felt I should go on with music instead of forcing to become a doctor just because my mom wants me to do so." Noble Nketia told The Spectator in an interview.
His mother eventually gave up her wish when she realised her son was born with the talent in music and begun supporting him in whatever he did.
From that point, Noble started working on his first album "Yesu do" which had eight tracks on it. The songs on the album include the title track "Yesu Do," "Adom Arakwa", "Masee Mmere," "I am thirsting for you" and "His is my God."
Noble said "I owe my beginning to one Morris who was then working with Hit Digital studio and lived in the same area with me. He helped me so much, he was very good."
It was his first album, "Yesu Do", which was released in October 2001 which brought Noble Nketia to the lime light as a gospel musician. The songs were so catchy that some companies used them for their jingles.
Noble Nketia started recording his second album "Gye Me" in 2003 when his mother died. He managed to release the album which had 10 songs including "Me Dan Wo", "Gye me," and Mewo Nyame Bi" but the loss of his mother affected him so much so that he could not put in maximum effort to promote his album.
"My mom was my strength and everything to me. I loved her and she loved me so much. Her loss was a great blow to me and everything of mine went down. So I had to live without her and to take care of my two sisters," Noble said.
His current album "My Vision" which has 14 tracks including "Semetease ," "Mommetie," "Mmofra Yi," and "Mensi Den" was released in 2004 with a social responsibility project CHILD AID (Thousand Kids Off The Street Project) which is currently on-going in collaboration with some volunteers. It has a Dutch, Robert Van-den, as its director and Dorcas Annor assisting with Noble Nketia as an ambassador.
Noble Nketia was decorated as a Youth Peace Ambassador in September 2006 during the mounting of the "Peace Pole" 55.5 feet high at KNUST.
His album "My Vision" was adjudged the best gospel album of the year 2005/2006 and "Semetease" won best Gospel Song of the year, both by the Ghana Music Awards. He also won the Ceval Gospel Music Award for the best album of the year 2006.
Noble Nketia is currently working on his fourth album which he hopes would be out by June, 2007. The new album will be released at the official launch on his website.
For his plans, Noble Nketia would soon be going on a national tour in aid of the street child. The occasion would be used to draw the attention of people to the project and educate the public on the need for peace not only in Ghana, but Africa and the world at large.
He also plans to study music at the University of Education, Winneba.
Asked about his inspirers he said "While growing up I loved the music of people like Michael Jackson but when I became a Christian, I turned to listening to foreign gospel music and local music of Daughters of Glorious Jesus. Currently I look up to learning any music I lay hands on, open my eyes and ears wide and look up to God as to what he wants me to do and God has always been my inspirer."
"It is God’s favour that has brought me this far. Without God’s favour I would never have been where I am. Secondly humility, patience, hardwork and commitment have greatly contributed to my success," he added.
Noble Nketia who knows a little about the keyboard, plays the percussion is now learning to play the guitar has performed in a number of countries including Canada where he performed during the 75th anniversary of the Assemblies of God Church. He is a member of the Assemblies of God Church and is married to Eunice, a social worker, currently in France. Noble recently performed at the President’s Show in both Accra and Kumasi as part of the Ghana at 50 celebrations.
With his 11 years experience in music, Noble Nketia writes music the way he thinks it should go. He does soul music, cool but sometimes does contemporary. His hobbies include football, swimming, reading and travelling. Banku with any good soup or pepper goes for his best food.
However, Noble Nketia did not give up his cherished dream and went ahead into the music profession.
Realising that it was his God given talent, his mother, the late Madam Veronica Fayosa, a Dispensary Assistant, co-operated and gave him all the needed support.
His father Mr. Emmanuel Winfred Kofi Nketia, a music teacher and also founder of Greater Christian Singers, seemed to have had an influence on Noble’s interest in music.
Noble Nketia, 27, was born at Winneba in the Central Region. He is the fifth of eight children to his father, but the first born of three to his mother. The only child of the relationship between his Mom and Dad.
He, however, schooled and lived most of his life in Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional capital. He started his education at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Nursery, then to Christian Preparatory School, and to Calvary Preparatory and Junior Secondary School and finally completed his basic education at the Holy Spirit M. A. Junior Secondary School.
He later enrolled into the Anglican Secondary School where he obtained his Senior Secondary School Certificate.
Right from Junior Secondary School Form One, Noble Nketia joined the school choir and participated in various choral festivals organised by the District Education Unit for Schools in the district.
He was also privileged to be a member of the district choir which won the first prize in the regional choral festival which was held in Tamale in 1996.
After school, Noble Nketia worked for some-time, to help the family. Since he did science in secondary school, his mother wanted him to be a medical doctor, or a health professional like her twin-brother who was a Dispensary Technician at the Pharmacy Department of the Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. According to Noble, his mother loved seeing doctors and other health professionals in their white uniforms so much so that she just wanted her son to be one of them.
"On one on one basis, I told her I wanted to be a first class musician and a C-class doctor because she didn’t like the idea of me going for choir practice. However, to me, music was the best gift and a man is known for his gift, so I felt I should go on with music instead of forcing to become a doctor just because my mom wants me to do so." Noble Nketia told The Spectator in an interview.
His mother eventually gave up her wish when she realised her son was born with the talent in music and begun supporting him in whatever he did.
From that point, Noble started working on his first album "Yesu do" which had eight tracks on it. The songs on the album include the title track "Yesu Do," "Adom Arakwa", "Masee Mmere," "I am thirsting for you" and "His is my God."
Noble said "I owe my beginning to one Morris who was then working with Hit Digital studio and lived in the same area with me. He helped me so much, he was very good."
It was his first album, "Yesu Do", which was released in October 2001 which brought Noble Nketia to the lime light as a gospel musician. The songs were so catchy that some companies used them for their jingles.
Noble Nketia started recording his second album "Gye Me" in 2003 when his mother died. He managed to release the album which had 10 songs including "Me Dan Wo", "Gye me," and Mewo Nyame Bi" but the loss of his mother affected him so much so that he could not put in maximum effort to promote his album.
"My mom was my strength and everything to me. I loved her and she loved me so much. Her loss was a great blow to me and everything of mine went down. So I had to live without her and to take care of my two sisters," Noble said.
His current album "My Vision" which has 14 tracks including "Semetease ," "Mommetie," "Mmofra Yi," and "Mensi Den" was released in 2004 with a social responsibility project CHILD AID (Thousand Kids Off The Street Project) which is currently on-going in collaboration with some volunteers. It has a Dutch, Robert Van-den, as its director and Dorcas Annor assisting with Noble Nketia as an ambassador.
Noble Nketia was decorated as a Youth Peace Ambassador in September 2006 during the mounting of the "Peace Pole" 55.5 feet high at KNUST.
His album "My Vision" was adjudged the best gospel album of the year 2005/2006 and "Semetease" won best Gospel Song of the year, both by the Ghana Music Awards. He also won the Ceval Gospel Music Award for the best album of the year 2006.
Noble Nketia is currently working on his fourth album which he hopes would be out by June, 2007. The new album will be released at the official launch on his website.
For his plans, Noble Nketia would soon be going on a national tour in aid of the street child. The occasion would be used to draw the attention of people to the project and educate the public on the need for peace not only in Ghana, but Africa and the world at large.
He also plans to study music at the University of Education, Winneba.
Asked about his inspirers he said "While growing up I loved the music of people like Michael Jackson but when I became a Christian, I turned to listening to foreign gospel music and local music of Daughters of Glorious Jesus. Currently I look up to learning any music I lay hands on, open my eyes and ears wide and look up to God as to what he wants me to do and God has always been my inspirer."
"It is God’s favour that has brought me this far. Without God’s favour I would never have been where I am. Secondly humility, patience, hardwork and commitment have greatly contributed to my success," he added.
Noble Nketia who knows a little about the keyboard, plays the percussion is now learning to play the guitar has performed in a number of countries including Canada where he performed during the 75th anniversary of the Assemblies of God Church. He is a member of the Assemblies of God Church and is married to Eunice, a social worker, currently in France. Noble recently performed at the President’s Show in both Accra and Kumasi as part of the Ghana at 50 celebrations.
With his 11 years experience in music, Noble Nketia writes music the way he thinks it should go. He does soul music, cool but sometimes does contemporary. His hobbies include football, swimming, reading and travelling. Banku with any good soup or pepper goes for his best food.
Sonnie Badu
|
Reggie Rockstone
Born in the U.K. on April 11th in the late 1960's, Rockstone attached
himself to the Hip Hop movement in the early 80's as a dancer.
Travelling on a tri-continental basis (ie Accra, New York, London), he broadened his Hip Hop scope. A natural performer and trained actor, he grabbed the mike with no problem when his calling came in 1991.
His first "fifteen minutes of fame" came as a dancer in Accra, Ghana in the early 80's. His second chance of fame came in 1992-93 as member of one of the top rap groups from London, England.
He belonged to PLZ (Parables, Linguistics and Zlang) with Fredi Funkstone, Jay (both from West Africa) & DJ Pogo of the U.K. Number one hits from PLZ included "If it Aint PLZ" and an EP entitled "Build a Wall Around Your Dreams" released on an independent label called "Go For the Juggler."
1994 became the watershed or turning point in his entertainment career. The rap scene in London was not rewarding enough. He returned to Accra to encounter a whole generation of people grooving to African-American rythms, all heavily influenced by the same elements of Hip Hop that he knew all too well.
He had an ingenious idea! Use the hip hop beats with authentic phat production and lace it with true African dialect; The Akan language of Twi.
It became the tool to make such butter classics as "Sweetie, Sweetie", "Tsoo Boi", "Nightlife in Accra" and "Agoo" from his debut album in 1997 entitled "Makaa! Maka!" - translated as "I said it and that's that!".
Launched on an independent label called KASSA RECORDS that he partly owns, Reggie Rockstone has reached Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians across four continents.
The pioneer of rap music in local dialect in Ghana. His specialty is Asante Twi. He is well-versed in English. He has international acclaim and has performed in many places such as West Africa, UK, France, USA & Switzerland. His videos are aired as far as South Africa on M-Net's 24 hr music television station, Channel 'O' which has an audience of millions across a large part of Africa (44 countries!). He has his own extensive website with Realaudio and MP3 files which includes a guestbook with hits from all over the world. His new album was released in July 2000. It is called "ME KA (I will Say!). This is a 7 song EP, with a second part due at the end of January 2001. The official Rockstone site will be updated. (See bottom). The majority of his tracks were produced by veteran Hip Hop trooper; Rab 'The International' Bakari
The album 'Makaa, Maka!' featured members from the PLZ crew (see down this page). The singles from this album did well on the local market and received international attention. Its follow-up, the single 'Plan Ben?' in Twi language was released as a cassette/cd single and features Root-I who's into ragga. Hot singles off his 1st album Makaa Maka (97): 'Tsoo Boi' ('Choo-bu-eh', similar to hey, ho!), Agoo! (ah-goh) (a Twi call of announcement); Nightlife In Accra; 'Anigye Be Fie' (ah-nee-jeh-beh fee-eh), 'Sweetie, Sweetie' and 'My Turn To Burn' which featured Fredi Funkstone
Hot singles from 'Me Na Me Kae' (1999): 'Keep Your Eyes on The Road'; Eye Mo De Anaa (eh-yeh-muh-deh ah-naah); 'Plan Ben?'(What Plan?) 'Different you, Different Me', 'Ya Bounce Wo Visa';(They have bounced your visa). Songs like 'Eye Mo De Anaa' (Is it Sweet to Y'all) cleverly sample Fela's 1977 hit - 'Shakara' and 'Keep Your Eyes On The Road' uses a very famous 1970's highlife tune by Alhaji K. Frimpong. English cuts like 'Walk Like an African' and 'Where I'm From' showed the true versatility of Rockstone's skills. The lyrics are deep. He even touched on the issue of abortion, where he supported the birth; Triple S wanted the abortion and her homegirl (C.A.B.) coaxed her to 'get rid' of the pregnancy. Of course this is not true; but it was cleverly acted out on record by these three talented emcees.
PLZ (Parables, Linguistics and Zlang) was the UK based group that Reggie Rockstone was in before moving on to a solo carreer; other members were Dj Pogo and Fred Funkstone. Number one hits from PLZ included "If it Aint PLZ" and an EP entitled "Build a Wall Around Your Dreams" released on an independent label called "Go For the Juggler." PLZ contributed to the PANAFEST festival in Ghana in 1994. UK magazine HHC reported: "As they performed their turntable set-up broke down. They decided to continue to perform with live percussion provided by highlife-group Marriots International. Then they started to freestyle in Twi, something that was totally new to them. The way in which the crowd reacted to the use of their native language, made them think of incorporating more 'African' elements in their music".
Unfortunately; his popular website at www.webstar.com.gh/rockstone was recently shut down due to a company buyout of the hosting server in Accra. They are currently looking for a new server to upload his updated website which probably will be: www.reggierockstone.com. The website was a wealth of information for Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians across the globe. Most people were probably introduced to the Hip Hop movement taking place in Ghana through this portal. It had a guest-book which became a battle ground for player-haters and supporters of Rockstone. He had free MP3 files; RealVideo clips; lyrics and even a page to order his merchandise such a CDs; cassettes; posters & T-shirts.
If you heard some noise about 'The Mapouka Dance' or him sampling Manu Dibango's 'Soul Makossa' then that's some hits from his new album
Travelling on a tri-continental basis (ie Accra, New York, London), he broadened his Hip Hop scope. A natural performer and trained actor, he grabbed the mike with no problem when his calling came in 1991.
His first "fifteen minutes of fame" came as a dancer in Accra, Ghana in the early 80's. His second chance of fame came in 1992-93 as member of one of the top rap groups from London, England.
He belonged to PLZ (Parables, Linguistics and Zlang) with Fredi Funkstone, Jay (both from West Africa) & DJ Pogo of the U.K. Number one hits from PLZ included "If it Aint PLZ" and an EP entitled "Build a Wall Around Your Dreams" released on an independent label called "Go For the Juggler."
1994 became the watershed or turning point in his entertainment career. The rap scene in London was not rewarding enough. He returned to Accra to encounter a whole generation of people grooving to African-American rythms, all heavily influenced by the same elements of Hip Hop that he knew all too well.
He had an ingenious idea! Use the hip hop beats with authentic phat production and lace it with true African dialect; The Akan language of Twi.
It became the tool to make such butter classics as "Sweetie, Sweetie", "Tsoo Boi", "Nightlife in Accra" and "Agoo" from his debut album in 1997 entitled "Makaa! Maka!" - translated as "I said it and that's that!".
Launched on an independent label called KASSA RECORDS that he partly owns, Reggie Rockstone has reached Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians across four continents.
The pioneer of rap music in local dialect in Ghana. His specialty is Asante Twi. He is well-versed in English. He has international acclaim and has performed in many places such as West Africa, UK, France, USA & Switzerland. His videos are aired as far as South Africa on M-Net's 24 hr music television station, Channel 'O' which has an audience of millions across a large part of Africa (44 countries!). He has his own extensive website with Realaudio and MP3 files which includes a guestbook with hits from all over the world. His new album was released in July 2000. It is called "ME KA (I will Say!). This is a 7 song EP, with a second part due at the end of January 2001. The official Rockstone site will be updated. (See bottom). The majority of his tracks were produced by veteran Hip Hop trooper; Rab 'The International' Bakari
The album 'Makaa, Maka!' featured members from the PLZ crew (see down this page). The singles from this album did well on the local market and received international attention. Its follow-up, the single 'Plan Ben?' in Twi language was released as a cassette/cd single and features Root-I who's into ragga. Hot singles off his 1st album Makaa Maka (97): 'Tsoo Boi' ('Choo-bu-eh', similar to hey, ho!), Agoo! (ah-goh) (a Twi call of announcement); Nightlife In Accra; 'Anigye Be Fie' (ah-nee-jeh-beh fee-eh), 'Sweetie, Sweetie' and 'My Turn To Burn' which featured Fredi Funkstone
Hot singles from 'Me Na Me Kae' (1999): 'Keep Your Eyes on The Road'; Eye Mo De Anaa (eh-yeh-muh-deh ah-naah); 'Plan Ben?'(What Plan?) 'Different you, Different Me', 'Ya Bounce Wo Visa';(They have bounced your visa). Songs like 'Eye Mo De Anaa' (Is it Sweet to Y'all) cleverly sample Fela's 1977 hit - 'Shakara' and 'Keep Your Eyes On The Road' uses a very famous 1970's highlife tune by Alhaji K. Frimpong. English cuts like 'Walk Like an African' and 'Where I'm From' showed the true versatility of Rockstone's skills. The lyrics are deep. He even touched on the issue of abortion, where he supported the birth; Triple S wanted the abortion and her homegirl (C.A.B.) coaxed her to 'get rid' of the pregnancy. Of course this is not true; but it was cleverly acted out on record by these three talented emcees.
PLZ (Parables, Linguistics and Zlang) was the UK based group that Reggie Rockstone was in before moving on to a solo carreer; other members were Dj Pogo and Fred Funkstone. Number one hits from PLZ included "If it Aint PLZ" and an EP entitled "Build a Wall Around Your Dreams" released on an independent label called "Go For the Juggler." PLZ contributed to the PANAFEST festival in Ghana in 1994. UK magazine HHC reported: "As they performed their turntable set-up broke down. They decided to continue to perform with live percussion provided by highlife-group Marriots International. Then they started to freestyle in Twi, something that was totally new to them. The way in which the crowd reacted to the use of their native language, made them think of incorporating more 'African' elements in their music".
Unfortunately; his popular website at www.webstar.com.gh/rockstone was recently shut down due to a company buyout of the hosting server in Accra. They are currently looking for a new server to upload his updated website which probably will be: www.reggierockstone.com. The website was a wealth of information for Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians across the globe. Most people were probably introduced to the Hip Hop movement taking place in Ghana through this portal. It had a guest-book which became a battle ground for player-haters and supporters of Rockstone. He had free MP3 files; RealVideo clips; lyrics and even a page to order his merchandise such a CDs; cassettes; posters & T-shirts.
If you heard some noise about 'The Mapouka Dance' or him sampling Manu Dibango's 'Soul Makossa' then that's some hits from his new album
Ofori Amponsah
He was born to Mr Johnson Kwadwo Ofori and Mrs Georgina Nkansah in 1974.
He started his education at Agogo Practice school and continued at Konongo Odumase Secondary School where he developed a lot of interest in reading and later poetry and he started writing a series of poems which according to him he used in the lyrics of Asew and some of his earlier songs.
Ofori Amponsah after he has dropped out of school in Upper Six met one Marcus,a rastafarian,who started teaching the rudiments of music.
He was later identified as a potential by Daddy Lumba who collaborated with him in producing Woho Kyere.After this he had to wait for six years before launching himself on full scale in 2000.
He has ever since produced five CDs the latest being Otoolege.
He started his education at Agogo Practice school and continued at Konongo Odumase Secondary School where he developed a lot of interest in reading and later poetry and he started writing a series of poems which according to him he used in the lyrics of Asew and some of his earlier songs.
Ofori Amponsah after he has dropped out of school in Upper Six met one Marcus,a rastafarian,who started teaching the rudiments of music.
He was later identified as a potential by Daddy Lumba who collaborated with him in producing Woho Kyere.After this he had to wait for six years before launching himself on full scale in 2000.
He has ever since produced five CDs the latest being Otoolege.
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