On November 12, 2011 while visiting Ghana, I was delighted to attend a free tribute concert at Citizen Kofi in Osu dedicated to the memory of Hi-Life Music Legend Mac Tontoh- formerly of globally recognized mega Hi-Life bands Uhuru & Osibisa. Legends such as Ebo Taylor, Pat Thomas, Jewel Ackah, Ben Brako, Gyedu Blay Ambolley along with future legends such as the daughter of Pat Thomas, Nana Yaa played their hits  backed by the talented  band & musical direction of Kwame Yeboah & his band Ohia Be Ye Ya (direct translation:Poverty will be painful) to remember, honor & celebrate the life of Mac Tontoh & his great contribution to world music & putting the music of Ghana on the global map.

As a young girl who grew up with the sounds of these legends of Hi-Life music blasting from speakers from Ghana to New York, I never imagined that I would see all these legends on one stage, in Ghana & for free on my mother’s birthday -the person who single handily introduced me to all these great historical musical legends- whose original vinyl  records I inherited when she moved  back to Ghana. All I could say was Wow! What a great treat of beautiful music from Hi-Life living legends honoring/remembering their brother & fellow legend, Mac Tontoh, who will never be forgotten! I was even more delighted that as I went to take a picture with Pat Thomas, he did a double take & told me how much I look like his daughter & that she was about to perform on stage so I should check out my sister. Well, I am not sure how much we really look alike; however she was just as beautiful as the soulful voice that came through her, so the compliment from her father was well received. I was still on a natural high the day after this concert because I danced my butt off & felt that extra special Osibi fire in my sa, which Mac Tontoh spoke of in my 2008 documentary “Black Star Rising” ! After a couple of seemingly rough unproductive weeks in Ghana, I was energized & in good spirits wanting more. This was truly a beautiful welcome home reminding me why I love my nation & why this black queen will always be empowered by the black star mogya (blood) that runs through me.

The production was a job well done by the organizers, but we need a lot more of this in Ghana in accessibility for all to celebrate, teach & learn about our cultural history through our past & living legends. Thank goodness for social media outlets like Facebook  because otherwise I would have completely missed this once in a lifetime experience since there was little talk about it amongst Ghanaians in general & in Ghanaian media. That same night there was a Daddy Lumba concert  honoring his global contribution to Ghanaian musical culture with all the extra dignitary VIP status along with the heavy price tag that the average Ghanaian couldn’t afford, yet to my surprise somehow a large portion of the audience at the FREE tribute concert to Mac Tontoh were White people & non-Ghanaian tourists, students & business people- Things that make you go HMMM!

As much as I & many Ghanaians globally love Daddy Lumba, his global contribution to the spread & preservation of Hi-Life music does not surpass or even come close to that of Mac Tontoh & Osibisa to be any more worthy of warranting the recognition & attendance of two former presidents or any more worthy than Mac Tontoh of  commanding a large amount of local media coverage recognizing a night dedicated in his honor .  It just makes me think how much we really care about our historical global legacy & why is it that we only seem to respect & see its worth after it is taken away from us, celebrated & deemed worthy globally by others outside of us?  It had to take Disney to retell & bastardize the story of the Ashanti Empire in “The Sword In The Stone“ in order for Ghanaian media outlets, animators & creatives to think to promote, educate, share & pass down the story of Okomfo Anokye to our children so that our legacy will never be forgotten in its pure form by us for us.

I can’t bypass the irony of completely overlooking the man & band who were hands down the reason why the world truly took to Hi-Life music & the power of fashionable Ghanaian musical culture in celebration of the ultimate bleached faced do-rag wearing borga,Daddy Lumba, by the pay to play Ghanaian media & two former presidents who seem to be in some sort of odd love triangle just to agitate & disrespect the sitting president whom they all seem to collectively want to see be a one term president for their own separate interests. The day after both the Mac Tontoh & Daddy Lumba tribute concerts, all you heard about in Ghanaian media was the Daddy Lumba concert & the shenanigans of Ex-President Jerry Rawlings approvingly overseeing his controversial wife Nana Konadu dance with former nemesis & Ex-President John Kufuor.  It seems everything in Ghana has political motivations even the honoring of our legends. It seems like Ghanaian media is more in the business of adverts., sponsorships & playing politics than actually holding up the integrity of true journalism in seeking out stories that are meaningful & worthwhile for Ghana as a nation instead of just who pays them to cover their stories.

Daddy Lumba is definitely a worthwhile story & worthy recipient of the accolades bestowed upon him, but just imagine if there was a tribute concert in honor of  John Lennon of the Beatles the same night as a tribute concert to Coldplay & former Prime Minsters Blair  & Gordon where all over the press about cutting a rug together at the Coldplay concert with no acknowledgement of John Lennon’s tribute the same night. The Beatles told the world “Here Comes the Sun” as they entered the world scene in a globally celebrated  British Invasion the same way Osibisa brought the world a “Sunshine Day” as they entered the world scene with their globally celebrated authentic Ghanaian musical invasion. Cold Play like Lumba are the new generation & new faces of their national culture of music globally, yet we can never overlook the fact that without The Beatles & Osibisa there may not be a Coldplay & Lumba attaining vast global audiences & their contributions are no where near to walking in the shoes or overlooking the legacies of The Beatles & Osibisa even to be able to say that the baton has been passed on to them to run with so to me to have little recognition of Mac Tontoh’s tribute by his nation seemed disrespectful to me particularly on the part of the media.

I was happy to be at the politics free tribute to Mac Tontoh, a night that I will never forget & will one day tell my children about because the legacy of Mac Tontoh & Osibisa is forever. It never seems to fail, just when I am over the unique madness of Ghana/Africa & ready to get out of dodge, I am surprised with the goodness & greatness that always makes me want to stay longer! My ♥ /hate relationship with my Black Star Nation continues as I remain thankful & grateful for all its roses along with its thorns! Forward Ever , Backward Never!

“Come with me on this happy trip back to the promise land ,all will be happy & gay…You’ve been kept down for much too long…Stand Up Please, Say I am free… Don’t Forget You Are Always Welcomed home…WELCOME HOME!!!”

“We must perform like Ghanaian, and for that matter Africans. My advise is that whatever we do, should be African /Ghanaian oriented and that is what will win the trophy for us in the industry,” Mac Tontoh -REST IN POWER!

Sometimes in life what makes my day is to hear of other people’s accomplishments. Today is one of those days. As Ghanaians & people all over the world who respect freedom & the greatness of man to bring about a global mindset toward change & freedom celebrate Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s 102nd birthday &  Founder’s Day In Ghana; I am delighted to hear that the young people of my Black Star Nation are Honoring the Past By Building The Future!

Ghana taking the lead from the Gaddafi led AU’s 13th Ordinary Summit in the Libyan town of Sirte, where African leaders adopted the centenary birthday celebration of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah as a continental event by stating, “We unanimously agreed to celebrate Dr Nkrumah’s centenary birthday & put it on the AU’s calendar of Special Events“, went on to  finally  take action in 2009 to make Dr. Nkrumah’s birthday a national holiday, celebrating the man, his achievements & his strong vision for a united & independent Africa. Dr Nkrumah became one  of Africa’s most prolific leaders who is celeberated all over the world from a memorial in New Delhi, India to a commemorative stamp in Russia & a New York State Senate resolution celebrating his contribution as 1 of the founders of Pan-Africanism. As diginitaries from around the world visit & send well wishes to Ghana in honor of Dr. Nkrumah’s 102nd birthday today, I can’t help but to acknowledge the elephant  not in the room,Muammar al-Gaddafi- the modern day African leader who thru Dr. Nkrumah’s influence spoke publicly in a push to carry out the vision of a United States of Africa. Today, Gaddafi has basically been deposed in the same style of people’s revolution cloaked in a western backed coup d’état that met Dr. Nkrumah. We are now left once again to look toward the future, hoping a new leader will emerge to carry the torch of a United States of Africa.

“It is time to give life to the dream of a united Africa. If we could even make the regional and economic committees at the sub regional levels work, we will see a much faster progress than we are seeing today. Let Africa not deceive herself, nobody is going to move out of the front of the world queue and create space for us to take a place… We have to work together to move up the front of that queue…it was time the continent rewarded Nkrumah’s commitment to see among other things, a united Africa liberated from poverty, noting that African leaders must back their words with action to ensure the realization of Nkrumah’s dreams for Africa.” READ MORE

While politics in Africa continues to disappoint most Africans, the future is bright among the young people who refuse to have the actions  & lack of progress in African politics defer the dreams of the Africa they want to see & build. One of these young people is Ghana’s own Mantse Aryeequaye. I remember meeting & interviewing Mantse for my labor of love documentary entitled Black Star Rising. I met Mantse in Osu, Ghana in 2008 as a young writer, visionary & man about town who spoke about creating pirate radio in Ghana, growing up as a hip-hop head in Ghana & being a part of the MOP (movement of people) in Ghana who were showcasing the vibrancy of the talents & Arts in Ghana…Now fast Forward to July 16, 2011 & the dream of what the future of Ghanaian arts celebration will hold, has not only been mobilized but realized & celebrated as a movement & festival started in a small historic fishing town that will sooner than later find its global fusion in local & worldwide recognition like the plethora of established & emerging global street arts festivals that have sprouted up in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, London, Paris etc.

The name of the festival- Chale Wote geniusly exemplifies the spirit & style of Ghanaians in every way, bringing us back by taking us forward to our essence in nostalgic future! Chale Wote is the Ga word for flip-flops that all Ghanaians rock & it also translates to man/homie let’s go! The Chale Wote festival juxtaposed the best of Ghanaian fashion, music, art, culture and the new generation of sports in Ghana that is more BMX bike extreme sports than football. The beautifully raw rugged streets of  the small fishing town of (Jamestown) James Town in the capital city of Accra holds so much of Ghana’s history of greatness for producing some of the greatest boxers like the legendary Azumah Nelson-the first African Boxer to be inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame & rising stars like Joshua Clottey, along with Ghana’s Greatest Photographer James Barnor & his Ever Young photography studio. James Town is also home to Ghana’s oldest prison, James Fort,  which held Dr. Kwame Nkrumah & many of Ghana’s freedom fighters as the nation woke up, fought & regained its power against their former colonizers to elect Dr. Nkrumah as our very first president while still being held in prison.

Jamestown is located right on the Atlantic Ocean & is a lively  colorfully boisterous town with many open spaces & beautiful architecture juxtaposed with the dense poverty of economics but not of spirit ,which served to be the perfect location for the Chale Wote  Street Arts Festival!  Big Ups to Mantse & all those who dare to dream, dare to take the chance in lighting a spark that may set the fire of greatness, all those who have no fear of failure because they are too consumed with the desire of creating success, and those collectively brought together their passion to make this beautiful expression of Ghana come to fruition. There maybe some who may call you failures because they are void of the unwavering love in black star souls & are hollow without ability to soak up the idea & manifestation of potential in dreams & actions. I can’t wait to hopefully be there to bare witness to the experience in the flesh & to hopefully be able to contribute on the next go around in April 2012! CHALE WOTE!!!

“The premiere edition of the CHALE WOTE Street Art Festival, held on July 16th, was a success because many people believed in a simple idea. Teamwork and artistic talent make a powerful combination. With only three months to plan and a limited budget, more than a dozen young creative professionals rolled up their sleeves and got to work on the largest free street festival to ever hit Accra. The result: a 12-hour fantastic street maze of live action art stretching from the Mantse Agbonaa to the old Kings Way building—graffiti + street painting, bike/skateboard/rollerblade street stuntin’ parties, art installations, experimental theater, a fashion circus, drumfunkbass music, spoken word, and a live music concert—never before seen on this scale in James Town. The idea began at a Talk Party in Osu back in March. The monthly discussion series is hosted by ACCRA [dot] ALT. “We were tired of talking about change. It was time to take action and generate a viable economy for art in this city. CHALE WOTE is well on its way to making Accra a cultural hotbed and international destination,” says filmmaker and ACCRA [dot] ALT producer, Mantse Aryeequaye….” READ MORE

Photo Credit: Nana Kofi Acquah

Follow The Organizers: Accra[dot]Alt

Photo Credit: KwesiBlack.com

For other photo credits go to : Face2FaceAfrica.com

As we approach the 54th Anniversary of  Ghana’s Independence on March 6th, America’s  self appointed Bible of Hip-Hop Music, Culture & Politics- The Source Magazine- recognizes the new sound of Ghana that blends historically renown traditional hi-life music with the new era hip-hop generation waving the flag of Ghana by showcasing the rise in music of the Black Star Nation.

“Aretha Amma, the founder of Global Fusion Productions said Ghana since independence has always had the arts and culture as a priority to showcasing our nation to the world. Ghanaians brought Hi-Life music which originally is known as Osibi to most of Africa and the world through renown artists like Osibisa and Fela Kuti (who was originally a Hi-Life artist) now hip life artists who cut across all tribal and religious lines have brought a new global resurgence to popularizing our culture throughout the world.” READ MORE

In Africa, football is more than just a sport; it is the ultimate unifier & divider, the ultimate in extreme fanaticism practiced more than most religions, the keeper of young boys & their families dreams out of hardships, poverty & wayward lifestyles into a better life, as well as the ultimate in pride & hope of every individual nation on the continent. Football has been known to bring silence to the screams of war, hope in times of despair & the highest in exultation of national pride & shared contentment despite any divides in tribalism, politics, religion, and national borders. In Africa Football is Life , Football is King!

For Anyone who knows anything about human history -it has been made scientifically evident that humanity started in Africa; therefore at the root of all global culture is Africa. There is a new global push toward Africa because humanity has lost its way & is returning back to basics, back to finding oneself , back to finding our common humanity; whether it is thru the green movement of economics or the green movement of being organic & directly of nature’s natural nurture -Africa is the beginning & the future ! Mama Africa will always welcome her children back home to learn & take from her root to recognize our fruits. Below is a brief tour of our musical roots to our fruits! Enjoy-stop,look, listen, learn & spread the fruits of your roots!

“The traditional music have some power, some fire that is good for mankind”