As promised here are the images of the Nuse Concert with Worlasi and friends last Saturday at Alliance Francais. Keep it One Hondred!
Nuse Concert Gallery
Nuse Concert: A Hondred Percent Review
A confident Worlasi approached the stage strapped with what looked like safety belts for a parachute. He was prepared for the jump into stardom.
With the amazing Safoa band, Dj, wonderful guest artists, an audience who just couldn’t sit down and a consistently smoke filled stage that warranted the band members wearing gas masks, I guess his fashion statement was justified.
I sat right in the front and loved every minute of this concert. They say if you want to visit a good Chinese restaurant, go to the one the Chinese visit. The same can be said for music. If you want to see a good musician/artist go to the one that all the other artists are talking about.Artists from all walks of life came out to support Worlasi and contributed to making the night spectacular.
Daniel Quist as the MC was perfect. He was the one that introduced me to Worlasi and champions his music passionately. No one else could do that job better than him in my opinion.
Worlasi was at home entertaining guests. He spoke about everything that came to mind like the confused state of fish when you buy Kenkey, his grandmother and the fact that everyone should grab a drink. It’s free but it can get finished, he said.
Each of the artists that graced the stage are a testament to how versatile the Nuse artist is. From Six Strings, Akan, Poetra, Cina Soul, Wanlov and Manifest, each artist held their own and proved to me that Ghana’s music scene is indeed diverse and evolving.
Cina Soul did something really creative to make the concert truly artistic. She made the audience, band and herself take part in the mannequin challenge. I thought that was really unique and bold. As a Ghanaian you would think people would not have participated, especially with all that Jameson around but she pulled it off. I can’t wait to see what that was like on video.
Alliance Francais was half filled by 8 PM before 11 PM it was filled beyond capacity with people forever glued to the front of the stage. There were so many hands in the air with the Worlasi hand gesture making a “W” that if Worlasi was to stand for election that day people will have voted twice for him.
As Hondred Percent, I was inspired to keep striving and believing in my art. Worlasi is an effective communicator on stage utilizing pidgin in a manner like no other to address social issues as well as add commentary on things we go through in life. It is difficult for a Ghanaian not to relate to his music.
The artist embraces his creativity head on and goes with the flow to create one of the best concerts I have been to. His fashion from harness belts to a northern attire and finally a red shirt and black pants give you a feel of the artists taste and style.
Manifest defined it right.
“Everything Nice For Worla”
On that night everything was good for him. I was proud and happy for him. As an artist one of most beautiful things is to perform and have people perform your track with you. When you penned down the lyrics to that song, no one was around. The impact those words will have was untested and now a crowd is jamming with you giving you back the very words you strung together. It’s a truly humbling experience that also has the capacity to giving you a big ego. I however feel with Worlasi we will be seeing more of the latter.
Indeed everything nice for Worla. If you don’t believe me you should have been there to witness it. There was so much love from his fans that he insulted his fans they insulted him back and they all had a laugh. It was that good.
Thank you Worlasi for keeping it One Hondred!
PS: Gallery of images taken to follow soon
Ehalakasa Festival 2016 Review
The early morning rains on Saturday, 29th October, 2016 was definitely a sign of good things to come at Apam. Though I got stuck in the mud on the way to the Ehalakasa Festival 2016, I arrived in time for the festivities.
This was definitely an improvement from last year. The sound was better and there was a band – Genius Hive Band. As an artist who has visited numerous shows and considering the line up in store, my expectations of a quality show was short sighted.
The festival was EXCELLENT! Definitely ONE HONDRED! Threw me off guard completely.
The festival started with an open mic session which saw up coming artists perform before the main event. Poetry, dance and rap graced the stage as the Two Idiots, Dr.So and Gen.Ntatea ushered them as MC’s.
“Black alone doesn’t make a difference but black and white make a gray”
–Yvonne from Ghanata
This line stuck to me throughout the festival. It’s similar to the saying “no man is an island” but puts more emphasis on racial unity as the way to get things done. Great minds are definitely blossoming on our shores and this goes to show the importance of Ehalakasa’s involvement in schools. Their workshops have definitely molded artists for the future.
The event was graced with the presence of Ghana music legend Ebo Taylor, who opened the main show with a short speech encouraging artists to continue in their craft.
The festival was definitely an African one. We had Philo from Ivory Coast, Faithful from Cameroon and Donald from South Africa. Each artist had vibe that interacted with the audience and created a memorable performance. Donald’s “Hook em Up” Performance got the audience performing with him and our French brothers from Ivory Coast and Faithful tried their hands at Fanti and got us waving our hands and bumping to French.
Kacey Moore’s performance was a medley of genres. Hiphop and High Life mainly but I am sure the was some Reggae or Dancehall in there. The energy, the highs and lows in his tone accompanied by the band definitely made my body move. The host of Kona Live with Kacey Moore delivered and set the stage for the main act for the festival, Worlasi.
What follows Worlasi is hard to explain. His style is unique and laid back. Effortless and smooth. I could go on and on but let me stop and say that this guy has a way with his music and audience. He broke down on an intimate level why the songs he performed were written in a manner that you don’t get when you listen to his ŋusẽ mixtape.
My favorites of his performance was “Possible” and “Nukata”. What I loved about “Possible” was that it was an inspiration to the art community to keep pushing. He encouraged all by reminding us of how he had dreams (like we all do) of meeting influential artists like Da Hammer, Sarkodie and Manifest. He elaborated that he had met all these people and they all came to him and not the other way round. He concluded by saying that if your work is good people will come looking for you.
Worlasi concluded the event in style and reminded us that not only is anything possible but that you can have fun doing it.
The Two Idiots were excellent hosts and need to be given more events to showcase their with and humour. Without them the event wouldn’t have come off the way it did.
The sad thing about the festival was that it was not well patronized. That is what needs to be worked on next year.
The Haduwa Cultural Institute in Apam, Central Region is a beautiful beach location booming with opportunity. I challenge you all to make it a point to come out next year with a change of clothes so you can have a taste of the beach as well.
Ehalakasa did a great job in pulling this together. I know a lot more can be done but together anything is possible so let’s make it count.
In conclusion,I want to leave you with the punchline of the event. I don’t believe I have the exact phrase but it was by the poet Akambo who continues to amaze me each time I see him perform. The punchline is in response to a girl obsessed with technology (and a bit irritating to)
It goes something like this:
“Since you are so obsessed with technology, the next time you are on your period use an iPad”
Keep it One HONDRED!
EHALAKSA Festival 2016
Ehalakasa Festival returns!
Ehalakasa is the junction where poetry intersects with music and dance. This community of creative minds have realized the need for collaboration as well as free, uninhibited self expression and have applied poetry as a potent medium through which to engage society.
This is the 9th year the festival is being held. In paving the way for bigger festivals in the future, The festival is being staged at the HADUWA ARTS & CULTURE INSTITUTE in Apam, Central Region.
The Haduwa Arts & Culture Institute is located in the heart of Apam along the Atlantic Ocean in the Central Region, it is a welcoming home for all performers and their creations.
This year’s festival features One Life artist, Worlasi. A promising young artist whose lyrics and creativity is synonymous with Ehalakasa’s ideals. The Supreme Rights artist, headlines this year’s festival which also features poets such as Kacey Moore (Ghana), Donald (South Africa), Faithful (Cameroon), the Genius-Hive band and many more.
Haduwa patron, Ebo Taylor will also be present to grace the occasion alongside Ghana’s sensational comedy duo, 2 Idiots ( Dr. So and Jeneral Ntatea) who are the hosts of the festival.
Ehalakasa since 2007, has been the quintessential experimental and interdisciplinary platform fostering new ideas and collaborations in spoken word, dance and music.
The festival will be followed by the Ehalakasa Slam Final in December 2016 at Nubuke Foundation, East Legon, Accra, which is the conclusion to this year’s intensive slam series, which saw Ehalakasa journeying Kumasi, Takoradi and Tema in the search of Slam finalists.
Poetry, music, arts enthusiasts and fans from across the country are all invited to this year’s event.
The event is free and takes place on Saturday, 29th October 2016 from 10:00 – 18:00.
Transportation is being arranged at an affordable fee. To sign up for transportation please call 0207568620.
For additional information, please call 0205043890
Visit Ehalakasa’s social media platforms for updates. Join the conversation @ehalakasa and hashtag #EHApam16 on Social media. Ehalakasa, it lives in us!!
Worlasi-The Future
I first stumbled upon Worlasi’s unique sound earlier this year upon a video shoot at Francis Kokroko’s studio in Osu. Mawuli AKA Daniel Quist was bumping to tracks of Worlasi’s album “Nusē: The Strength Within” and raving about the artist.
At the time I had no idea of who he was. Track after track during conversations I found it difficult to point out error in his art and embarrassing that I did not know about this great artist.
It was official…….I was hooked.
As an artist there is only one phrase I can use to describe his music: beautiful envy. I envy his artistic prowess and yet inspired by it.
His style is unorthodox and cool. A complex yet simple medley of pidgin English and Ewe over beats he produced that evolves the Hiphop I know into something else.
I had to get more Worlasi in my ears. Luckily for me Soundcloud houses a number of his tracks. From earlier works to his albums, it’s all there. I soaked into each track until I stumbled on “One Life”.
As a Ghanaian, beautiful doesn’t begin to describe “One Life”. The instrumentals produced by Worlasi creates nostalgia and gets you bumping before his lyrics hit your ears.
Comprehension of my enthusiasm is difficult if Ewe doesn’t roll off your tongue as smoothly as Michael Jackson dance moves. The video for the song however is kind to provide subtitles to break the beautiful mystery of Ewe down for you.
The more I soak in Worlasi’s music the more I am encouraged that Ghana’s music has a future. We are a nation blessed with amazing artists that Ghanaians for lack of exposure struggle to understand. Thus music is more about empty lyrics and dancing. That’s great but doesn’t challenge the status quo.
Great art is a medley of entertainment and admiration merged with commentary on a social or political issue. Manifest is an artist that understands this concept and continues to lean on it. Worlasi as an artist and producer is taking that concept to the next level.
His recently released track, “Nukata” is the artists take on male obsession with women that lead them to empty their morals and cash. I call it the Pidgin and Ewe version of Gasmilla’s “Telemo”. The video is equally interesting portraying a man vommitting out dollars and later cedis and later coins just to satisfy his passion’s (embodied as a female) desire.
If you have not heard about Worlasi, search for him and listen to the future of our music. He is going places and I will be proud to see him raise Ghana’s flag higher.
(Don’t for a second however think my enthusiasm for his art is because he featured on Manifests track “100 percent“.)