Lil Win, Ghana Meets Naija And The Andy Dosty Scenario

The tale is told of the cockroach and 'Akok) Antwiwaa'- mother hen. After series of consultative meetings, the king of the animal kingdom had agreed on a set date for the kingdom's annual durbar. Such a durbar was so spectacular that not a single animal would have missed anything so... those who thought of displaying their dancing prowess, drumming skills (among other acts) all did the rehearsals before the D-day. And the cockroach never relaxed.

He would dance himself off. But little did he realize that mother hen would prevent him from dancing to his audience. In short, cockroach's intended performance remained in the unknown.

Last Saturday, 24th May, 2014, Empire Entertainment's annual 'Ghana Meets Naija' show was held. Reports say it was once again spectacular. But like the faeces of a lizard, the 2014 edition discolored its 'tail.'

According to (www.graphic.com.gh), 'Last Saturday may be one of his (Comedian Lil Win) most embarrassing moments when he was forced to leave the stage before he was through with what he had planned to do at the fourth Ghana Meets Naija concert hosted at the Accra International Conference Centre.'

Lil Win (Kwadwo Nkansah) is said to have announced that he was in possession of marijuana which he said was the best medicine to cure headache and other ailments. Reports say that before he could throw more light on what he was saying, DJ Black (the disc jockey for the night's show) interrupted him.

However, 'Lil Win who has received a lot of bashing for putting up such an act has explained to Graphic Showbiz that his act was about the disastrous effects of substance abuse and not to glorify drugs.' He told Graphic Showbiz that what he had in the plastic he carried on stage was not 'wee' but rather talcum powder, pepper and leaves.'

But why would the all-time best DJ Black stop Lil Win from performing a literary work? Was he avoiding the 'return' of Chris Brown? Or was he directed by the organizers of the show to do so? Perhaps DJ Black and the organizers failed to appreciate literature at the night's show. Or were they the mother hen who prevented the cockroach from dancing?

Inasmuch as Chris Brown did the uncalled for by promoting the smoking of 'wee' on a stage in Ghana does not warrant the ban on wee on stage (in literary performance). I have vehemently posited on Facebook that forcing Lil Win from the stage should be seen by all as a shameful act and as image-tarnishing as that was, the young comedian shouldn't have suffered. For a simple reason; he was cut short of his performance.

Last year, I wrote a piece on one of Ghana's finest disc jockeys, Andy Dosty. The article titled 'Exposed: Andy Dosty's Voodoo' got into the hands of Andy. 'I had a lot of calls with people telling me there was an article on me that I must read,' Andy told me. He had looked for my contact number and called me in the evening of 28th December, 2013. 'When I read the article I had goose pimples all over me. You are a very good writer to read from,' he said.

Judging from my Andy Dosty's title, it was not surprising he had goose pimples. A voodoo? But after reading it, the 'voodoo' mentioned was not that of the traditional priest. It was Andy's good use of social media to connect with his fans. So imagine he had called for my head before reading my work. Today, we are good friends.

Similarly, would Lil Win not have been good friends with some of the youth who have taken marijuana as a bosom friend? Reading his after-the-show reactions, he had something good to deliver had he been allowed to perform.

It is about time we did put a stop to 'instant justice' and waited till a court of competent jurisdiction pronounced one a 'thief.' Before I shut down my Windows Surface machine, let me ask, was MTN's disclaimer on Lil Win's act necessary?

The writer is a Sunyani-based Freelance Journalist/Cultural Activist.

Email: [email protected]

Blog: www.aniwaba.blogspot.com

Twitter: @Aniwaba