A 9ice Redemption

The Jaded Renegade with 9ice

When the promo for the 'Ghana 9ice Concert' started rolling on Viasat1 TV about 2 days to the advertised date, many were those who wondered if the show would actually happen, since there was little or no publicity up until that time. The reported injunction placed on the show by Hammer of Last Two due to the mention of his artists on posters for the show with prior consent, didn't improve the fortunes of the show much.

In spite of all these odds, some patrons believed it would still happen but when they got to the Accra International Conference Centre as late as 10pm to find less than 50 people at the venue, things were looking really gloom. In fact, many of them left because they believed the show had already 'flopped'. Well, many left and a few more trickled in gradually until the number hit a little over 100 around 12- midnight, this was mostly made up of media men and some Nigerians . At this point there was a sizeable crowd to perform to, so all systems were ready to go. The host, Nigerian comedian Jedi, took to the stage to warm the crowd with some of his jokes, but truly that was the last thing on the minds of the few gathered.

Without further delay, the show started and from performances to performance, the auditorium warmed up until the headline artist, 9ice took to the stage. The multiple-award winning Nigerian hip-hop artist treated the limited audience to series of energetic performances of his hit songs. By time the MOBO award winner hit the stage, the crowd had grown to a little over 200 and his infectious energy got them up and dancing to his hit songs, including 'Gongo Aso' and 'Street Credibility'.

The Ghana 9ice Concert was hosted in collaboration with Yes Records of Nigeria and so the label used the concert to outdoor some of their current and upcoming artists in Ghana. Therefore there were also performances from the likes of G-xploits (of the hit Bolu Molu Merete fame) Steel, Shank, and Jah Bless. But our Ghanaian acts were not about to bow out to the 9ja insurgence, Tinny, Asem, Richie, and Ayigbe Edem delivered amazing performances to show the Nigerians what we are capable of. There were also performances by Tiffany, Ramsey, Chemphe and Miss Jane.

So that was the fairy tale ending to the 9ice Ghana Concert, which was doomed to fail right from the get go! God is still in the miracle business! LOL