A simply disappointing video for 'Simple' by Bradez

Without a doubt, one of the biggest songs in Ghana at the moment has to be 'Simple' by the duo of Okyeame Kwame's younger brothers, Bradez. The song produced by Richie spots some heavy instrumentation that would simply make you bop or at least stomp a foot once you hear it, therefore it isn't surprising that it has become the toast of most events across the country. Its flowery, catchy and easy to sing along chorus melts the hearts of the ladies at every event that I have been to in recent times. Like Richie exclaims in the beginning of the song, “it's a hit…”

'Simple' surely has a lot of crossover appeal (at least within Africa) and a good way to exploit that would be through a good music video. A friend who had seen the video for the song a couple of weeks back told me it was disappointing and therefore may not achieve that purpose I so much wished for. I got the chance to see the video during the album launch of OJ Black recently and I must say that I am not impressed. It can now be seen on Ghanamusic.com and YouTube.

The video looks too amateurish for a song with such potential, particularly the unfiltered close-ups on the two artists while they interact with their 'video vixens'. It brings into mind a sharp contrast between the parts with the green/blue screen effects with the flashy background and the rather dull close-ups. Although the flashy effect has been overused in many Ghanaian music videos, it was much better than those raw natural scenes.

I think the duo made the wrong choice with this video. Maybe they chose the wrong video director or perhaps the director didn't have enough to work with and the video was rushed. It would be remembered that one half of the group, Kunta Kinte has been rumoured to be ill for a while now. According to some reports, Kunte doesn't have full control of his limbs so this limitation may have affected the direction of the music video. Whatever the excuse maybe, the video simply doesn't befit the music.

If the group has the budget for another video, I suggest they reshoot it and I can also direct them to the right music video directors for the job!