Amakye Dede here for Easter
Ghana's highlife supreme, Abrantee Amakye Dede, is in town to deliver his latest long-in-coming album, ‘Seniwa’ and also perform live at selected venues during the long Easter weekend. "Except something different," a cheerful Amakye Dede told Showbiz last Tuesday.
“Seniwa is a collection of a number of approaches to highlife which are still rooted in traditional highlife as we know it," Amakye Dede said. Amakye Dede's new album, which carry titles such as Broken Promises, delivered in English; Mensuro, Nsuo Amuna, Handkerchief and Mabre follow the very successful Adukro Mu Nsuo which was released in 1998.
"I am particularly happy about the technical quality of this album because it took us a lot of time to master it in the US which is the reason why I have been away for the last four months," he said. He promised patrons that he would perform some of the new songs live with his band on Good Friday at Abrantee Night Club in Accra.
While he was away in the US, the local rumour machine was churning out a sad tale about him. It was rumoured that Amakye Dede had been arrested in the US for a drug-related offence.
"I heard it too," Amakye Dede told Showbiz when the issue of the rumour was raised. "It was my director Mr Marfo who called me up one early morning. I had returned home late from the studio the previous night. He called me on phone and said "Kofi, I'm going to tell you something but you should not worry about it. Initially I thought that something serious had happened to a member of my family or something."
When finally Mr Marfo told him about the rumour, Amakye Dede said that his first response was to exclaim "AGAIN"? He said he did not take it any seriously because the rumour was false but was sad that someone or some people were intentionally driving his name and the little success he had achieved into the mud.
Amakye Dede said that the rumour was about the third since 1990 to have been spread whenever he was away form Ghana to record or to go on tour. Similar unfortunate rumours have also been spun around other prominent musicians in the past.
"What do such people want from me?" he asked. "Musicians are working hard to shed the 'useless man' image that have been associated with the profession in the past. Today, we are able to build modest houses, buy cars, look after our families and live decent lives like every hardworking person. So why should anyone wish to see our downfall?" he asked.
"I wish to thank all those who stood by me and debunked the rumour that I had been arrested for drugs. I promise them that I won't ever disgrace them." Last December, Amakye Dede was honoured as the Overall Best Farmer for the Ejisu Juaben District in Ashanti. The occasion was the celebration of the 17th National Farmers Day when Amakye Dede was honoured for cultivating large farms of yam and cocoyam and rearing sheep and grasscutters.