The Shabo Crew Sings - It Is Love

The saxophone starts the record, then a symphony of other instruments, a rhythmic danceable tune is heard, then comes the lead singer with his powerful definite professing of his want for his love and then the nodding and mild movement of parts of the body which cannot be hidden from this moment on.

Musically, I fall in and in of love so much that I think I am most probably the world’s best flirt when it comes to music. Hi life, that is my main love. But any other genre that gives a soothing relaxation and especially one that all the words can be heard is my kind of music as well.

My new love, “Eye Odo”, which literally translates as “It Is Love” is the very first single by the Shabo Crew. This band has been in existence for a little over four years and have backed and shared stages with as many Ghanaian acts who have done live performances as possible. They were also the resident band of the Stars Of The Future reality show seasons one to four. Am stating all these so that, well, maybe you remember a number of beautiful well orchestrated live performances but as it happens a lot of the time, the band that provided the groove is sort of forgotten as soon as the gig is over. The front liners take all the credit most of the time.

Eye Odo tells of how a man, undeniably the lead singer wants to love his partner. He so wants her to be a part of his life. It seems he has been pestering the woman who has apparently not accepted him yet. Their meeting was by chance, in a club. With all the vibes in the world, it is as if he is re-emphasizing the love he will show this woman once she accepts to be a part of his life. This man is smitten. He is in love. Oh love is a beautiful thing, obviously. He cannot do without this woman. Some say partners are necessary devils. I say get the right one and that will be your necessary blessing!

“Baby I can make you change your mind to love me like you do others, cos I cant live without love, your love is my life come give it to me baby, it is love. . .I wanna know you, I wanna love you, show you respect yeah, I need your loving, show me your loving, open your heart girl. . .” Lines of some of the lyrics in the record. Now who is thinking love is sour?

With well composed lyrics, good story telling and a generally good flow, this record is enough to push the Shabo Crew into the minds of people as not just a good band, but good composers as well. The beat is danceable, so much that I bet anyone who hears this will inevitably find themselves moving slightly to it. It has this punch I cannot pin point. The kind of punch that makes your brain recollect and keep singing a line or two in retrospect.

The lyrics and beat composition was done by the members of the Shabo Crew with inputs from each person. The sax begins, goes off at some points, comes in again at points when it will surely catch your attention and later signs off the record.

You can contact the Shabo Crew via tacogroove@yahoo.com or on 0264461955. They do play for private functions as well. For now, however, love rules. It Is Love!!!

Eye Odo can be downloaded via
http://limelinx.com/files/4c804b1bfa0a8434f76a398347619c61

My Name Is Romanus; R for Romanus, O for Omanus. . .

The advertisements run wild on radio and facebook. The poster was a popular one on the social network site. I listened to an excerpt of the play on Joy 99.7FM on Friday, July 22nd 2010 and that was enough to get me to go watch them. The line that did it for me was the spelling of Romanus, the name of one of the characters in the production. The spelling was, R for Romanus, O for Omanus, M for Manus, A for Anus, N for Nus, U for Us and S for s!

The energy with which he spelt the name was all too hilarious.
So I made my way to the National Theater today, July 23rd 2010 to watch the 4pm showing of the drama. The second showing will be at 8pm tonight and the next showings will be tomorrow, Sunday July 24th 2010 at 4pm and 8pm. The Producers are the same ones who produced Romantic Nonsense and You May Kiss The Corpse.

High voltage comedy. Hilarity at a high. Beautiful replicas in a comedic way. Beautiful directing and a brilliant storyline that ensured that daily happenings were pointed out to us in an amusing way.

The drama started off in the auditorium of the Virgin Church, where the Pastor, a very shady character believed that it was his power and doing that had healed a lot of people. He was so anointed that he knew the situations of his congregation yet he preferred that they told him their problems themselves. For not being able to heal an impotent man, he declared that he came to heal the sick and not to raise the dead.

The next scene introduced us to the home of Professor Chibere, his wife and daughter, Shaniqua. This Professor makes too much qualms about every little pesewa and cedi. He gave a warning to his wife and daughter that they can bath twice daily but they should use soap on only one occasion!

Next, we were introduced to the classroom setting, Professor Chibere's class. The new Professor was meeting his new class for the first time. On the same day, he asked them to make presentations of an assignment their former Lecturer had asked them to do. One was about the incessant use of pidgin language on our campuses now in relation to a future year by which pidgin would have been banned from campuses. This means that students would not really talk to each other. This touched heavily on the fact that the dependence on pidgin is so much that if the students are asked not to use it again, grammatically correct English will be burdensome, hence the silence.

While in class, Professor Chibere’s daughter came to him for money. The class, all guys, started admiring her. It was Romanus’ turn to make his presentation and he asked permission from the Professor to use his daughter. He gave the weather forcast with the girls’s body. Her hair and head represented Northern Ghana, her chest(breast) was some hilly areas and her lower abdomen and thigh areas represented the Forest areas. One of them also teased girls who wear wigs and end up hitting their heads in a bid to stop an itch. Imagine if the girls happen to wear wigs on every part of their bodies with hair!!!

Did you know that a woman who sings in a bar is called a barrister and one who sells kube(coconut) is an incubator?

All who made this production possible deserve a lot of kudos.

No Rizzla No Ganja But We Roll!

Metaphorical! I got an education upon hearing Ayigbe Edem’s new single. He says “no rizzla no ganja me and my girl we still rolling.” I did not understand what he meant so I asked and the education is, rizzla is the white paper which is used to roll wee and ganja is another name for wee. This line is metaphorical in the sense that rizzla is used to roll wee. He and his girl do not have any yet they are still rolling.

I chanced on a link on twitter and facebook both talking about Ayigbe Edem’s new single titled Anything. I checked and downloaded, listened and eureka!!! Edem had produced yet another beautiful track.

Starting with a beat that seems to have Asian and Oriental influences, this track is set in the RnB genre, very different from Edem’s trademark hiphop tunes. The beat is very relaxed and it has this drumbeats that adds up to its awesomeness. The chorus is soothing as well. Very romantic and was produced by Papu, a Congolese artist.

‘Anything” has Edem singing to his woman and basically telling her that he will do anything she needs and anything she wants.

This time around, I got the opportunity to talk to Edem himself and ask him if this record was another single from his upcoming long awaited album. He answered in the negative and explained that it was supposed to be on the album but for a reason, it was dropped. Apparently, while it was still under production, it got leaked onto the internet somehow. Him and his management traced the leakage and asked that it be withdrawn from online. It must have been downloaded by persons just when it was loaded because this same record appeared on a site very different from the site it was leaked on.

Fortunately, his friends and followers on facebook and twitter started appreciating the record so he decided to let it go. It is not one of the official singles on his second album and that makes me wonder in awe. If this beautiful record did not make it to the selected songs for the album, and the first two official singles, “too much” and ‘the legacy” are this good, then we have a hotter package than we must be anticipating. Edem, we patiently await your full second album.

Listen and download "Anything" via
http://mp3twit.com/eRE