THE DIARY OF DJ BLACK……..A DJ LIVING IN MODERN DAY ACCRA.

 

I am back again typing away in my studio. The world is in an interesting stage these days, food prices on the rise, fuel prices sky rocketing, climate change, people stabbing others for fun and finally a Black man on the way to the white house( I can't wait for the first cook out). In case you missed out on the world stage, that's the summary.

The Ghana music awards are over with street hiplife King KowKesse sweeping the major awards including Artiste of the year. I can say this year's awards night was tight, because it had yours truly DJ Black as the main DJ and MC with performances from Ja Rule(USA) , Nameless(Kenya) and P Square from Nigeria. After all my hard work of spinning 55's single 'african girls, they got the best pop song of the year award. The awards are the most prestigious awards for an Artist in Ghana as it is a mix of public votes and nominations from the media; it is very competitive and each year has a different controversy. Shout outs to MTN, Channel O ,coca cola and GTV for making it happen.

These days I seem to notice only billboards, the streets of Accra just keeps on springing up with new billboards every hour. The sudden interest in this kind of advertising is quite interesting to me. Oxford Street (Accra's Hollywood Street) has new billboards clamoring for the skies. Huge signs are being hung every day, from the largest mobile network to the little street hawker. The most popular billboard now is that of a lady with her legs spread out, hands on her butt and her face looking between her legs; with a copy that reads 'Confidence between the legs'. It made the evening news on Joy fm and had to be removed from complaints by Drivers in the metropolis.

A lot of new songs keep hitting me from all corners; I must say young man Asem's 'gimme blow' is definitely a hit with the youth here in Ghana. I first heard it in Kumasi, and after a couple of spins He was partying and rocking the mic with his cronies on my radio show live at Legon (will be ready for download soon on my podcast). It was just awesome. Even though preparations happened in a hurry, it was worth it and the Kubolor, Asem, Richie, etc were just on point.

As a DJ, I get the chance to review a lot of songs, a lot of promos and I must say a lot of artistes have impressed me this year. Even though I am against Weezy's disrespecting mixtape DJ's, I must admit I am in love with his 'milli' song and his effort of proving to everyone that he can is hot . LL cool J's new single, 'baby' featuring The dream is certainly going be a chart topper. I fell in love with it as soon as I heard it. I know my boys in Ghana are working hard; I am squirmy as I think of Kwaku-T and his camp's new mixtape. I met him at Zanzibar when I went to meet Reggie Rockstone and M.A for a quick sip, and he told me of his upcoming project, a mixtape of a new kind.

Ghana has come of age in the hiphop world and after a consistent weekly performance.'Bless the mic' a new movement , has gathered quite a crowd in the underground hiphop scene. Artistes such as Wanlov the Kubolor, Sena,etc have actually had heads nodding to piercing and soul searching lyrics and caught the attention of hungry media hawks. New drum beats and horns from the sound boards of engineers such as Richie,Jayso , Jae P ,Richie Pitch are also gradually creeping into the ipods and laptops of people. It is as if a new age has dawned, I hear samples of old classic highlife mixed with modern hiphop. Richie Pitch a DJ and Producer from the UK has been in Ghana for a year sampling and recording sounds of Ghana, I can hardly wait to hear how a foreigner hears Ghana.

That's it for now, I will definitely give you the real scoop of what's happening in the scene, from the point of a modern DJ living in Accra, Ghana. Check out my podcast from links below and I have another mix out which features new hits from Chani ,Lil Wayne , LL cool J and more, this is an exclusive free download for you, get it at http://www.mediafire.com/?2tmvzycdbdc

His Blackness,
www.myjoyonline.com/mrblack
http://www.djblack.podomatic.com
www.myspace.com/toontoomrecords
www.myspace.com/toontoom
http://toontoom.blogspot.com

 

 

BRAND NEW MIXTAPE

BLEEZY MIX VOL 2 FT LIL WAYNE,LL COOL J, MACY GRAY,G-UNIT,GORLLA ZOE, ASHANTI,G-UNIT ,ETC

This is an exclusive free download for you, get it at http://www.mediafire.com/?2tmvzycdbdc

 

XCLUSIVE PRE-RELEASE

BRAND NEW MIXTAPE

BLEEZY MIX VOL 2 FT LIL WAYNE,LL COOL J, MACY GRAY,G-UNIT,GORLLA ZOE, ASHANTI,G-UNIT ,ETC

YOUR VOICE IS NEEDED !!


This is an exclusive free download for you, get it at http://www.mediafire.com/?2tmvzycdbdc

FEEDBACK IS IMPORTANT.

I was listening to the BBC this morning, they were talking about short stories, the length of six word. Can it be also simple? If it is, then here is mine, Black pack your bags, leave now.

Let me tell you what's been going on in the GH. These are the words of a modern Ghanaian DJ. I must say the African cup of nations was quite a spectacle, the whole world had cameras and satellites of all sorts focused on Ghana. It was all about colors, colors and colors. The Ghana flag did fly everywhere; it flew on cars, on hats, on faces, on t-shirts, on goats, and on babies who had no clue of what was going on. With all the noise about Ghana's chances of lifting the Golden trophy on both local and international TV, radio, print, taxis and bars, the stalwart men, the Black stars could not, but they still brought a cup, it was just of a different color. If you are a Ghanaian reading this, you missed a whole lot of action, passion and crying. There were those proud Ghanaian moments when you just thanked the good lord that your flag indeed was a red, gold, and green with a black star in the middle. Anyway, the Pharaohs of Egypt took the trophy back for the sixth time. Congrats guys, you put a lot of balls in there.

I find it funny anytime head of states try to tell the nation what state it is in. you may disagree with me, but these dudes in power no nothing of the state of the nation. Last Saturday I was robbed at cutlass point and my hard earned iphone taken from me just like that. Reporting it to the police did not do anything, as I have still not got any call from the police to say, 'Mr.Ampofo, we have the bandits in our custody, and your phone retrieved'. Instead the police man looked at us without a care in the world and it was as if we were disturbing him. Talk about the state of the nation. Robbery is on the rise, water and electricity supply is on the decline but we pride ourselves with these words-'the future is bright'. Let's all pray and hope that the Ghana we wish for will materialize.

Valentine is around the corner and surprisingly this year, the noise is non-existent. It's as if the lovers in the GH are tired. With text messages and e-mails, people just don't do cards anymore. I remember when Val's day was such a fuss. Your ability to but the biggest teddy bear, or a huge card and a basket filled with all the sweet things in the world showed how romantic you are. If you made a mistake of sending just a card, you might be missing a partner afterwards. Anyway, I wish all of you a happy valentine's day.

I will be back next week with all the 'filla' and juicy news of the weekend. Till then cheers

           WHAT IF THERE WAS A UNITED STATES OF AFRICA ?

 

I shudder with excitement and fear when I think of it;. Call me what you want,

 

but have you ever thought of it? When I mentioned it to a real hardcore

 

Christian pal of mine, he said 'that would mean the end of the world', in a way it

 

is true, with the current state of affairs of the world. Imagine a new nation under

 

God. UNITED STATES OF AFRICA'Original'.

 

   Think about it, wouldn't Africa be a lovely place to live. Under the U.S. of 'A', I

 

have no doubt that the continent would be an interesting place to live in. Holidays

 

in beautiful Kenya, skiing in south Africa ,swimming in Tanzania, Mountain

 

climbing in Egypt ,ah, countries would be states, imagine a sign post that

 

reads 'Welcome to the Gold Coast –the wonderful state of Ghana'. I strongly

 

believe that all people of African descent would come 'home'.

 

        What if there was a United States of Africa? Blacks would fly to space in the

 

most pimped spacecraft ever seen by man. That brings a smile to my face, this

 

simple unification born out of Marcus Garvey and pioneered b the first Pan-

 

Africanists i.e. Lumumba, Du-Bois,Nkrumah, Haile Selassie ,Padmore, Kenyatta,

 

amongst others will be a dream come true by every Blackman.

 

   Colin(my creative pal) believes and still is deeply rooted with the whole

 

George Clinton and his funkadelics. He believes that arts and entertainment

 

move the world forward; therefore the idea of G.Clinton in futuristic wears. I

 

mean, who would have thought that wearing colored  locks and weird outfits

 

could create such a following. Today we have the Snoop Dogg's and  co.

 

The belief that Africans have always spearheaded mass world movements

 

makes the yearn for a united Africa even more appealing. Africa is the most

 

appealing place in the world. Without Africa ,I.M.F,the world bank and the bling

 

bling of 50 cent,Ghostface Killah of the Wu-Tang and Slick Rick will be out of

 

sparkles. Paul wall and Mike Jones would have nothing to sing about.

 

What if there was a United States of Africa? The population

 

of the other nations I imagine, would just deplete by half. I already see the planes

 

and ships working their way back home to the motherland. I doubt it if any person

 

of black origin would want to live elsewhere .What would be our

 

economic strength ? I implore thee to let your imagination run wild, imagine a

 

nation with such gifts.

 

           Alas it is not like that, instead we have the African Union , E.C.O.W.A.S ,

 

the U.N. so I ask you again, what if there was a United states of Africa?

COOKING IN TRAFFIC
..Hacks, hacks.. ,..p.k.p.k.., ..one for thousand.. , ..yeeess,chips .. ,these little call outs are common in Accra these days. I live here and this is what I have observed. At least since 1985 I have lived in Accra and witnessed both tremendous and retrogressive changes. Well one of the changes is that when in a hurry to get to work, you can buy and make tea in traffic for breakfast or make some heavy light soup for dinner. Everything can be bought at traffic lights in Accra.
I really do not mind if they sell on the street or in stores. But I do mind if they impede traffic flow, I do mind if they shove their wares in my face. I swore to fix an air condition in my car years ago and I have not regretted doing so. As much as their presence irritates me and you, I sometimes cannot help to think from their point of view. What drives them to stand in the sun for such a long time? Is it the money? Is it the discovery of the traffic market? Is it just to survive in Ghana? Whatever the reason is, I think the Government should pay particular attention to this situation. From a D.J..s point of view, I believe something should be done, I mean, the quicker the better, I have a lot of ideas running through my mind but I leave it to the authorities, you can pass the message to them.
Ghana is going to be 50 in 4 months and the country is going to be flocked with foreigners and Ghanaians who have never been here before. This to me provides great opportunities for the country at large.
Now let me tell you what..s up on Ghana television. Tv3 has grabbed the attention of almost every Ghanaian on Sundays. Well it seems the part 2 of the tv3 mentor seems to be quite competitive and controversial. I mean, evicted participants fainting, judges quitting, and white men doing war dances on the show. However I personally think this crop of ..wanna be stars.. are really talented, and if this continues Ghana will not have to depend on cocoa and gold for survival but voices and entertainment. Instead of exporting raw materials we shall export talents to countries for shows. (A dream)
These are the rants and raves of a modern day Ghanaian D.J. living in Accra. Hei I am off to the studio, catch you next week.

                                          IN THE GH THIS JULY

 

Ghana is a lovely place; imagine taking your time to go to places you have not been before. I had a pretty busy week but I will tell you only the important details. I visited a night market in mataheko where one can get waakye, kenkey and some kelewele. I must admit that even though night markets are a common thing in Ghana, this one had an effect on me because of its location- in the middle of a busy Accra suburb. And it was surrounded by kiosks and the food sellers came only at night. Well with my friend prince da whistle we decided to go for kenkey and fish instead of the usual honest chefs rice and chicken that we went for always. Hmmm.. bad huh?

 

  Ghana has got a new beauty Queen to compete against others from all over the globe; I wish her well considering the ruckus the organizers had with the former Queen. This makes me ponder, why does the Miss Ghana final always have controversies? If it isnt accusations of unfair judgment then the verdict was stolen or someone never got paid. I just hope the organizers learn their lessons, I mean why not promise some hair treatment , spa , tico and free lunch at mama abas chop bar, this can be achieved or.?

 

The annual joy fm school re-union was over crowded this year, whoa!! I have not seen humans like this in a long while. I had a blast, spinning like crazy, an ecstatic and participatory crowd, the toontoom mix tape selling like crazy, in all it was a well organized show with exclusive performances. I actually saw two old ladies dancing no.let me be frankgrooving with two hunks, it was a sight to behold.

 

The rains have started in Ghana, and it is a great time to live in Accra, I do not remember the last time it was even warm for 2 hours, the weather is heaven sent, believe me, either cold, very cold or a cool breeze, you can just imagine heaven, yes I think God has sent us this weather as a gift. I hear on the news that U.S.A and Europe have one of the hottest weather this period. This will be a good time to come for a holiday. Come to Ghana, come to Ghana I declare.

 

Hip life has really changed over the years and with channel O and MTV Base scouting for talents in Africa, Ghana should make the most out of it and propel its music to the international front .Tic-tac has been getting some airplay on base. Well he is the only one so far to hit it there, lets hope others join in the music video craze.

 

When you decide to come to Ghana for the holidays, I advice you to get  a driver, one who is well versed in the art of dodging the trotro drivers, the familiar yellow and green, blue, or red taxis because you need the 7^th sense of Buddha to drive in Accra.

 

There are some pretty cool places to visit in Accra, but you see oxford street has it all, PC Direct is such a place, it is opposite frankies and has all the computer accessories you need for a cheap price, and being a Ghanaian well I will consider a bargain before buying but these guys at PC Direct have always sorted me out.

 

I am off to grab a nap, pretty worn out this weekend with jams, radio and night clubs, I need a rub-a-dub. Catch the drift?

                          Welcome , its really an interesting life as a D.J in Ghana, West Africa .You get to meet a lot of people, all sorts, different characters, and different colors. I recently met  a couple of young talented Africans from Naija(Nigeria) and South Africa .Now these two countries happen to be another force when it comes to African hip-hop,Kabelo from Channel O, SA, Klint the Drunk ,Segun Arinse  and Big Brother Nigeria Housemates.

 

It was an interesting meeting and I especially loved the time I had with Kabelo, Hip-hop culture being researched into the African way. Finally someone was interested in Ghanaian hip-hop Culture, someone wanted the African continent to know how the slums of  Nima,New Town,Dansoman,La-Bone,Osu,Cantonments,Chorkor had molded Hiphop/Hiplife artists like Reggie Rockstone,Tictac, King Aisoba

 

                        My Nigerian pals put me in a hilarious state.whoa..!! Klint the drunk is another thing altogether, looks like brother man just has jokes compressed like mp.3 in folders in his brain. I love the African unity.

 

If you live elsewhere in the world apart from Ghana, let me fill you in on some natural sights, smells, and people you will meet. A place you will definitely miss is the Oxford street,Osu , this is the Core of whats happening in Accra, it is the posh street of Accra..trust me when I say you dont want to buy a pen there, buy it at makola instead. Back to OSU., even when F.I.F.A was on the drawing board for the 2006 world cup, these dudes had begun selling Ghana paraphernalia , I wish you could visit it now.

 

     Every Ghanaian has a reason to be proud of the Ghana Black stars. Who would have though that the game of football could awaken such patriotism? It is a great time to be a Ghanaian, every moment counts.

Hei, I have recently discovered a brand new Tilapia and Banku joint @   Osu, the womans pepper is hot and spicy ,it looks like it can give Maame Amas tilapia @ Awudome.

 

 I got to go now, off I go, I hope to meet you at the Joy FM old school re-union. Meet you there, hei talk to me, reply to my diary djblack99@gmail.com............    Bye.bye

 

been really busy but watch out as Africa answers the deejays