Sark Collections To The Slaughter?

Straight up! Obidiponbidi Sarkodie is leading his newly created clothing like, Sark to the slaughter, I think. I do not wish to compare Sark to other foreign brands but selling a belt at GHC180 and a pair of jeans at GHC250 is rather on the high side of his fans.

People are all under the illusion that anything sold at exorbitant price is good. Sarkodie and his team should not tow that line. They should not see the introduction of Sark as an opportunity for them to get rich quick or overnight. Else he might end up pushing everyone away.

Sarkodie’s Sark collections which include belts, baseball caps, sneakers, jumpers, sweat pants, t-shirts, shirts among others with his face embossed on them are ridiculously expensive. Before the launch which cost uninvited guests 50 Ghana Cedis a ticket, one of his fans commented, “Pay GHC50 just to be part of the launch, then how much will the clothes cost?”

We all know that Sarkodie’s real fans are not the people who are ready to part with big money. Yes, his fans cut across but a great chunk of them are the ones mostly on the street. I was present at the forecourt of the Aphrodisiac Night Club when Sarkodie launched his Sark clothing line designed by Yas.

Quite glaringly most of the invited guests present to witness the launch were not his true fans. They were there because they had received invitations from him or from his team.

After the launch many were the voices that commended Sarkodie for having taken an enterprising step by investing in business ahead of his colleagues in music. But a few months after the launch, keen observers are wondering if Sark will indeed survive or disappear like what happened to the likes of Stephen Appiah’s StepApp and Obrafuor’s OB4.

You know how painful it is when you do something good for someone and the person turns his back on you? This is exactly how the Sarkodie fans are feeling right now. They think the rapper is not being fair to them when they contributed to his successful career. For many of his fans, the artiste has become very expensive that, they have to dole out millions of their hard earned Ghanaian Cedis to be able to purchase few of his collections.

I’m certain that, Sarkodie has read various comments and posts by his fans as they vent their spleen on the expensive nature of his collections. From Twitter to Facebook, the words are that, Sark is very expensive. The reality is that if your true or majority of your followers cannot patronize your products because they are beyond their reach, it means you probably don’t know what you are about. As true fans, they are the ones to be clamoring for your products, if not then there is a problem somewhere.

As a rapper who has moved from being a ‘battler’ on radio stations to an international artiste, it’s fair to say he’s pricing himself out of the market but then has his management and team done a research to know the pocket strength of his real fans? Over-pricing the products just because you do not want just anyone to have one is a lame excuse and could be spelling doom for him.

Talking about paying people for the good they have done for you, I have listened to Sarkodie on various platforms as he elucidated and defended the over-pricing of his collections and I find such excuses very pitiful and preposterous.

On the red carpet of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards with Confidence Haugen, Sarkodie said: “When you move out of Ghana, they need to hear your CV [talking about his music], what you have back home, you need a movement going on already. First and foremost, they will check your Twitter following, they will check your Facebook, they will check your awards and for me to have 5 on the roll that should tell you that, the guy is doing well…”

When Confidence asked “so how is the shop going?” Sarkodie said “Trust me from the first 3 days if I tell you the money we have made. People say my stuff is expensive. Of course you are wearing Sarkodie… we are coming for the next collections for anyone who can afford it.”

In 2012 Sarkodie co-won the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Best African Act with Nigeria’s Wizkid. Of course the organizers of the BET Awards didn’t pluck Sarkodie from Adom FM’s studios and award him.

It was after he got to the top of his game before they thought he merited that honour. The question is, how did he get to the top of his game?

He achieved this by the help of his true fans who have been with him from day one. So why would they be sidelined now that the act has gone to the zenith of his career?

Source: Ghana Web

It Hurts To Read Bad Stuff About My Daughter - Efya's Mum

Anytime her daughter mounts the stage and wows her audience with her unique voice coupled with her electrifying stage craft, it is the expectation that Nana Adwoa Awindor, mother of sensational singer Efya would be beside herself with pride for nurturing such a talent.

Of course, yes, mum Nana Adwoa Awindor does. She is absolutely proud of her daughter and is happy for her every minute and says she has always been grateful to God for the talent given her daughter but she finds it very difficult to deal with the bad publicity that often goes with showbiz stars.

In an interview with ‘Showbiz’, Nana Awindor, who herself is a media celebrity following the huge success she had with her ‘Greetings From Abroad’ television series, said anytime she read negative stories about her daughter, it felt as though a sword had been driven through her heart because she knew very well that her daughter would not engage in undesirable activities like drug abuse.

“I know how it is like to be in the public’s eye and I know my daughter through and through and so it really hurts to read such bad stuff about her. It is annoying, irritating, abhorring and everything put together. Sometimes, I have to be strong for her to tell her not to respond to such stories and concentrate on her career because such detractors will come to nothing.

“Sometimes these things really hurt because we believe that we are nurturing a young talent into an international star that Ghana should be proud of. But some people think that is the opportune time to punch holes and bring her down when she is going global” she added.

Nana Awindor said in modern times that the world has become a global village, people should have a second thought about the negative stories they put out there since such stories transcend the borders of the country and may have negative effects on those personalities.

“Can you imagine that somebody who has cropped the hair and sniffing cocaine is posted on the Internet with an attached story that Efya is a drug addict? Some of these stories break me down but often I say hey! It doesn’t matter, let us just forget about it and focus on what we are doing and let them be who they want to be. We want the ultimate prize and that is what we are looking for”.

The mother of the songstress who has won the hearts of many with songs like Best In Me, Cigarette, and Little Things could not hide her pride in the success her daughter has chalked in her music career adding “I see growth, possibilities, advancements, an international star par excellence. I see a bud blossom into a flower which has all the abilities of surviving and I am proud of her in so many ways.

Efya’s singing prowess is a God given talent and not the ability of mortal being because she has been doing this since childhood and in God’s own time, He made things more beautiful and packaged”.

Apart from serving as a strong tower behind her daughter’s brand, Nana Awindor the Chief Executive Officer of Premier Productions says she has been busy working on her new series of Greetings from Abroad which has been off the screens for almost four years.

“Taking it off was deliberate in order to have a refreshing show after celebrating 10 years in 2008 but a new production is set to start showing on some selected stations in June” she stated.

When asked how challenging it’s been touring the world, this was her response “It has been hectic and challenging but it’s always been an inward passion to brand Ghana and couldn’t have used any other means apart from this show to brand Ghana and I am delighted that it turned out well.

“But I have gone through some never to forget ordeals. I remember that in 2006, my hand bag which contained all the money for the expenses for myself and production crew was stolen and I cried like a baby at the German Airport. In fact, I wailed to the surprise of many present but these are some of the hazards that come with the job”.

A native of Efigya Kwabre in the Ashanti region, who is now a queen mother and bears the stool name “Obaapa Adwoa Nkyaa” and her last words to celebrities: “pride comes before fall so be humble and always seek the face of God in all your endeavours”.

Source: Graphic Showbiz

Ghanaian Star Prince David Osei at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival

One of the hottest Ghanaian actors Prince David Osei was one of the exclusive class of stars on the red carpet of the 66th Cannes Film Festival in France and sent TALK OF THE TOWN By Orikinla the following remarks on his unique experience.

Personally it was an eye opener for me even though this was my second time of visiting Cannes and the awesome Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, venue of the most famous and most attended international film festival in the world, but it was my first time to walk on the most prestigious red carpet event in the world; walking alongside famous Hollywood stars like Nicole Kidman on the day of the screening of Alexander Payne's "Nebraska" that was nominated for the coveted Palme d'Or and Bruce Dern won the Best Actor award. Its a very interesting and emotional story! The whole Grand Theatre Lumiere on Thursday May 23, 2013 was filled with movie stars from Hollywood, with directors and superstars like Michael Douglas and a host of international stars were there.


On Ghanaian and Nigerian movies not competing at the Cannes Film Festival.

I believe its about time we produce quality and interesting movies that can enter into competition. Lest I forget, I also saw Steven Spielberg, one of the best directors in the world. The 66th edition of Cannes was electrifying as peeps partied in their luxury yachts, hotels, beaches and on the streets with awesome fireworks with the most expensive cars paraded at the venue from the 15th to 26th of May. Cannes was full of intriguing activities, premieres here and there; celebrity parties here and there.

There was this outdoor cinema on Macé beach called Cinéma de la Plage. An open-air cinema or 'cinéma en plein air' in French. It was interesting to screen a movie outdoors in the cold at the seaside with peeps feeling cold and enjoying the movie under the stars at the same time.

My new hair style really gave me attention as many thought I was some big Hollywood shot...ha ha ha ha.

Cheers to all my fans in Nigeria, Ghana and other parts of the world.

~ Prince David Osei.

Miss ECOWAS Ghana 2013 Takes Off

This year's Miss ECOWAS Ghana 2013 auditions will take off on Friday, June 14, at the Golden Tulip Hotel, Accra at exactly 8:00am.

This year's event is themed 'God Bless Our Homeland Ghana' and will see 15 delegates contesting to
be crowned the 2013 Miss ECOWAS queen, who will also become an ambassador to champion the Youth Peace Initiatives of the ECOWAS Commission for a period of one year in Ghana.

The crowned queen will represent Ghana at the sub-regional ECOWAS peace pageant, engage in breast cancer campaigns across the country, and in addition will be afforded the opportunity to present her peace initiatives to the entire ECOWAS sub-region and the world at large.

Meanwhile, the organizers of the annual Miss ECOWAS beauty pageant are giving a lifetime opportunity to young, bold, beautiful and intelligent ladies between 18 and 24 years to register and be part of the 2013 audition process by visiting www. missecowasghana.com to download their audition form. Contestants have to complete and submit the registration form on the day of the audition, June 14, with one passport-size and one full-size picture.

The Miss ECOWAS Ghana Pageant is the initiative of 702 Productions LTD, a Ghana-based international events management company, with endorsement from the ECOWAS Commission, Abuja. The pageant seeks to use the youth as a vehicle for preaching peace in the sub-region. It also aims to work with them to advocate for peaceful co-existence in the sub-region and also engage in breast cancer awareness campaigns to forestall the increasing cases of breast cancer among the citizens of Ghana and the sub-region.

Prices for this year's event include a rare chance to represent Ghana at the ECOWAS peace pageant, scholarships, cash prices and various sponsors' products.