#EbonyLivesOnY: Remembering a Dancehall Queen

Ghana’s premier urban radio station YFM is set to celebrate the life and career of dancehall superstar Ebony Reigns born Priscilla Opoku Kwarteng.

The number one youth-oriented radio, will on Monday 8th February, across its YTriangle- Y 102.5 (Kumasi), Y 107.9 FM (Accra) and Y 97.9 FM (Takoradi) host a series of activities in memory of the late Ebony.

Speaking about the #EbonyLivesOnY activation, Emma Wenani said: “I’m sure I speak for a lot of people when I say that I truly miss Ebony. She was talented and she was just getting started and therefore it was really sad that she passed away just as she was rising. She could have been a force to reckon with in the industry if she was still alive. I am sure our listeners who are fans of Ebony have missed her, so we want to give them the opportunity to keep her memory alive in their hearts.

We will share past videos of the artiste on all our social media handles, across the Triangle. There will also be interview sessions with her close friends and family. My personal favourite is the radio karaoke and sings along on the Dryve, where her fans will have the opportunity to win amazing prizes. On shouts on Y, you can request your favourite Ebony song for your friends and loved ones.’’

It can be recalled that Ebony Reigns passed away just a week before her 21st birthday when a car in which she was travelling was involved in an accident with a bus. She was returning from a trip to visit her mother in Sunyani. She passed on alongside soldier Atsu Vondee and her friend and assistant Franklina Yaa Nkansah Kuri.

The late Ebony’s first single under Bullet’s mentorship, “Dancefloor”, became a hit and earned her the first of several award nominations: this time in the ‘Unsung Category’ at the Ghana Music Awards 2016. That same year, she had released “Kupe”, which was to be her biggest hit. “Kupe” won Reigns the Best Female Video and New Discovery awards at the 4syte Music Video Awards. Her winning streak continued as she picked up Artiste of the Year at 2017’s Bass Awards and Favourite Female Musician at the People’s Celebrity Awards 2017.

Ebony won the Artiste of the year at the 2018 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA)-posthumously, becoming the first female singer in Ghana to win the overall Artiste of the Year award. Besides the ultimate prize Artiste of the Year Award, Ebony Reigns won in two other categories, Album of the Year, Bonified, and Afro Pop Song of the Year, Sponsor and her manager Bullet won Song Writer of the Year award.

Ebony Reigns, musician, born 16 February 1997, died 8 February 2018.