Abrantie rocks London

Abrantie Amakye Dede’s performance at the Dominion Centre, Wood Green in London, three weeks ago will be remembered as the best put up by any artiste this year.

The event, which was organised by Akwaaba Promotion, attracted thousands of music fans who turned up to reunite with old pals and reminisce about ‘the good old days’.

Abrantie became the toast of Ghanaian music fans in London including top stars from the Ghanaian movie, radio and music industries when he put up splendid performances there.

Amakye Dede, also known as ‘Seeeeerious’, was at his best. He sent fans into a frenzy when he performed some of his chart toppers.

Exhibiting abundance of energy and excellent stage skills, as usual, he sang melodious songs for close to four-hours that sent highlife music fans to the dancing floor.

He dazzled with well-known tunes such as ‘To Be a Man’, ‘odo Da Babi’, ‘Broken Promise’, ‘Odontinamesu’, and ‘odo Men Su’–as he jogged around and the crowd sang along loudly.

The highlife legend proved to everybody that he is still as strong as ever, and he can also deliver whenever he is called upon for a performance. ‘Emaa Pe Sokoo’ he blared into the microphone, and the crowd in unison responded ‘Sokoo Ne Emaa Pe’.

Good and vibrant music aside, what has kept Amakye Dede going is his humility and his sense of realisation that he belongs to a place of rich cultural heritage.

Amakye Dede has not only got talent as a musician, but character as a humble and disciplined performer, a combination that has made him not only a role model, but a powerful magnet that could bring great men and women together.

Amakye has never succumbed to the iniquities of foreign cultures that adore obscenity and profanity. What others may say with filthy vulgarity, Amakye would weave in intricate proverbs and wise sayings of our great forebears and arrive effectively with the same meaning without any offence.

He is one of Ghana’s premier highlife artistes and is called ‘Iron Boy’, ‘The highlife maestro’ and ‘Abrantie’.

Dede began his career in 1973 when he joined the Kumapim Royals as a composer and vocalist. This band, led by Akwasi Ampofo Agyei (AAA), had hits like ‘Abebi Bewua Eso’, ‘Wanware Me A’, ‘Odo Mani Agyina’ and the seminal ‘Ohohoo Batani’. Dede moved to Nigeria where he had his hit ‘Jealousy Go Shame’.

He then formed his own band, the Apollo High Kings, in 1980. He dominated the highlife scene in the 1980s and 1990s and continues to have hit songs in the 21st century.

He has almost 20 albums to his credit. In his later career, he experimented with different genres; soca, calypso, lovers rock and pop music.