Ghanaian musicians challenged to be more creative

Ghanaian music artistes have been challenged to produce creative music videos that are true to their lifestyle and not copy what they see in other foreign videos.

Applauding them for their creativity, the general manager of pan-African music channel MTV base, Mr Alex Okosi, who was speaking at a press briefing to kick off the MTV base LIVE! party tour in Accra, commended them for using their local language in their music, and urged the artistes to sustain the Hip life art form as it distinguishes that music as an original and fresh art form.

Last week, a team from MTV base was in the country to film scenes to be included in programmes on the channel, and hosted the first of a series of events to tour the African continent, dubbed MTV base LIVE!, attracting a hip urban crowd, and featured local artistes Obour, VIP, Tic Tac and Madfish on the same stage with South African hip hop sensations, Skwatta Kamp, and New York superstar DJ, Ruckus.

Launched in February 2005, MTV base so far plays a minimum of 30 per cent of music videos sourced in Africa on the channel.

This translates to a minimum of four to six videos every hour, and as GM Alex Okosi puts it, "We want to significantly alter this ratio, and we want a lot of it to come from Ghanaian artistes."

So far, however, only a few Ghanaian artistes, Tinny, FBS, Tagoe Sisters and KK Fosu have been the few whose videos have been of the "standard," required by MTV base, and they have, thus, been receiving airplay on the channel which reaches over 1.3 million households in sub-Saharan African.

Streaming through DStv, which reaches forty nine countries on the African continent and adjacent Indian Ocean islands, and also Trend TV here in Ghana, MTV base is the first bespoke channel for the African market, combining a mix of African and international music genres relevant to young African viewers including R&B, reggae, hip hop, kwaito, hip life, zouk, mbalax and Afrobeat, and celebrates the cultural vibrancy and creativity of African music and artistes, showcasing them alongside their music peers from around the world.