Staying relevant all the time has never been easy in any field of endeavor and in this case in an evolving music industry, it takes more than just music to stay on top.
I remember once talking to Kwame Nsia Appau popularly known as Okyeame Kwame and asking what has kept him relevant in his ten year musical journey and his secret was worth sharing. He explained he saw himself as a brand and his music a product therefore at any point he did not have a great product to sell, the brand could still make him stay relevant.
He made mention of musical legends such as Amakye Dede and Daddy Lumba. In the case of Amakye Dede, although he has not released any product (music) in a long while, his product keeps him relevant and same with Daddy Lumba, who always has a good product to sell.
Many are the great Ghanaian talents who have fallen on their musical journeys for particular reasons; but why my special interest in Asem? This is because Asem in my personal opinion is one of the best song writers of our time and his rap skill is undeniably a plus to the industry.
Breaking grounds with Give Me Blow back in 2007 under the management of Lynx Entertainment and gaining more popularity, Asem never looked back and won the hearts of many Ghanaians with his music, but the brother seems to be going through tough times and I am tempted to believe his latest album Tough Times Don’t Last is a reality, only that it seems to be lasting.
After dropping Bye Bye, a monster hit off his Solid Ground album in 2012, Asem is yet to make any ‘relevant’ impact on the Ghana music scene despite the release of his third studio album, TTDL. FYI, TTDL means Tough Times Don’t Last.
A friend and a brother, I was one of the first few to listen to the entire album and wished the album could soar but in my personal opinion, it couldn’t and since then, not much has been heard of the brother.
Dropping a classic music video to his club banger Wasted and enjoying airplay, it is sad to realize that Asem could not sustain the buzz and seem to be lost from the music industry.
The past 18 months in Ghana has been for dancehall music and Asem’s decision to release a joint album Closed Friends with Dancehall artist Samini was really welcoming as their first single Running Away was a merger of hiphop and dancehall and swept people off their feet but the question remains, where art thou, Asem?
Checks on Asem’s timeline on social media have proven the brother has been silent for a while and other means of contacting him have proved futile. I just hope the brother is cooking something in the lab and hence his silence.
In Januray 2014, Chris Vincent published an article that sought to say Asem was ‘suffering in disguise’. Could it really be the case?
Asem, kindly get back at us as your numerous fans have starved for far too long.
For all those who Miss A.S.E.M - keep this song in mind
