Kojo Antwi Still A Box Office Smash In USA

The man known for "Pour Some Sugar", "Nfa Me Nko Ho, Nyankonton", "Dadie Anoma" and a host of others is still missed by Concert-goers as the best box office smash for all generations. The Big 4 Concert series in the USA recently was a success in terms of delivery. The promoters and artistes did a wonderful job for staging 7 performances in 5 US cities. It was the longest Ghanaian concert series ever. The performances were excellent and also worth attending. It was indeed a great lesson to be learned by the promoters in the terms of Ghanaian patronage. There were two cities that were considered a box office smash; Dallas, TX and Chicago, IL.

One thing the writer observed about the concert series was that majority of the younger crowd between 18-30 years did not participate in the shows. They thought the artistes have their own audience and that is the "baby boomers" as they would term in the US, the 40s and above. What I realized at the event was that the costly live performances are not attractive anymore to these younger crowds. They prefer Hiplife artistes on stage with no instruments but the DJ/selector playing the track on the CD and the artiste lip-syncing on the track. One example is when Obour was in New York recently at the Easter Dance organized by Kwahuman Association in New York. The event was well attended and the audience enjoyed themselves to the fullest. Both young and old rushed to the dance floor showering money on the artiste.

The last show Kojo Antwi performed in USA at the Newark Symphony Hall, Newark, NJ in 2003 was something to witness. The Hall was parked and over 1000 people attended. It was the hottest show at that moment and Kojo gave the audience their money's worth. Since that show, there has never been any sell out shows either in New York or New Jersey.

Even though many yearn for his live performances, the issue lies with promoters. A live performance by Kojo Antwi should not be taken lightly. His shows are costly and that is what make the artiste great but is it worth taking the risk by promoters concerning the patronage by the Ghanaian community. The subject of patronage is something worth looking at. We as a community should patronize those who are talented so that they would continue to supply us more of their God given talent. If the promoters are taking risks in bringing Ghanaian events to our communities, then we should patronize them so they continue to promote our culture.