Kontihene Releases Second Album

KONTIHENE aka Nana Appiah is finally out with his second album after a long break. For an artiste who was an instant hit when he burst onto the highly competitive hiplife scene two years ago, his return is nothing but significant. Most people hardly make an impact with their first releases, but Kontihene made his presence felt immediately when he came up with his first album Nyankonton featuring the hit songs Akatasia and Asesa.

At a time when Lord Kenya was lord of all he surveyed, as he had monopolised the scene, Kontihene's entry offered healthy competition and he soon became the darling of the people and again the most sought after hiplife musician. With healthy lyrics and infectious beats on his album, it is no wonder that his songs were the toast of people.

Akatasia was on the lips of everybody including kids, and parties were not complete without it. The song entered Megahits, the local chart show on Joy FM, at number 8 and quickly rose to the top of the charts for ten consecutive weeks. It is therefore safe to say that Akatasia was the fastest climbing album then. At the Ghana Music Awards for 2002, Kontihene pulled perhaps his greatest coup when he won the Song of the Year with Akatasia ahead of other artistes like Kojo Antwi and Buk Bak, surprising almost all those who did not give him a dog's chance of winning. Now after almost two years of silence, Nana Appiah is ready to take his place again with Nsoroma. Nsoroma is unlike Nyankonton. In fact there is a vast difference but trust Kontihene that there are some songs that are potential chart breakers on the new album as well.

Nkomo De is one of such songs which has an infectious beat with an equally infectious chorus. A very danceable track, the rap is vintage Kontihene and runs in tandem with the beat. The guitar, drums and keyboard are the major instruments heard but the bass guitar is the most dominant. On Mi Gi Zi Gi, Kontihene uses some "roundabout" twi, used to confuse non-twi speakers. The song talks about how a man is jilted by a lover and the pain he feels. This song also has a very good beat and he fuses the Twi with a dash of Ga.

Rekpete is mid-tempo in most parts of the song with the tempo being stepped up in the latter parts with instruments like the whistle, xylophone, cleaves, drums and keyboard being combined to produce a harmonious effect. It takes the vein of 'jama' but it is slightly slower. The chorus on this song is great and while it borrows the tune and some lyrics from an old song of the 70s, Rekpete, some more lyrics are added to compliment the original.

The message is simple; love is a sweet thing. Kontihene praises both his lover's physical beauty and her virtues while he bemoans the fact that she promised to come at an appointed time but is nowhere to be found. He is asking if she does not love him anymore. This is an impressive song by all standards. Awo Ye Ya is slow paced and features Kofi B doing the chorus. It is an emotional song, which will get many listeners touched. It tells the story of some parents who are disappointed with their son, thinking they have wasted their time in bringing him up.

The major instruments are the keyboard and the guitar. The chorus is a rich one, which will get many people nodding. This album might not earn Kontihene as much acclaim as his first, but the message he sends out is that Kontihene has matured and there is more to come yet.