Nana Quame’s resolve to outshine Ofori Amponsah in live-band performance is certainly pushing him to go to any length to prove his competence.
On Saturday December 29 at the Lumba Brothers re-union show held to support the Ghana/Beijing Olympics games, Nana uncharacteristically went down on his knees before music fans, begging them to cheer him up and sing along with him.
This happened when he realized that his performance was below standard and so needed an indication from fans that they were enjoying his showmanship.
His appearance and stagecraft on that day did not in any way attract the attention of the crowd of music fans who wanted him to prove to them that he was better than Ofori Amponsah as he claimed.
A day before the event, Nana was criticized by sections of music lovers for not being able to move music fans who attended Citi Fm’s “Decemba 2 Rememba” show held at the Accra International Conference Centre.
Nana Quame, who performed after Tic Tac, VIP and Kweku Gyasi who literally shook the very foundation of the auditorium, rather cooled down the electrified hall when he took his turn. He simply “could not step up the fun”.
It appeared he wanted to use the platform at the show to prove to his detractors that he was who he considered himself to be.
Even though his performance was an act to write home about, the crowd only sat in their seats and watched him perform.
He unleashed more energy to rock despite his weight and managed to dish out some beautiful boogies to present a nice show, but the chemistry between him and the fans was simply not working.
That was when he climbed down the stage, moved into the crowd and begged them to join him. “If I have to kneel down to beg you before you will get up to dance with me then I have to do it because yesterday some people said I did not do well,” he said and went down on his knees.
Some fans Beatwaves spoke with indicated that it was unnecessary for Nana to kneel for fans to react to his performance. “He could have asked us to get up and dance or sing as that was usual with any other artiste, but not to the extent of going down on his knees,” somebody remarked.
Others also observed that because Nana threw a challenge to one of the country’s finest artistes, Ofori Amponsah, that he (Nana) was better than him (Ofori Amponsah) when it comes to live performance, that was why they had come to the show to see if indeed he was as good as Ofori Amponsah.
Nana Quame recently told host of GTV’s “Showbiz” programme, Prince Tshegah in an interview that he was better than Ofori Amponsah, adding that he had competed with the likes of Kojo Antwi and Daddy Lumba.
Nana told the host that he respected Ofori Amponsah alright, and that Ofori had to accept that he (Ofori) owed much of his success to the support he had received from producers such as Big Ben.
Nana’s statement did not go down well with certain music fans who descended on him, describing him as a failed Ghanaian musician.
Many people were of the view that when it comes to good music and composition of good songs, Nana Quame should see himself as a student and a beginner who needs to learn from the likes of Ofori Amponsah.
They warned Nana not to consider himself a successful musician yet because he was only struggling to survive in the music industry.
Nana told a gathering of presenters and journalists, including Akwesi Aboagye of Peace Fm, Jordan Doodu and Isaac Yaboah of P&P as well as Beatwaves at the launching of the Lumba Brothers Show that his bluff with Ofori was not on the number of albums released, but about live-band performances. “Ofori cannot compete with me here.”
Nana however said he had nothing against Ofori and that he was only answering a question from the host of the GTV programme.
He explained that he could not have said that a colleague musician was better than him, because he believed in himself.
“If you ask me if I am better than Kojo Antwi, I will tell you I am better than him,” he added.
Some music observers think bluffs like the one by Nana Quame would in a way bring some competition into the music industry, as musicians would be compelled to come out with good stuff to prove their competence.
The world is now watching Nana Quame and Ofori Amponsah to see how their dare would benefit them and the music industry as a whole.
