After opting out of the “Barn” of the All Stars Big Brother Africa reality television show, Ghana’s erstwhile representative on the show, Kwame Bampoe, known in showbiz circles as Sammi B, in his first print media interview has told the Mail newspaper, that he had to leave the show because it was becoming clear that he couldn’t stay any longer in the “Barn” as the days went by.
Sammi, 34, said, “I had a lot going wrong for me – health wise. Day in day out, I tried to be myself but it simply wouldn’t go until that day when I finally reported the incident to Big Brother”.
He explained that, the case of hypertension as reported to Big Brother by the doctors assigned to take care of him is a health problem he has been battling with for some time now and what happened in the house was just an event repeating itself.“I have been living with this for a long time. Anytime I entertain some form of worry or fear, I get jittery and as a result it brings along this issue of hypertension. It’s been like that for some time now but it was quite normal, until I entered the show, only for it to resurface the way it did”.
He explained to the Mail that he had no option than to leave the Barn after a series of checks had declared him unfit to stay any longer on the show. According to Sammi, the eventual announcement from Big Brother informing him of the decision of the organizers to let him leave the Barn was a fitting answer to a long prayer request. More importantly for Sammi B, having competed as Ghana’s representative was of more substance and value than his exit.
Agreeing to a widely-held public view on his age and the fact that it didn’t play to his advantage, he told the Mail that he felt he needed to exit and watch the younger ones “do their own thing”. “I felt relieved when Big Brother informed me that my wish to leave the house had been granted. For me, it was a perfect ending since I had achieved everything I set out to achieve. I understand the frustrations of those who said I didn’t do enough to lift high the flag of Ghana but it was a game and could have been anybody’s chance. I also thought it was the right time for me to leave. At my age, I felt I had to exit the house to allow the younger ones an opportunity to make some hay. With the little I was able to achieve, I felt content.”
The talented showbiz personality, who is currently enjoying his arrival in Ghana at his mother’s residence, said he will be going back to South Africa sometime next week to put finishing touches to his upcoming “passing through” CD, which he is sure, will become a hit.
Sounding quite upbeat, he said: “Ghanaians should brace themselves up for Passing Through. It is going to be a blast from all genres brought together to form one great album.”Counting on the good publicity he gained from the Big Brother show, he said he believes promoting the upcoming CD shouldn’t be a problem at all. Sammi, who was on the verge of signing a mega deal with a telco giant for the promotion of the CD, said, like any good businessman, he is surely going to capitalize on the exposure gained.“I was in the process of finalizing an arrangement with a telecom company for a mega deal when the call from Big Brother came. I am glad that I didn’t take a bad decision after all. Endemol as a production company are big and Big Brother as a product is enormous. If you even get an opportunity of staying in the house for just a day, a show watched all over the continent by a large audience, you surely are lucky. With the exposure gotten, marketing Passing Through should be that,” he said.
Sammi describes Passing Through as a universal album borne out of a dream to unite the world through music. It samples eclectic African, Caribbean and South American genres with subtle traces of reggae, calypso and salsa. It features a breed of mainstream and underground acts like Adane Best, Tony Harmony, Guru, Screw Face and Bless. Songs on the album include: ‘tongue tied’, ‘your matter’, ‘welcome to Ghana’ (which has two versions, one being salsa), ‘sugar bambam, ‘Mara Me Girl’ and ‘water Pumping’. Sammi’s romance with music dates back to the early 2000’s when he debuted on Reggie Rockstone’s ‘night life in Accra’ and Adane Best’s ‘Rabi’.Plus, he has starred on some hit television and radio commercials including the ever popular Kasapreko (burger advert) and the Atongo Interplast series which is still running.
‘The Chancellor’ as he was called back then, hosted ‘Reggae Avenue’ at the then Sunshine Radio, now Choice fm, where he carved a unique identity for himself, one he later used to warm his way to Joy fm, Adom fm, Luv fm, Happy fm, and Hitz fm. He was Ghana’s first representative when the Big Brother reality show made its way onto satellite television channel MNET. He was evicted on August 3, 2003, some 70 days into the 90-day show. With the still running All stars, he was evicted on the 1st of August last month. Now a veteran of BBA, Sammi can reflect on the experience gained and say, “I was just passing through!”
