Hamamat's showbiz exploit and her role in Sarkodie's near Konvict Muzik signing

Hamamat Montia, known mononymously as 'Hamamat', first knocked on the door of stardom in 2006 when she auditioned for season 4 of CharterHouse's Miss Malaika Ghana beauty pageant.

Right from the beginning of the pageant, the then 18-year-old high school graduate stood out among the contestants. In view of this, it would have been a travesty if she had not been adjudged the winner at the finals of that edition of Miss Malaika Ghana.

The maturity the Achimota School alumna showed during her reign as Malaika queen proved that maturity isn't tied to age; one could be 18 and just as composed and mature as a retiree. After all, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, according to the Bible, began his ministry at the age of 12.

Immediately after handing over to her successor – Laurie Naa Lamle Lawson (Miss Malaika Ghana 2007), Hamamat went into fashion modelling and also participated in other beauty contests including the 2008 edition of M-Net Face of Africa (formerly Nokia Face of Africa), a defunct continental model talent search reality TV show in South Africa, where she was one of the two representatives of Ghana.

Although she made it to the grand finale, which was screened live on DStv's M-Net channel, it was her compatriot Kate Tachie-Menson who won it for Ghana.

On her return to the country, Hamamat continued to trade her extraordinarily beautiful looks for a modelling career that promised to take her to the highest echelon of the fashion world.

The Bolgatanga native subsequently landed a few ambassadorial deals and appeared in Ghanaian television advertisements. Her stunningly beautiful face also adorned billboards and other forms of advertising materials and formats.

After modelling locally for a short while, she began to yearn for the opportunity to relocate to the iconic New York City (NYC) in the United States of America (USA), in pursuit of her "American dream".

It is worth noting that it has always been the burning desire of fashion models around the world to ply their trade in the famous American megacity (NYC). Hamamat was, therefore, just trying to jump on the bandwagon at the time.

It is indeed safer to swim in familiar waters than in uncharted territories, which may be swarming with hidden dangers. Hence, when Hamamat made her intentions to emigrate to the USA known to her close kith and kin, some of them advised her against it, as they felt that the place would be a bigger and dangerous river for her to swim in.

But as ambitious and daring as she had always been, the Ghanaian damsel damned all consequences and dived straight into the 'crocodile pond' of world-class supermodels.

In NYC (New York City), Hamamat reunited with Oluchi Onweagba, whom she (Hamamat) had met in South Africa while contesting in the M-Net Face of Africa show. The eminent Nigerian supermodel was one of the judges on the pan-African beauty reality TV show, having won the very first edition herself in 1998.

Oluchi was well connected in the global fashion industry, and had always opened international doors for her fellow African models; which was why as part of the winning prize packages for the M-Net Face of Africa during her (Oluchi's) time on the show as a judge, the eventual winners were signed to her O Model Agency (later rebranded to O Model Africa) – a South African-based modelling agency with offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

It is in view of this that when Hamamat safely landed in NYC, she did not hesitate to knock on the door of the Nigerian fashion icon to announce her presence in the 'Big Apple' (a colloquial name for New York City).

It cannot be gainsaid that the American fashion industry is the roughest and toughest one for models to break into. But once they do, through tenacity of purpose, it is by far the most lucrative in the world.

As a result of that, by relocating to the USA, Hamamat had stepped into a new world of opportunities, rewards, fame, and fortune. And with the gift of experience and courage behind her, the talented model seemingly had the gravitas to 'colonise' this new territory (the USA).

Not even the brash presence of seasoned and world-renowned supermodels dampened down her courage. The lass was simply poised to conquer and rule the fashion world like an empress.

In a twinkling, the former Miss Malaika Ghana winner became the toast of the fashion industry in the USA. In fact, her arrival was a welcome breeze to an industry that had been gasping for fresh talent. Whether it was by dint of hard work, prayer, luck, destiny, or 'voodoo', Hamamat was able to work with the high and mighty in the fashion industry.

As if mandated by fate, she strutted her stuff on the catwalk with queenly gaits at prestigious fashion shows, sometimes attended by Hollywood glitterati, in the USA and beyond.

Later on, she pitched camp at the camp of famed musician Akon's Konvict, where she dedicated her body and soul to the company's clothing line known as Konvict Clothing (or Konvict Apparel).

While there, Akon expressed deep interest in signing music artistes from Africa on his Konvict Muzik record label. Accordingly, she (Hamamat) tirelessly pitched her countryman Sarkodie (who was then fairly 'new' on the Ghanaian music scene) to Akon and his team for consideration.

The Konvict Muzik team initially rejected the Ghanaian musician. After Hamamat had shown them the official music video to his (Sarkodie's) "Borga" song on YouTube, however, they suddenly became interested in working with the youngster.

According to insiders, the label's executives, including Akon, were gobsmacked to have seen such an MTV-standard music video from a young African artiste – a video entirely shot in Ghana by multiple award-winning Ghanaian video director George "Gyo" Gyimah of Phamous Philms.

Akon and his team – made up of Babs (a Konvict Muzik executive of Ghanaian extraction) – travelled to Ghana afterwards in their quest to enlist Sarkodie's interest.

Akon was so eager to sign the Ghanaian rapper that he prematurely announced in a media interview that he (Sarkodie) would soon be part of his label. But alas, the deal shockingly did not happen.

Nonetheless, Sarkodie maintained a cordial relationship with Hamamat; perhaps having in mind that if not for her, Akon and his team probably would not have known him, let alone considered signing him on to Konvict Muzik.

Shortly after that episode, the vivacious supermodel exited the camp of Konvict, and then mysteriously disappeared from the showbiz (show business) industry.

It later turned out that she had relocated to Finland at the behest of her then Finnish boyfriend by the name Vesa Petteri Keskinen. Suffice it to add, Hamamat had moved to the northern European country to swim joyfully in the ocean of love with her filthy-rich 'white' boo.



She had captured Vesa's heart with her ebony-black beauty and sunny personality, and had possibly placed a 'password' across it to block other ladies/women from logging into it.

Thus, the Helsinki-based businessman was so madly in love with the Ghanaian beauty. And being a young black lady dating one of the country's wealthiest businessmen, their relationship attracted lots of public and media attention.

Though the average black person faces 'racism' in white societies, the reverse was the case for the dusky supermodel in Finland. As reportedly the only black person living in the Nordic nation at the time, Hamamat was idolised and lionised by the Finnish population.

She had so much stature in the country that everywhere she went, she caused heavy human and vehicular traffic. People swarmed around her like bees, 'begging' for a photo opportunity. Actually, a chunk of the citizenry was seeing a dark-skinned human being for the first time; a very stunning one, for that matter!

Life for the Ghanaian belle in the European nation was like living in the Big Brother house; she had no privacy. And that was how Ghana's Hamamat Montia became a national attraction as far afield as the Republic of Finland.

Unfortunately, the relationship could not stand the test of time. Just as a 'biologist' would jilt a 'physicist' when the 'chemistry' between them fades, it was the same scenario for Vesa and Hamamat.

Their celebrated interracial amorous relationship irreparably and irreconcilably broke down just after 15 months (1 year, 3 months), with Vesa later accusing her of 'stealing' from him, blah blah blah!

It was a hellish time for the "black Barbie", especially after relocating back to her country, Ghana, and all gossipy eyes were piercingly staring at her like Big Brother cameras.

Hamamat's messy breakup with her white boyfriend, apparently, affected her zeal to model again in the glamour industry. Consequently, she decided to disconnect from the spotlight so as to keep a low profile.

Nothing had been heard about her until years later, when she surprisingly re-emerged on the scene, albeit lowly, as a shea butter entrepreneur. While in her self-imposed 'exile', the former model realised how there had always been a locked-up demand for quality and exquisitely packaged products from the shea tree, which she intended to unlock with her own brand of shea butter cream and locally-made skincare products.

To say that she has been making impressive strides in that regard would obviously be stating the obvious.



The model-turned-entrepreneur also dabbled in writing upon her return to the local scene. She published a children's book titled "Zuzu and Sasa: My New Baby Sister". The book highlights the everyday adventures of two Ghanaian sisters named "Zuzu and Sasa". Hamamat at the book launch, which was held at the Accra International Press Centre in 2016, said she was inspired by her children, named Zuri (Zuzu) and Safari (Sasa), to write it.



Beyond venturing into the business of shea butter and authoring a book, Hamamat also set up a charity organisation called Africa Eats Now, whose core mission was to reduce malnutrition throughout Africa. She and her team occasionally organised charity events for street children, et cetera, et cetera.

As a 'traditionalist', she has also been strenuously and passionately challenging and changing the prevailing notion of beauty over the years, encouraging her fellow black/African women to ditch Eurocentric beauty standards and embrace themselves, warts and all: their natural hair and skin complexion.

Circa 2019, when the former beauty queen opened her Hamamat African Village at Airport Residential Area in Accra, which houses her now popular shea butter museum and traditional spa, her longtime friend Sarkodie was one of the first few folks to have paid a visit to the establishment.

With his video team in tow, the ace musician documented his visit on social media ostensibly to spotlight her business venture.

And since that high-profile visit by famous American YouTuber IShowSpeed last January, there has been an international spotlight on Hamamat and her shea butter brand and spa enterprise.

Moreover, she was recently appointed by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture as a culture ambassador – an ambassadorial role she rightly and rightfully deserves, as she had always been a great ambassador of culture, fashion, and arts in general.

It is a huge understatement to say that the young, astute entrepreneur takes great delight in promoting Ghana and Africa online, leveraging social media platforms like Instagram.

For the younger folks, Hamamat is probably just another "Johnny Just Come" (or JJC) on the local showbiz scene. However, no one who has keenly been following the local scene since 'Adam & Eve' would argue that the ageless stunner is a veteran and a veritable bag of experience. As a matter of fact, she has seen and done it all, both at home and abroad.

In a country where the title of 'legend' is cheaply and loosely thrown around like confetti, describing her as such would be understating her mighty contributions. She is simply the doyenne of Ghana's fashion/modelling scene.

If ever a book is written to highlight the great exploits of Ghanaian showbiz personalities and their contributions to the local industry, Hamamat Montia's name will definitely occupy several paragraphs, pages, and chapters.