Armstrong Affum, who is well known in the entertainment terrain as Dadie Opanka, has said Ghana is not a village as other people speculate but rather a beautiful country.
The rapper who doubles as a songwriter, in an interview on an Accra-based radio station said, the fact that people face some sort of hardship wherever they find themselves in Ghana, does not make the whole of Ghana a village.
“I was with a friend and he kept on reiterating that ‘Ghana be village’ and I argued with him saying that if, you are in your town, and things do not go well for you does not mean you will call it a village. Because, if care is not taken, that particular country you think is way better than yours will surprise you and it would not be how you thought it will be. Because often than not they will only be broadcasting the neat places to you but then that place may be more than a village, you understand”.
Dadie Opanka, the hit-maker of ‘wedding car’ went on to emphasize that music is his only platform he can use to propagate Ghana in a good light thus his line ” Ghana no be village” in the freestyle rap. He said
“I made up my mind that I have to let people know that this is what Ghana truly is and how do I do that, music is my platform so I need to use music to send that message across so people will understand that Ghana is a country and not a village”.
He went on to note that indeed, there are villages in Ghana, but that does not mean, the whole country is a village like others lightly say.
“I am not saying there are no villages in Ghana because of course there are and those villages are real villages and that we are aware of. But then putting the whole country in that frame is not right, because there is a clear distinction between what a village is and what a country”.
He further stated that this had nothing to do with the famous Dancehall artiste Shatta Wale, since Shatta Wale, in recent times, released a song titled ‘Ghana be village’. He said, if for anything at all, he has great respect for the acclaimed dancehall king and does not intend any banter.
“This has got absolutely nothing to do with Shatta Wale. I just brought it up in my rap verse because of that friend I argued with and not because of what Shatta said. ‘Big ups’ to Shatta Wale though”.
Dadie Opanka is a rapper, performer, poet, composer, and songwriter from Tema, Ghana.
He is one of the top musicians in the country with the most interactive fans and a strong social media influence. He collaborated with one of Ghana’s top artiste, Kwaw Kese to record the hit song, ‘Popping’ in 2012.
In 2012, the song became Best hip-hop Song of The Year at the Ghana Music Awards and has shared the stage with the likes of T-Pain, Mavado, Sarkodie, and many others.
