Celebrated Ghanaian musician, Okyeame Kwame, has revealed that he may ditch rap in his old age and grab the bamboo flute, popularly known as ‘atentenben’ in Ghana.
Realizing that rap requires more energy, Okyeame Kwame fears he might not be able to actively do rap when he is older, so he is currently learning how to play the flute.
Okyeame Kwame disclosed that he has been learning this new skill for the past four months.
“Currently, I picked up a flute – ‘atentenben’, and I have been playing it for maybe four months, and I am learning to play ‘atentenben’ because very soon I will be old and weak and I still want to do music. Rap is tough on the bones. I want to be able to sit down and collect money from the Europeans and play it to them.
“I will add a little drama, women with big ‘nyash’ in rafias and kente, and create a certain persona, and all that I am doing is to play the ‘atentenben’ to them.”
Okyeame Kwame
Okyeame Kwame has matured in the music space over the years. He has grown from being a rapper to a musician who understands the rudiments of music and applies them in his compositions.
After going solo, he has become more melodic even in his rap delivery, merging singing with spoken word.
His new journey of learning how to play a musical instrument (atentenben) is likely to win him a lot of spurs and cement his artistry in the music industry as one of the consummate musicians Ghana has produced.
Okyeame Kwame has achieved remarkable feats in the music industry as he has distinguished himself from his peers with a brand that resonates with discerning music lovers.
He has songs such as ‘Woara’, ‘Woso’, ‘Anaa’, ‘Made in Ghana’, and ‘No Competition’, among others.
The ‘atentenben’ is a bamboo flute from Ghana that can be played diatonically or chromatically.
Although originally used as a traditional instrument (most often in funeral processions), beginning in the 20th century, it has also been used in contemporary and classical music.
Several players have attained high levels of virtuosity and are able to play Western as well as African music on the instrument.
The instrument originates from Tweneduruase in the Kwahu Plateau of south-central Ghana. It was first popularized throughout the nation by the Ghanaian musicologist, Ephraim Amu.
It was also featured in the Pan-African Orchestra led by Nana Danso Abiam, and Dela Botri, a former member of the Orchestra, is among Ghana’s foremost exponents of the instrument. Since 2004, Botri has combined the ‘atentenben’ with hiplife music on his recordings.
Rapper Recounts a Spontaneous Experience
Ghanaian rapper, Okyeame Kwame recounted one spontaneous thing he has ever done in his life.
Kwame said while in the United States of America, he kissed a lady he had not met before on a bus.
“I was on a Greyhound bus from New York to Columbus and there was a white girl by my side on the bus and then before we got to Columbus, we had already gone into deep kissing and petting.”
Okyeame Kwame
According to the ‘Faithful’ hitmaker, this incident happened in 2001. “I didn’t even take her number. When we both went off, that was it,” he added.
Kwame is married to Annia Nsiah-Apau, with whom, he shares two children: Sir Kwame Bota and Sante.
A lot of people have expressed admiration for their marriage and how they carry themselves both on social media and in real life as a couple.
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