Ghanaian Hiplife legend, Okyeame Kwame has disclosed the reasons for his refusal to join the Manifesto Committee on Creative Arts for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
In February 2024, the list of the 16-member committee chaired by Juliet Yaa Asantewaa Asante, the CEO of the National Film Authority, was released.
The members include musicians, actors, entrepreneurs, academics, and government officials involved in the creative arts sector, including Okyeame Kwame and actor Prince David Osei.
However, Okyeame Kwame later released a statement declining the position, citing the fact that he chose to remain apolitical in his views.
Sharing the untold story of how his name was added to the list, Okyeame Kwame narrated how an undisclosed individual had pitched the position to him, to which he initially agreed.
However, upon reflection, he remembered some contractual obligations to remain neutral. He then informed the said individual of his decision to not officially join but to contribute ideas only.
“Somebody called me and said that they wanted me to be part of the team. I said okay at first. Even my children were excited. It felt good. But then I remembered the contracts that I signed with various organizations and in those contracts, I was supposed to remain ‘apolitical’ or ‘neutral’.
“So I called this person and said that I would not officially be joining the team, I could only put my ideas forward. I remember telling that person twice. The person didn’t say anything.”
Okyeame Kwame
Despite this, his name appeared on the list of selected individuals, prompting him to issue a clarification letter stating his non-partisan terms.
“A few days later, my name was on the list of individuals selected to be part of Bawumia’s manifesto committee on creative arts. That is why I had to write a letter to say that I had not agreed to do this on my terms as a non-partisan participant.”
Okyeame Kwame
Okyeame Kwame blamed the situation on the unstable political landscape in Ghana.
He juxtaposed it with that of the United States, where creatives could support a political party openly but the same was not the case for Ghana.
“Does our democracy allow that? In the US, artists can openly support a political party but still get patronized. In Ghana, it’s different here. You can’t support a political party and move on normally. There is no such thing as political neutrality in Ghana.”
Okyeame Kwame
Veteran Muiscian Extols TikTok Music Dance Challenge
Award-winning musician, Okyeame Kwame revealed that the new phenomenon of the TikTok challenge is a new experience, especially in music promotion and content creation.
The veteran musician, born, Kwame Nsiah-Apau indicated the benefits of the TikTok music dance challenge in the music industry.
Okyeame Kwame who believes in the power of TikTok mentioned that one of the things he regrets this year, in the promotion of his new joint, was the absence of the dance challenge on the social media app.
He confessed that he didn’t work that hard and even missed the chance to benefit from the dance challenge of his newly released song.
“I was expecting a bit more in the nominations, but I guess I didn’t work that hard on the song. Honestly, the video came late and I didn’t get more TikTokers to dance on it,” the “Sika” hitmaker noted.
Okyeame Kwame underscored the great effects TikTok is currently playing in the promotion of music in recent times.
“Charley, it is the future and the way forward. Now content creation has replaced just creating an audio or sonic experience. People want to see how people interact with it. Now the person listening to the song can also interpret it the way he wants and can also use it to make their money.”
Okyeame Kwame
He also dismissed claims by TikTokers that they are the sole agents of popularizing music in Ghana, explaining that it plays a role, but doesn’t totally make a song successful.
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