KONTIHENE, THE MAN WITH TWO FACE (WHICH ONE SHOULD GHANAIANS IDENTIFY HIM WITH?)

By Tawiah Evans Ghanaian music lovers especially hip- life funs were happy when Kontihene the Asesa hit maker returned to the music scene. More importantly, his come-back album release shows how serious he is, The second in command in the Akan land is trying to use bad publicity unfavourably there by opening himself to public ridicule, which will end him nothing in the end. Bad publicity helps few people and even so, there is a way to go about it professionally and sociologically depending on your personality; who you are, how people think you are, how you see yourself, how you think people see you and finally how you want people to know you.

 Rap music is a nice genre but it becomes boring sometimes without beefs, once again, beef favourer the right pairs like B.I.G&2pac, these two were claiming to be the badest gangsters in the world. Once their identity was clear to their followers, the essence of beefing, which in most instances, meant for gaining popularity, worked perfectly for both of them. On the local front, rappers like Ex-Doe and Chicago, until Kontihene released his Okwaadonto beef track to Obrafour, were the B.I.G and 2pacs of Ghana music. Here again, these two were all on the same level musically and had almost the same identity so, when they decided to diss each other, it really sold them out. As furious as the beef between the first Ewe rappers were, their lyrics were a bit implicit and because of that, DJs and radio presenters could play it on air, even up to date, so wonderfully that whenever a Dj plays ‘Ma Ba,’ the next song appropriate for good mixing transition is ‘Wobeko’ by Chicago. The battle between two rappers, as dangerous and sometime unprofitable as it may be, was a different thing all together with Ghana rap Sofour (Obrafour) and the rap heavy weight Champion (Lord Kenya), the born again man. The nature of their lyrics, thus Obrafour and Lord Kenya, and the implicit nature of their dissing made the beef between O.B and L.K the main medium which advertised their latest albums in those days. But fellow DJs and music lovers, can the same be said about Kontihene and Kwaw Kese?

 I think if you follow the culture of dissing in GH music closely, especially that of Kontihene and the Mad man, your answer will be a big no and a slim yes. The BIG NO: Kontihene and KwawKese are two different people with different personalities, different ideologies and ambitions, which always makes dissing advantageous to one than the other. And in this case the only beneficiary of a beef between the man who can rule any Akan traditional area in the absence of the king/Chief is the self-acclaimed mad man,KwawKese. Kontihene’s first ever dissing track “OKWAADONTO”, was not meant for popularity but, simply out of vengeance and you do me, I can do you better feelings. Though he wasn’t the most influential hip-lifer at the time, he was at his apex in the then Ghanaian music scene, preparing for his musical diminishing returns, the “Oh Noooo” Man like Komla Dumor, paid his entertaining deuce as long as Ghanaian music fans were concerned. His strong appreciation of the old folk music, high-life coupled with his suppose royal affiliation made him the people’s man. Kontihene for instance, added a contemporary flavour to the old ‘madanfo pa beko’ song. Asesa and many other songs from Kontihene, made Ghanaians believe, the Migizigi hit-maker actually deserve and qualify for the name Kontihene, and for that matter, someone who come from a home where manners and ethics are the hallmarks. But Kontihene seems to be confusing Ghanaians: how can the custodian of our culture live a double standard life by saying one thing but practice a different thing at the same time?

THE TWO FACE NATURE OF KONTIHENE A Ghanaian urban gospel rapper and a spoken word artist, Kwaku Rap, said in one of his spoken word titled ‘MY LIFE IS FAKE’ in his delivery, Kwaku said, ‘My life is the real definition of a two face and a two face is the real definition of a hypocritical life’. For some time now, the leader of the Royal Family entertainment can be nick-named I’m better than Kwa kese. Some few weeks ago,KwaKese was shown how dark the barrel of the gun is on Okay FM. In that mouth diarrhoea with AbeikuSantana, Kontihenesaid among other things that he dislike omparing his personality to that of

Kwaw and said, ‘I’m better than KwawKese in everything. Yes everyone is better in a field but not all, and I think one way, Kontihene can be better than his rival are the following: how to insult someone beyond description, how to be unethical, how to close your eyes to traditions and values you were thought at home, and how to disappoint your own fun.

The list of things Kontihene is best at are countless in relations to his personality and his show base life. I know a lot of people will be asking questions that on what basis do I make this analysis? Yes the analysis is based on pure logic that can be derived from what Kontihene said on Okay FM. For instance, he said he comes from a home where manners are the hallmark but this gentle handsome, courteous man ignored the so called hallmark and went on to insult Obrafour for what he never did. Obrafour suffered a great deal of dissing from the traditional man simply because, according to Kontihene, KwawKese at the time was under O.B’s Executioner dairy which feature Kwaw’s break through single ‘Nonsense’.

Though Obrafour told Graphic Showbiz he will not reply the royal rapper but, implicitly replied with ‘Ako (war) in that song it will take only people who scan through lyricsto know who that song was meant for.
The war song from Obrafour has been on replay by DJs and radio presenters from then to now. But Kontihene’s Okwaadonto is so dirty that you can’t play it on air. If you claim to know all the manners in the world but, will follow a mad man when you, naked at the wash room,‘Asem se be!’ If one looks at what Kontihene said on OkayFM and how ironic it sounds, there is much one can say than to say that he ‘KONTIHENE IS EATING BACK HIS OWN VOMIT IN THE NAME OF ATTENTION’, notwithstanding the man’s weakness, don’t forget to get your copy of ‘Etuo mu ye sum,’ because in the darkness of the gun, it is useless to call for sun light, The writer is a freelance Journalist, a blogger, social and religious activist And the C.E.O of RADIO JAM GH online You can contact him; radiojagh@yahoo.com