GMA nominees party in Kumasi

It was a great evening of music performances which surpassed what Kumasi has witnessed in recent times as nominees of the various categories in the tenth edition of the Ghana Music Awards mounted the stage in a huge free concert at the Jubilee Park last Saturday.
Kumasi music fans were indeed entertained in the event that kick started the voting process of this year’s Ghana Music Awards (GMA). And as anticipated, the crowd was indeed thick.
As a first activity of this year’s awards ceremony, there was good sound quality, quality lighting, and great performances as the nominees sang songs they have released in the course of the year which are in contention for awards.
The performers included, Kwaku Gyasi, Christiana Love, Echo, Black Rasta, K.K. Fosu, Lord Kenya, Ofori Amponsah, Okyeame Kwame, Praye and Old Soldier.
Dubbed the nominees jam, the songs the artistes sang were to refresh the memories of music lovers so that when it comes to the voting stage, they would vote for them. The crowd proved very appreciative of the star-studded concert which went on without a hitch.
The show was transmitted live on GTV and it saw the MCs for the night KOD and Bola Ray interspersing the performances with interviews with the nominees.
It was Kwaku Gyasi who opened the night with his “Ayeyi, ahye ma koma ma” and soon enough there were hilarious chorus singing by the crowd with the raising of hands which momentarily made the gathering look like a church crusade.
Gyasi slowly warmed the crowd before Christiana Love joined for them to sing one of the hottest gospel tunes in the country as of now, “Mesu afre me nyame”.
Blending lovely, the duo sang the rendition to the admiration of the crowd and after Gyasi had left for backstage, Christiana Love introduced her own “Me Mma Me Wurenfi”.
Black Rasta sang a catchy medley of his “Barack Obama” song which was enjoyed by the crowd.
Some of the audience began to crowd surf when K. K. Fosu took to the stage. Fosu was in a world of his own as he descended on the crowd with “wo ne me number 1” amongst others.
And then Lord Kenya, true to form, entered the stage and showed he still has a good following. The man who calls himself the “Heavyweight Champion” performed snippets of his old songs such as “sikabaa”, sika mpo mfa ne ho” and ended with his current, “God Dey”.
But for Ofori Amponsah who did not glitter much all other artistes were sensational. It just got kind of boring at the initial stages of his performance but a rendition from his latest “Sampson” was different as the crowd did enjoy it.
The best choreography was seen during the performances of Okyeame Kwame and Praye.
The ever entertaining Okyeame Kwame was at his utmost best and it was fun seeing him do his own thing with his signature dance moves amidst screams and deafening cheers. He sang woso, mepe mma and some of his oldies from the Akyeame days.
When Praye took their turn, the crowd had no choice than to respond to the thrilling gigs of the sensational trio. Their breathtaking stagecraft was simply irresistible and worth all the night sweats. They performed Angelina from the Roll Koll Album which has actually catapulted them to the highest pedestal.
Other songs they performed included “Wodin” (Your name) and shoddy. The trio were indeed very exciting and delight watching.
Old Soldier did the last performance to bring the curtains down for the night as the DJ for the night Billy Ocean did his own thing whilst the crowd moved away after 1am.