Akyeame Part Ways

Okyeame Quophi & Okyeame Quame Quite an unusual state of affairs. Fans and lovers of hiplife duo, Akyeame, may not be hearing great tunes again from them. A split is in the air.

Yes, the duo who stirred the hiplife scene in 1999 with their hit tracks ?Mesan Aba?, Obi Yere Ye Obi Mpena?, and have been responsible for more recent hits like ?Menko Medo? are going their separate ways.

In fact, the connection was broken as far back as December last year and from what at least one of them has said, hiplife lovers should not expect a reunion anytime soon.

As to why it has taken this long for the split to be made public, this is what Okyeame Quophi had to say ?We didn?t think it was anybody?s business, especially the media?s whether Akyeame was together or no more. We didn?t want all that media hype that comes with these things with people assuming the worst?.

But what could have happened to cause the break-up of such a successful partnership? On the part of Quophi it was nothing disastrous. ?We got together to form Akyeame to make records and contribute what we can to hiplife and from the look of it we seem to have done that. It?s time to try something different?.

?Again, there was the problem of different interests. Quame wanted to go solo and I wanted something else. There was a problem marrying them together so we sat down and decided that a separation was the answer?.

As to why going solo was the best option, Quophi said that ?you know when you are in a group, you don?t always get things the way you want them. Sometimes you might want something done one way and another might want it another way and you may end up getting pushed to the wall?.

Are Okyeame Quophi and Okyeame Quame still friends? ?Sure we are, said Quophi, ?I mean there is no bitterness. I am at the moment promoting his new album, I play the tracks on air and all that, when he needs help he calls me and when I need help I call him. We are also working on the ?Apam Fofro?, CD with Wayoosi Records which will be released in London in some few months?.

On his part Okyeame Quame sees things differently. ?Akyeame is still around. It?s just hat I have recorded a solo album but I am making sure that Akyeame still remains a group?. Actually the whole plan was that we would both release solo albums and come back together again so Akyeame is still very much together and I am making sure it stays that way.

But he seems to agree with Quophi when he says that they have separate interests. According to him Quophi seems to have a different focus than he does. ?He doesn?t feel the hunger that I feel for hiplife anymore, he has other interests so his interest for hiplife seems to have waned?.

 ?Since we both have individual interests and he does not seem to be ready for what I have in mind, I also cannot sit still and wait until he is ready. Adding jokingly Quame said, ?I will be nearing my mid-life crisis very soon so I have to secure myself before it hits and I cannot sit down and wait forever?.

On a more serious note, he said ?I have responsibilities now, in fact many of them. I have to take care of my brothers among other things, so I have to concentrate on what feeds me and takes care of me. I cannot wait?.

Presently Okyeame Quophi is a rapper, radio presenter, actor and producer and is working on an album. He owns a recording studio and record label Emklan.

Quame has released his debut solo album ?Bohye Ba? also on his own label One Might Entertainment. He also has a track on Obrafour?s Execution Diary titled Opabene. He is currently producing his two brothers who go by the name Gold Coast.

But whose words are fans to believe as to the future of Akyeame? Is it Quophi who says Akyeame is never coming back or is it Quame who says they are still around and we will definitely be hearing of them? Well, time will tell.