Lucky Mensah - Keeps The Flame Of Highlife Burning

At a time when all directions of Ghanaian music seem to be gearing only towards hiplife, one of the few musicians who has stuck to highlife music over the past 12 years is Lucky Mensah.

In 1993, Lucky released his maiden album Nsawa Bo, an all highlife album which according to him did not hit as he expected. But this did not deter him from releasing yet another highlife album, Wope a Hwe, in 1995.

Like his first, Wope a Hwe did not do any better on the music scene and this compelled him to take a rather long break until 2001 when he released Agooji Baby, a refreshing album which had so many hit tracks including the very popular Mene Wo Nni Asem Biara.

Perhaps Mene Wo Nni Asem Biara was his gateway to success because since then he has come out with nothing but very danceable and popular highlife music on both his Brofre Nie and Aduu Sumo Akwadu albums.

At the 2005 Ghana Music Awards, his song, Aduu Sumo Akwadu which is also the album title of his fifth album, was adjudged the best highlife song of the year.

Still fresh in the oven and yet to be launched by Lucky Mensah, sometime next month is Old School. Though yet to be unveiled, Lucky said that the lead song on the album, Old School is already being played on air by some radio stations.

“I guess it is a good sign and only shows that highlife lovers will love it just as they did the previous ones.”

Old School is made up of nine danceable highlife songs and an instrumental of the first song Old School.

As typical of Lucky, all the songs on this album have the backing of strong instrumentals such as drums and trumpets that automatically make the listener want to dance.

With songs such as Sweety Djole, Atiaa Tina, Menni Obiaa and Nakai Noo Ni, they all have a special appeal to a loved one and are sang in both Twi and Ga languages.

On these songs, he sings in a rather familiar voice that is very peculiar to him. He sounds relaxed and passionate which makes very obvious what his message is about - a man in love.

Wope a Hwe, opens the other side of the album - Side B’. It starts with a line of acapella which strongly pronounces his love for a lover.

Lucky insinuates in this song by saying that he is too in love to notice what gossips and observers are saying. He sings “....wo behwe a hwe, wonhwe so a yi wani” (watch if you can and look away if you cannot).

Also on side B’ of Old School is the Twi version of Nakai Noo on side A’ of the album. The two have the same beats and lyrical message with the only difference being the language in which they were sang.

Other songs on Lucky’s latest release are Mpatam and Evil That Men Do. While Mpatam is a rather slow one that depicts an uncontrollable nostalgia for a loved one, Evil That Men Do, as the name suggests has a very strong message on good morals.

Sang in both English and Twi, it warns that certainly no evil doer will go unpunished since the evil that men do lives after them.

On the whole, Old School is packed with a series of soothing highlife tunes that has something for the young and old lovers of highlife music.