Nana Quame challenges Ofori Amponsah

Artiste Nana Quame, winner of the 2003 Best Male Vocal title at the Ghana Music Awards and easily one of Ghana’s most talented highlife artistes, has thrown an unusual punch at his colleague musician, Ofori Amponsah.

“If you want to know who is better, put the two of us on stage and give us a live band. If he beats me, I’m gonna quit music. I’m not bluffing; I respect him but he’s no better than I am”, Nana Quame said on a television programme last Saturday.

The host of GTV “Showbiz” programme, Prince Tshegah, had asked him what looked like a provocative question. “A couple of years ago” the host said, “you were arguably the hottest voice in music. But this time round,’ Ofori Amponsah has won the hearts of Ghanaians and it looks like he’s the best. Do you believe that you’re better than Ofori Amponsah?”

Without batting an eyelid, Nana Quame gave a cool answer. “Yes, I’m better than Ofori Amponsah. You said that I won the Male Vocal award in 2003. Remember I competed with the likes of Kojo Antwi and Daddy Lumba and I won it. It tells you what I can do.”

He said that he gives a lot of respect to Ofori Amponsah but if Ofori will be honest to himself, he has to accept that he owes much of his success to the support he has received from producers such as Big Ben.

Nana Quame said he had come this far largely by his own effort. “I’ve been in music for 10 years. I’ve been there, I’ve seen it, I’ve done it”, he said.

It is not known whether Ofori Amponsah will take up the challenge to meet Nana Quame on stage one-on-one but a quick telephone call to a member of Ofori Amponsah’s management team drew a guffaw at the suggestion and said that currently they are preparing for a big show this month and therefore cannot consider Nana Quame’s proposal immediately.

That big show, unveiled last Friday, has been described as a celebration of local Ghanaian music and encouragement for the continuous performance and production of live-band music.

Addressing the media at an impressive launch, Miss Anitabel Asante of Charterhouse and Events Manager of the programme, said “Charterhouse has joined hands with one of Ghana’s most promising young Highlife musicians, Ofori Amponsah to firmly establish an annual show titled Ghana Rocks with Ofori Amponsah and friends! The show is going to be an annual Christmas show which is designed to be the ultimate platform for all successful Ghanaian musicians to perform with a live band”.

She said the show will feature a number of local artistes such as Kofi B, Shasha Marley, Daasebre Gyamena, Kwaw Kesse, and Jeff Bogolobogo from La Cote d’Ivoire to perform his popular “Hei, Alhaji”.

The show will climax with Ofori Amponsah who will shake the house and entertain his fans for about an hour with a live band.