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Music of Thursday, 13 January 2005

Source: ghanamusic.com

Profane Music Is Breeding Immorality

The President of Sunshine Arts, Music and Achievers award (SAMA), Mr. Okyere Bediako says Satan the Devil is using music as another tool to destroy the world and breed immorality in our society. This, he said, was being achieved through the medium of profanity.

According to him, profane music is on the increase whereas the Holy Scriptures, specifically, 2 Timothy 2:16-17 advises us to ?shun profane and avoid idle babble?. Speaking at the launch of the SAMA award in Accra yesterday, he stated that music plays an integral role in human life.

?Music is so powerful, it was able to pull down the great walls of Jericho,? he recounted.  According to him, Ghanaian bureaucrats had always regarded the music industry as mere grounds of entertainment for local consumption, but asserted that the music industry was a multi million dollar business worldwide that promoted tourism and Ghana should not be an exception. He cited South Africa, Congo, Cameroun, Nigeria, Mali and Senegal as other countries that keep the African rhyme and sounds very high on the world music map. 

The President noted that their style is different because they identify areas like highlife, Adowa, Agbadza, Kpanlogo, Damba, gospel, choral and other Ghanaian rhythms that promote our culture. The SAMA awards committee shall liaise with Music and other stakeholders in the music industry to collect and collate data besides organizing media programmes in association with the listening public to select the award winners. 

He appealed to individuals, companies, organizations and all those who love and cherish music as food for the soul, for massive sponsorship to enable them give befitting cash and material awards to the musicians, artistes, and all who in diverse ways helped promote good music.  He announced that the award ceremony would come off in April this year. 

The awards, he said would as well confer posthumous awards on three distinguished Ghanaians superstars like John Evans Kwadwo Bosompem, Terry Bonchaka for hiplife and AAA the shining star Akwasi Ampofo Agyei. Mr. Prince A. Laryea, the humble lion, a musician suggested that the national commission on culture, Musician Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) to set up a music censorship board to censor Ghanaian music and lyrics before recordings for Essiebons Records and Phonogram records in the early 70s and launched the logo for SAMA.