Akon in Ghana to shoot music video

Accra, Aug. 29, GNA - Akon, a Senegalese Musician, is in Ghana to shoot video on his music album "Mama Africa," the musical clip, he said, would go a long way to uplift the Continent's image.

The video production would shoot places like the Elmina Castle, the fishing village in Elmina, the Independence Square, driving shots along some streets in Accra and end at the Boomerang Night Club in Accra to portray both the traditional and modern developments in Ghana and the African Continent as a whole.

The video, Mama Africa would also show the pride of Africa, the people, history, beauty and happiness of the African and a lot of things that gives the real history of the African Continent.

Akon, whose real name is Alianne Thiam, told a press conference in Accra that Ghana was a perfect place to shoot the video because of the country's rich history and culture.

He told the media with Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Minister of Tourism and Diasporan Relations and Mr Samson Kwaku Boafo, Minister of Culture and Chieftaincy Affairs, in attendance, that the song "Mama Africa" fitted perfectly for the whole production. He reiterated the need to use music videos to portray the positive things on the African Continent.

Akon plays Rhythm and Blues (R&B) music and among his popular hit tunes played in Ghana is "Lonely."

Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey noted that entertainment was a huge industry and Ghana would have the opportunity to benefit from it if it were practised professionally.

He said there was also the need for collaboration between the talented people and their managers and video producers, among others to facilitate the production of videos of international standards. "We need to bridge the gap between our musical videos and international videos," he said.

Gill Green, Video Director in the United States of America, who is directing Akon's video in Ghana, noted that the country was talented with great ideas and concepts in terms of film and video production. He said tools like specific HM and highlights were, however lacking. Mr Alex Okosi, General Manager of MTV Network, Africa, said MTV Base had always wanted to project Africa with music videos that portrayed the people and the true African culture to very high international standards.

He expressed excitement about the opportunity to achieve that dream and urged musicians to work hard to enable them to compare with international standards.

Tic Tac, a Ghanaian hip-life musician who is also benefiting from the project, said it was his lifetime dream to work with people like Gill Green and expressed the hope that other Ghanaian musicians would benefit from such projects in the future since a link had been created.