Lumba Concert Cancelled

The crowd which gathered at the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark on Saturday September 6, 2003 for the show that was slated to be the highlight of this summer’s event by one of Ghana's premier artist, popularly known as Daddy Lumba had to be dispersed by the Newark, NJ Riot Police. According to reliable sources close to the artist, rented poor sound equipment rented by the show’s promoters - Kwahuman Association of New.Jersey was to be blamed for the show being cancelled.

Every effort was made by those close to the artist to ensure the show went on as planned in spite of the problem which emerged just a couple of hours before the show was to begin. None of that seemed to help the situation which came down to ultimately canceling the show and re-scheduling to a later date altogether by which time the issue with the said rental equipment between the artist himself and the promoters would have been resolved, in order that concert goers with already purchased tickets may not be short changed or cheated out of a performance by Daddy Lumba. Sources also reveal that the artist was troubled by the whole affair and it angered him to have to cancel on his fans because the promoters refused to rectify the situation, insisting that the equipment was up to par for the performance to go on as scheduled even though it wasn’t.

Mr. Ansong, (the President of Kwahuman Association of New Jersey), Eddie Somuah (Prestige Travel and Tours Promotions) and a Local DJ known as GUCCI Soundz were responsible for the cancellation. They were trying to be CHEAP. I don’t know if this has anything to do with the Kwahu’s. This was not the fault of Daddy Lumba at all. In fact he was there all night trying to make sure the show went on without a hitch, with the help of his sound engineer and guitarist Kwaku Mensah, Papa Owusu of Big Man Productions, (a very good friend of Daddy Lumba) Solomon Krow of AfricanSpice.com and members of the Butterfly Band. Simply put, the Promoters were just being CHEAP. It doesn’t take too much to figure that out.

Where were the Guys that put together the Kojo Antwi Concert? By far, it was the best show in the NY Metro area and it would be unfair for me to begin to draw a comparison between the two because obviously, whoever “ attempted to” put this show didn’t know what the heck they were doing or it was a deliberate attempt to cut costs in order to make more money. I recommend to those “so called promoters” to consult with them next time they plan on doing anything here in New Jersey and other places; because their show was a hit in the bullseye. In fact they are above the best. I doubt if the show would have been cancelled had they been involved.

Speaking to Daddy Lumba after the cancelled show was a sad scene, he said he was ready to give his best for the NJ fans, for it was his first time that he was going to perform in the state. His advice was to let those who know the business handle it, rather than anybody trying to be a promoter, because he refuses to perform without the right equipment, and he believes as a long time professional in this business and the BEST, he will not compromise his image whatsoever. He also said thank you to all friends who were there to support him when it was time to make that dreadful decision on that fateful night.

This show came on the heels of another concert by Kojo Antwi on August 2 at Newark Symphony Hall. No doubt the show was a resounding success judging from the crowd turnout. Credit for the success of the show was given to the promoters Big Man Production, Africanspice.com, First class transfer and Universal Shipping who went the extra mile to ensure everything went smoothly right down to the last final detail of security to ensure the crowd's safety and enjoyment of the show. Naturally the crowd expected that Lumba's show would be equally successful. Unfortunately, the promoters underestimated the effect that such integral part of the show - Sound Equipment would have on the concert as a whole. This we all know now resulted in the cancellation of what would have been the performance of a lifetime for some of Daddy Lumba's fans who traveled far and from many places to see him perform live and in person. Stay tuned for more truth inside out, details and what really happened, and events leading to this cancellation soon from AfricaUSA ShowBiz News.