Pozo Goes Solo

FRANK Mensah was introduced to Ghanaians a few years ago when he and his late pal Tommy Wiredu hit the pop music arena with their chart busting album Susubribi.

He became a household name and was soon to be called “Pozo” after the great 1980s highlife performer Pozo Hayes.

Frank together with Tommy came out with their second album (Fa odo B’odom) which also demonstrated how solid these two gentlemen were when it comes to vocal ability and lyrical formation. Their preference for love themes in their songs was not lost on their fans and other music enthusiasts.

Thus when they parted company after the second album most people wondered if their music careers have ended. But Frank came out heavily last year when he partnered hiplife “showboy” Tic Tac to release his Ghana music Award winning chat topper Menka Biom.

Tommy came out with his first album without Pozo and only a few weeks before the unfortunate demise of his friend, Frank Mensah also released his first solo project.

Frank calls his release Esi with most songs on the album revealing his sleek voice that has earned him a number of fans over the last few years. The title track Esi is a real love song that has the singer praising his lover for the fact she is there for him anytime and vows never to leave her for anybody else. The real strength of this song lies in the instrumentation and the chorus. In a typical highlife style the bass underlies the song till it stops for the chorus to go on to the end.

One song on this album that has been receiving more airplay than any other is Sikyi Henemaa another song that swings into the love vein. Here Pozo talks about a lover who he wishes to spend his life with and he, euphemistically, asks her to poke her finger into his eyes to show how much she loves him. The rhythm to this song is a combination of highlife and some traditional beat that goes like kete. If one listened carefully one would hear that the kon kon kon kon kon of the dawuro is embedded in the song throughout.

The track is spiced with a rap that has a semblance to Yogi Dogy’s raglife style and which is supported by a dondo-like instrument. The song is a good one that has knitted into it all that makes a highlife song tick.

A cursory listening to the songs on the album shows that it is only one track which refrains from talking about love. Apart from Gyae Su which seeks to encourage somebody who seems to be worried to exercise restraint for he is not the only one with problems, all the others sing the praise or pleads to a lover. Frank Mensah Pozo’s first album has been produced by Goodies Music Production