Hail Kwaw Kesse, King Of The Street

The ‘King of the Street’ turned King of the 9th MTN Ghana Music Awards 2008 last Friday night and said he was not surprised to have picked the highest number of awards at the event because he has worked very hard since the beginning of last year.

Kwaw Kesse won the topmost prize of Artiste of the Year and three other awards at the event. His Mad Time Entertainment label had earlier won the Record Label of the Year honour.

“If you cast your mind back to early last year, you would concede that everything was about Abodam,” Kesse told Showbiz in an interview after the awards night.

“On the radio, television, in the newspapers and all over, people were talking about Abodam. I was on top of my game and my good works got me the recognition.”

Speaking in a somber, reflective mood contrary to the hip, upbeat disposition he usually exhibits on stage, Kesse said he was grateful to all the people who have helped to get him this far.

He dedicated the first award he received on Friday night to street children and orphans and intends to visit an orpharnage to interact with and cheer up the children there with a few ‘goodies’.

He also wants to go to his hometown, Agona Swedru, to present his awards to the chiefs and people for them to realise what progress a son of the land is making in his career.

“More importantly, I want to release as quickly as I can, an album by Konfi, a group comprising three young men signed to the Mad Time Entertainment label. Those guys have been in my camp for a while. They are really good and I think it is time for the public to hear them.”

Kesse’s label winning the Record Label of the Year triggered a boycott of the awards night by an aggrieved members of the Ghana Association of Phonographic Industry (GAPI).

Reacting to the Association’s stance, Kese said some of the members are only music distributors who do not seem to properly understand the functions of a record label. To him, it is time for recording artistes to start asserting some degree of independence for themselves.

“I really feel sad for artistes like Ohemaa Mercy and Cee who were prevailed upon by other people to stay away from the awards night. It is the artistes that the public identify with so they must be there to express the joy they feel inside for being appreciated by the public.

“Ofori Amponsah was there because he releases his songs on his own label and nobody can push him around. I think artistes must relate well to their managers and not allow themselves to be controlled by producers and distributors.”

Kesse says it has been a hectic year for him and he would take a break soon for a month’s private visit to the United States.

He would, however, do a show in Rocky Dawuni’s Afro-Funky nightclub in California and also attend the final event of this year’s American Idol competition.

His international publicity manager has also arranged for him to visit some recording studios in New York.

For now, The King of the Street is in the mood for a party to celebrate his feat at the 9th MTN Ghana Music Awards and he is throwing one at the Boomerang Nite Club in Accra on Saturday night to thank everyone who has helped bring the Abodam man from Agona Swedru to so much prominence.