Showbiz Players in Sekondi-Takoradi unhappy with VGMA for poor execution of Castro tribute

• Posted on July 5, 2021July 5, 2021
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Showbiz players in Sekondi-Takoradi where Hiplife Artiste Castro hails from are not happy with the execution of the tribute performance put together by Charter House, organizers of Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA).

As part of remembering Castro on the awards night on Saturday 26^th June, the organizers of VGMA contracted budding talent Kurl Songs to lead the performance of Castro’s songs. He was supported by Kofi Kinaata and Sarkodie who had songs with Castro.

During the performance, Kurl Songs struggled to mime most of the songs of Castro as some of his Fante diction were out of place. Unhappy with the performance, Showbiz Players in Sekondi-Takoradi took to social media to express their displeasure.

Speaking to The Chronicle, Nana Kwame the Master Planner, the host of OC Showbiz Review on Skyy Power FM who also doubles as the General Manager of West Gold Radio quizzed, “Why Kurl Songs? There is Westside Legacy, a group of Artistes which Castro was even part of so if you are paying tribute to him, you should consider that group or Artistes from the Western Region who could have done a better job. Kofi Kinaata’s side of the performance was great because he knew and has been with Castro so it tells it all. ”

“If you observed, Kurl Songs performance was flat and he struggled to perform Castro’s songs. I see this as an insult to the region as a whole. It is not too good for us. Do they want to say we don’t have the Artistes to do this or what? We are not happy with that poor performance” Nana Kwame added.

Emmanuel Ampaabeng, the CEO of Western Music Awards also told The Chronicle that “I was surprised that such a tribute performance did not include any of the Westside Legacy Artistes. They know Castro’s songs back to back and these are people who were inspired to do music by Castro’s songs so they can execute to perfection this tribute. Don’t you think it was also an avenue to market new talents to the country? The tribute performance was poorly executed. Kurl Song couldn’t even mention some of the Fante words.”

The host of ‘E Xtra’ on Space FM in Tarkwa, Joseph Frimpong Kwarteng popularly known as Opapy Joe had a different view of the assertions of his colleague Showbiz Players. According to him, “it had to do with the disconnect. Kurl Song was a square peg in a round whole for the performance but mind you, Castro is a national asset so any Artiste from any part of the country could have been done it but to perfection.”

“The whole thing was finding an Artiste to do it perfectly not just Artiste(s) from Western Region” Opappy Joe added.

The Evidence Acts of Ghana, 1975, Section 3 states that a person can only be declared legally dead after seven years by a court, where the person in question has not been seen or heard from in seven years despite diligent and persistent efforts to find him.

Real name Theophilus Tagoe, Castro together with Janet Bandu, a video vixen mysteriously disappeared on 6th of July, 2014 at the Beach in Ada. According to reports the two, while on holiday with the Gyan brothers went for a jet ski trip to the Ada Beach resort and estuary where they went missing.

Author: Nana Kwesi Coomson (www.233times.net) @nkcoomson on Twitter/Instagram