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Ghana singer and songwriter, Becca has admonished African women to
actively reject any negative stereotypes placed on them by their
communities and called on them to work hard to achieve their goals.
Speaking during an intermission at the 'Becca Girl Talk' concert on
Saturday, the multi-award winning artiste maintained that African
women had lived with the tag of being 'backward' for too long.
'It is time for us to get rid of the mindset. We are African women. I
am an African women and i am not backward. Actually we are forward.
That is how we should see ourselves. Ladies, you are fantabulous.'
The songstress, born Rebecca Akosua Acheampomaa Acheampong, also
encouraged the audience to believe in the 'Girl Talk' movement because
it was a cause aimed at pursuing the betterment of African women.
The 'Becca Girl Talk' has for the last three years established itself
a women-only event aimed at bringing women from all walks of life
together to share ideas and network. The 2014 edition of the concept
was extended to a 3-day fair and concert and was officially opened by
Deputy Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Dzifa Gomashie
on December 18. Organised under the theme 'the making of a woman', the
2014 edition featured ' The Women Fair', an all women forum and a
music concert.
Girl Talk Concert
Despite the relative success of the fair and forum, it was the concert
that served to be the crowning glory of Becca Girl Talk this year.
Featuring multiple collaborations with several of Ghana's most
sought-after artistes, Becca gave patrons a night to remember.
Nana Ama McBrown and Prince David Osei were the first stars to mount
the stage with the former serving a hot menu of what was to happen in
the over three hours that were the follow. The latter, was merely
eye-candy.
The Kora award winning singer opened her show with a performance with
'ageless' Akosua Agyapong and Mzbel in an act reminiscent of the
Madonna, Britney Spears & Christina Aguilera performance at the MTV
Video Music Awards in 2003. The trio however, chose hugs over the
overly emotional moments shared over a decade ago.
The stage was then invaded by 3 men who chose between hooded jackets
and a bouquet of flowers to hide their identity. Frank Osei, known
within the entertainment community as Wutah PV, kicked things off
with a rather 'affectionate' rendition of his hit single, 'love of my
life'. Akwaboah, in a black hooded jacket, followed up with 'Nsroma'
which got the ladies in the National Theatre screaming with
excitement. That excitement however, reached fever pitch when Kwabena
Kwabena strolled onto the stage in his red shorts and a bouquet of
flowers. It was electric; and the ladies were loving it.
Since there cannot be an all-women's show without an emotionally
charged, teary eyed moment, the organisers allowed a young man from
Charter House to propose to his girlfriend. Amid shouts of "kiss,
kiss, kiss", the young man spewed some well-rehearsed lines from the
heart and walked away with a bride-to-be.
When Becca took the liberty of hitting the right notes on fellow
songstress, Efya's 'little things', it was only a matter of time
before she (Efya) returned the favour. And oh what a favour that was.
Not only did the eccentric female singer command the Becca's 'African
woman' song, she sprung a surprise of her own when London-based
Off-Da-Ground (ODG) Records artiste, Itz Tiffany, took to the stage
with a very well choreographed 'adowa' (traditional dance style of
Akans in Ghana) sequence. The ladies in the auditorium were in full
voice at this moment, cheering and clapping without a reservation in
the world.
The tempo was turned up a notch further when Ghanaian gospel music
group No Tribe joined Becca on stage. Though it was hard to believe
Becca's shock at having the group's leaders Nana Kweku Osei, better
known as Nacy, and his friend, Lord Bondzie-Amissah on stage with her,
their performance shocked no one. They did not disappoint their
numerous fans and even called them on stage for a dance session.
Hiphop and hiplife music producer and performer EL, then sent the
ladies in the auditorium screaming once again when he was introduced
as the surprise act for the night. Dressed in a white jacket with his
trademark baseball cap and sunglasses, the 'ayayaa' hit maker further
cemented his place in the hearts of his female fans. His message to
the ladies after his heated performance was that, he was still single.
Trigmatic, born Enoch Oduro, moved things along with Becca as he
grooved to their hit single, move. The award winning rapper appeared
to hold nothing back when he got the chance to dance behind Becca.
Becca's figure-hugging dress must have had something to do with it.
The night was truly one to remember for all patrons and was worth
every dime paid for it.
Real Talk
The night however did not go without a few hitches. The event started
over 45 minutes late.
Whether it was due to the small number of people who showed up on time
or the unpreparedness of the organisers is yet to be seen.
The long delays in the initial sections of the show also took
something away from the event unfortunately.
However, that is probably stretching things. The show was great when
it took off eventually and the stage was well designed and crafted.
The band was awesome from start to finish and gave the event its pace
and life.
One cannot help but agree with Becca when she says the Girl Talk
concept must grow beyond herself and envelope women as well. She
begins touring with Efya in 2015 with the aid of Roverman productions
and thus might not have the time and space to pull off the fifth
edition of the show.
The onus no lies with the organisers to pull one more Girl Talk out of the hat.
Credit: Citifmonline.com
