He is one artiste who risked his music career to give unwavering support to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and President Nana Akufo-Addo so it is only natural for one to expect that Highlife artiste, Kwabena Kwabena will reap the fruits of his labour now that the party is in power.
But that does not appear to be so; he seems to have been left out while others are now enjoying all the ‘goodies.’ Last month, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture unveiled 50 tourism ambassadors mainly made up of celebs to lead a campaign to sell Ghana’s tourism to the world but he was not included on that list.
He celebrated his birthday with Dancehall artiste, Shatta Wale on Tuesday, October 27 but the ‘Dancehall King’ got all the attention from the presidency and of course that momentous meeting with the President at the Flagstaff House .
However, Kwabena Kwabena said he has taken it all in stride and he is not peeved at all by the seeming neglect when he spoke with Graphic Showbiz.
“God rewards the good deeds of people and that is what I’m looking forward to. At least, I have accomplished my aim of campaigning for a better party to govern the country. That is enough satisfaction for me.
“Besides, my career is still at its peak and I’m thankful to God that it still feeds me and I don’t need to depend on anyone,” he said.
He also claimed he did not care about not being selected as a tourism ambassador. “I don’t think I’m the right person to answer that question. Those who selected the ambassadors should have a better explanation on why I wasn’t included. I think I have all the qualities to take up such a role but unfortunately, I wasn’t selected,” he stated.
Kwabena Kwabena has had a wonderful career since got his big break in 2004 with Asor which featured Kontihene. He has a number of hit songs including Do No Bi, Me Ne Woa, Adult Music, Begye Me, Engya Me Ho and Bue Kwan.
In spite of the success he has enjoyed, Kwabena Kwabena is not happy with the poor structuring of the creative industry. His expectation is for the NPP government to put in place policies that will benefit players in the industry.
“This is the main reason why I put my career at risk to campaign for the party. It shouldn’t just be about me but the whole music industry. There must be the right policies to push musicians to the next level to compete favourably on the market.
“There are a lot of problems in the industry that need to be tackled and I’m looking forward to this government making the arts and creative industry a priority. It’s a young government now but at the end of the four-year mandate, there should have been results from good policies initiated,” he said.
Currently promoting his new album, Ahyase, which was unveiled last Wednesday, Kwabena Kwabena is confident this album will bring him acclaim like his previous ones.
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