It’s very rare to see a disc jockey being celebrated in Ghana, lest to even think of staging an event, especially in Kumasi where event organization has become a hard nut to crack this year. The low patronage of events in 2017 in the garden city didn’t stop the Supreme Bigger Figure, DJ Slim from having the guts of staging an event— an event which blends A-list musicians with the upcoming. 17th December, 2017 will be a date written in the history books as DJ Slim invaded the city, filling up the …… of Baba Yara Sports Stadium with a turn-up of thousands of people. The Steeze Hub team was present to cover the event, and we bring you a detailed review of how the event went down.
Timing: Although it was inscribed boldly on all the flyers that the event was to commence at 5 p.m., even a newborn could tell that it was just a formality. The culture of Ghanaians, hence the Kumasi audience is to arrive late for a concert. If the time for the event is written as 5 p.m., they read it as 9 p.m. However, the organizers were able to set the place up at …. With a line-up of star-studded performances, the event wasn’t expected to take a couple of hours to end. The people were entertained and kept on their feet till 4:50 a.m when the curtains were closed on the event.
Performances: DJ Slim is known to be a huge force that brings artistes into the limelight. So for him to put up a concert, it made sense that he made the platform an avenue for the upcoming musicians to exhibit their talent to the thousands that had gathered. The stage was opened by hardworking rising acts such as Bantama Kings Club (BKC) artistes Kofi Jamar, Obey and Sketchy, also Boss Bouncy and Slim Biggie YO, Hotboy DNA, Ratty, Amerado, Braa Benk, Ayesem, Lord Paper, and a host of others. These great musicians paved the way for mainstream acts who made sure the people were entertained to full satisfaction, till the list was exhausted.
Ko-Jo Cue and Shaker brought the heat when they performed their solo songs. Eno Barony climbed the stage with Master Garzy and some sexy dancers who made a lucky guy have a memorable night when they twerked on him. Arguably, the one who holds Kumasi music down currently, Flowking Stone came on stage, and proved why he’s a wordsmith and a beast on the mic. He surprised us when he brought along his brother Kunta Kinte. It was a pleasure to witness them perform “Simple” together. He ended by calling out LJ who proved his tongue-twisting abilities and gave the Hip-Hop heads a refreshing moment with his “5th August” track.
The ‘outernational’ guy as he refers himself, Mr Eazi then came through to set the place ablaze with bangers upon bangers. Yaa Pono who I thought would be the last performer delivered as always. He happens to be a frequent collaborator of DJ Slim, so the connection is that deep. Hits after hits, the “Gbee Naabu” hitmaker performed till Slim joined him on stage. The biggest surprise of the night came when Gemini brought out Edem, and together they gave us a special delivery. When we thought all had ended, the ranger, Joey B was called up on stage. Beezy is known for not walking alone, thus he came with Darkovibes, and they sealed the bag of performances excellently.
Stage, Lights and Sound: The stage was large enough to accommodate the musicians, dancers, and whoever they came with. The lights provided were so bright (but not so appreciable to the eye) that even when our camera batteries ran out and the flash lights couldn’t function, we were able to capture the moments successfully. The sound was good enough that the audience at the rare could appreciate it. At a point, I stood at a section and I couldn’t bare the vibrations from the sound. Then I realized the place was designated for people to not stand there. At a point there were some technical hitches that put a pause to the programme but it was resolved immediately. However, I can’t give a complete account of the sound in general, because I was mostly at the stage area.
MCing and Djing: The MCs for the night, El Presidente, Kwame Scientific and Papjay007 did a marvelous job. It’s no joke engaging an audience for that long. El Presidente saved the show by quizzing the audience with an acapella of popular songs when there were technical hitches.
In between the performances, DJ Slim took over the turntables where he delivered a Hip-Hop session, and claimed his throne. DJ Aroma was exceptional that night. The gifted DJ could play an old gospel song and follow it up with a Hiplife song and still excite the crowd. The veteran, DJ Chiefaro also delivered satisfactorily.
We had great show. One that hasn’t been witnessed for a long time. DJ Slim continues to reign supreme. Personally, I think next time he wants to organize such an event he should attempt filling up the stadium. Merry Christmas!
Words by Joseph Aqweci Ofori
