GH Music Like Public Toilet-APlus

He has a distinctive knack for commenting on what is current in Ghanaian society in his songs and A Plus says the music business in Ghana at the moment is like a public toilet.

He thinks the music scene here is a very difficult terrain to operate in and salutes those who are sticking in there and managing to make a living solely out of making music.

“Sometimes you get so frustrated that you want to just leave it and find something else to do. The music scene is really like a public toilet. Those in it want to get out while those outside want to get in.”

A Plus has been known for about a decade now for the unique style of social commentary in his music and his occasional forays into stand-up comedy.

In a recent interview with Showbiz, he pointed out that though making money from music in Ghana is difficult due to the lack of  certain appropriate structures, the situation is compounded by the wide access to the Internet.

“ I hear the gospel musicians sell a bit but it is not possible in today’s Ghana to make ends meet just by making music and  selling it on compact discs.

“What you may have to do  in music here now to make some money is to get some live shows, endorse products, offer your music as ringtones to telecommunication companies or sell on the Internet. That’s why I’m not too much concerned about making money from the music I do.”

A Plus’ latest musical work is titled Ye Ke Ka (It is being rumoured). It touches on current matters like whether Jerry Rawlings would campaign for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in this election year, the Alfred Woyome saga, Nana Addo ‘pissing’ at certain  places  and footballer Mario Balotelli’s famous hot temperament.

Though the money may not be coming from his brand of social commentary music, A Plus says he is happy with the kind of attention he gets from all sections of the society about his music. He started with   Freedom of Speech 1 & 2 in 2001 and has since added Agyegon, A Letter To Parliament, Excuse Me, Kokonsa Radio and Ye Ke Ka which was released about a month ago.

“The songs have done me a lot of good because they put me on the level of the senior journalists we have in town. After all,  I only put a beat to the things they have been saying in the newspapers and on radio.

“People call me from all over the country to suggest what I could put in my songs and friendly politicians ‘warn’ me not to say anything about them. It feels good to know that people value what I say.”

According to A Plus, though he touches a lot on politics in his recordings, he does not see himself as pitching for any particular party or individual in his work. To him, it is best for someone like him to walk the middle ground in order for people of all political shades to listen to him.

He plans to launch an ‘I Support Peace’ campaign that would travel all over country to urge for peaceful elections.

For his upkeep which he knows cannot come from making only music, A Plus runs an events management company called Konsule Entertainment which organized the Food and Music Festival at the Trade Fair Centre in Accra late last Year.

He also does stand-up comedy whenever the chance comes his way and had the A Plus Show on e. TV Ghana for a while last year.

“As a Kwahu man, I also do a bit of buying and selling on the side so that my survival does not get tied to the ‘public toilet’ syndrome,” A Plus said.

ghanashowbiz