Not too long ago, popular Ghanaian radio presenter and self-acclaimed father of the dancehall genre of music in Ghana, Mr Logic, called for the dissolution of the Reggae Department of the of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA). The radio presenter, who made this suggestion while on the Morning Show of an Accra-based radio station, further suggests that all the Rastafarians in that unit be sacked because they are old fashioned, don’t have any vision for the union, and therefore don’t make any meaningful contribution to the music industry.
Mr Logic also alleges that some group of Rastafarians are doing all they can to kill dancehall music in Ghana because they believe dancehall music is a by-product of Reggae. He disclosed that, being a musician of international repute and the father of dancehall in Ghana, he took exception to this believe and would do all in his power to preserve the dancehall genre.
This statement did not sit well with the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) and it’s Reggae Department which has Ras Levi Appiah as its director. Ras Levi rebutted Mr. Logic’s statements in an interview on AM PLUZZ radio. He said all Mr Logic has said about them and his calls for members of the Reggae Department of MUSIGA to be sacked was not logical and that he had never even met the self-acclaimed father of the dancehall genre of music. “This is funny…very funny. In the first place, I’ve never met Mr. Logic…if you haven’t met somebody and that person just talks like that, it’s not logic for me”, he said. Ras Levi quickly added that it was not their job at MUSIGA to establish and invest in the career of an artiste. That, he said, was a job for the artiste manager.
On the bit about some group of Rastafarians trying to kill dancehall music, the director of the Reggae Department of MUSIGA debunked the allegation. He revealed that instead, the Reggae Department had initiated projects to support reggae artistes by offering them professional advice and branding among other things.
The director of the Reggae Department of MUSIGA also indicated that his department had been sidelined by corporate bodies. When asked by the radio presenter host why these intuitions shy away from investing in their activities, Ras Levi hinted that many of them perceived every Rastafarian as a “smoker”. He called on corporate bodies to come to their aid.
BY ARNOLD ELAVANYO
