A blissful night with the Stars at the Dome of the Accra International Conference Centre last weekend was met by very bizarre occurrences.
Patrons saw entertainment metamorphose into a conflict zone among factions loyal to hip life trio Vision In Progress (VIP) and the King of the Streets, Kwaw Kesse whose signature tune is “Abodam”.
This year’s Night with Stars though was another glorious occasion; the turn of events became much chaotic after some misunderstanding ensued among fans that trooped into the Dome to strut their stuff.
On the night, hip life trio VIP and Kwaw Kesse were pitched together to perform in what seemed as a competition dubbed “Accra vrs Tema”.
The concept was to point out where the best music act is and intended to trigger excitement among the numerous patrons of the show. Kwaw Kesse who represented Tema mounted stage before VIP, and came in in a symbolic way holding two flags inscribed “Accra” and “VIP”.
In Kwaw Kesse’s performance, the two flags were put on the floor purportedly to signify defeat over Accra.
The King of the Streets then allegedly proceeded to stamp his feet on the flag and this inflamed passions as fanatics of VIP took offence at his actions.
In what seemed as retaliation, GMA Award-winning trio VIP took to the stage uttering unpleasant words as a sign of disgust at the performance by Kwaw Kesse.
This resulted in a passionate fracas backstage and unconfirmed reports say incensed fans of VIP angrily sought the whereabouts of Kwaw Kesse in a bid to confront him.
Though Kwaw Kesse and his management had left the premises of the Dome, the angry fans chaotically destroyed some properties at the Dome.
Due to this sudden explosion, the invincible rapperholic and BET Award winner, Sarkodie, and the dynamic duo, R2Bees, refused to perform for fear of their lives.
A statement released by the management of Sarkodie indicated reasons why Sarkodie declined to perform at the Night with the Stars.
Portion of the statement read: “A group of armed individuals broke into the changing room of Sarkodie and R2bees threatening to get violent if we did not reveal the whereabouts of Kwaw Kesse. We noticed a movement of several armed groups into the main auditorium and backstage for reasons we are yet to know.
That became a huge concern for me and members of my team, fearing what could happen when Sarkodie mounts the stage. Fearing the escalation of the situation as there wasn’t enough security personnel to bring the situation under control, we indicated to members of the Joy FM team our concern.”
VIP’s management also in an official statement implored their fans to keep calm and restrain themselves from any violent acts.
VIP also distanced themselves from the perpetrators of the violence at the Dome.
The statement stressed that “The management of Ghana’s award winning group, Vision in Progress, popularly known as VIP is calling on its fans across the country and beyond who are outraged by some unfortunate developments that occurred at the Night with the Stars show organized over the weekend by Joy FM to calm down and exercise maximum restraint no matter the level of provocation they may encounter.”
It further emphasized that “VIP has received reports of an alleged attack on some persons. Though without any evidence whatsoever, some persons have accused fans of VIP of being responsible for the attacks. If indeed it was true that VIP fans were behind the attacks, VIP categorically condemns such incidents and is calling on its fans not to engage in such behaviour. VIP does not subscribe to using violence in any form for any reason. The group believes in dialogue as the best means of addressing challenges.”
“We would not do anything to compromise the respect the brand has earned over the years.”
The management of Kwaw Kesse also released a statement to the effect of last weekend’s clashes and therefore called for peace.
The management explained the purport of Kwaw Kesse’s performance at the Night with the Stars.
“In the spirit of creative ‘competition’ of the show which was dubbed ‘Accra vs. Tema’ and which pitted Kwaw Kese against VIP, Kwaw brought on stage a banner with VIP written on it. Kwaw stood on this banner to depict that in Ghana’s entertainment industry, he was a true VIP too.
“For some unfortunate reason, VIP took this creative expression out of context and resorted to violence, with members of their entourage violently demanding that Kwaw go on stage to apologize for his act. In order not to interrupt the event and also to ensure that sanity prevailed, Kwaw and his entourage left the premises of the Accra International Conference Centre Dome.”
The statement further entreated VIP to condemn the actions by their fans and also resort to a peaceful arbitration.
“We at MAD TIME are calling on VIP to condemn these acts perpetrated by thugs affiliated to them. We are calling on VIP to affirm their belief in creative competition without the need to resort to barbaric violence.
“…Violence begets violence and retaliation and in the run-up to our national elections, we urge musicians and every other sector of society to denounce and eschew violence and rather seek peaceful dialogue to resolve any differences they might have.
“We urge Ghanaians who were not in the shoes of Sarkodie and R2Bees not to insult or denigrate them for their refusal to perform in midst of intimidation. We also urge event organizers to ensure adequate security at all events to ensure that no unruly thug can threaten the life of a musician just for his or her creative expression.
We must learn to appreciate showbiz and entertainment as an area that has no space for violence in this day and age.”
Event organizers are therefore urged to beef up security whenever they organize entertainment events to ward off any unforeseen situations. It is also hoped that the unexpected confusion between the two cherished music superstars is resolved with no traces in the future.
Source: Adu Gyamfi Ameyaw
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