By Zainabu Issah
I find it quite amusing the way Ghanaians and the media have received the death of the American musician Whitney Houston.
There is no doubt that her songs have touched the lives of the past and present generations of our beloved country and the world as a whole but this does not mean that we should give her that much attention when there are more pressing matters to be attended to.
Almost all the radio and television stations I tuned in to were so much involved in reading and reciting the biography of this American song bird while a child in the junior high school still can’t tell the history about our beloved Dr Kwame Nkrumah let alone remember the good works he did.
To start with, the music star in question is not a Ghanaian. Her songs were only relaxing tunes to the ear and did not add anything to the development of our dear nation.
In fact, when have we heard them celebrate our own Osibisa or one of African’s finest, Miriam Makeba?
Whitney never visited Ghana or established any centre in this country to support the needy in society let alone sponsor our own music icons who usually look up to these foreign artistes as their mentors.
For God’s sake, we still have the problems of poor sanitation, schools under trees, adequate healthcare and above all corruption to take care of. Why waste our precious time in reading and sensitising the public through our various music channels about the death of this lovely song bird.
Do not think for once that I hate her or I am a racist. No, you are very much mistaken. I am the biggest fan of Whitney Huston and my favourite from her albums is “Judgement Day.” As I said, her music was soothing to the ear but I am also of the view that her lifestyle alone should not have encouraged that much publicity.
This was an artist who was consumed by the use of drugs rather than using her given talent to preach or advise the youth to stay away from drugs. This alone disqualifies her from being a mentor.
It is high time Ghanaians saw the difference between copying blindly and imitating in order to shape our well-being.
Looking at our music industry, some Ghanaian artistes now find it fashionable to be warned about their attitudes on stage. I might not be a good entertainment analyst or critic but I also think that the music industry should put in place dress codes for female artistes who perform on stage.
I make this statement from the recent news bulletin which stated that a female artist performed on stage without panties. Where on earth did she get this idea from if not from these same western culture and way of life? This attitude is no news in the foreign music industry because fashion, performance and exposure are the hall mark of every entertainment artiste.
But its influence has been so great that this same female artiste refused to accept her mistakes in the name of fashion and entertainment. This is how far the lives of Whitney Huston and other American artistes have affected the way and thinking of our artistes.
We should rather be wailing the loss of our culture and heritage, because of foreign influence, rather than reading her biography. We also need to understand the music we enjoy and the icons we want our children to emulate.
Rest In Peace, Whitney Houston!
Writers email- zainabissah@gmail.com
I find it quite amusing the way Ghanaians and the media have received the death of the American musician Whitney Houston.
There is no doubt that her songs have touched the lives of the past and present generations of our beloved country and the world as a whole but this does not mean that we should give her that much attention when there are more pressing matters to be attended to.
Almost all the radio and television stations I tuned in to were so much involved in reading and reciting the biography of this American song bird while a child in the junior high school still can’t tell the history about our beloved Dr Kwame Nkrumah let alone remember the good works he did.
To start with, the music star in question is not a Ghanaian. Her songs were only relaxing tunes to the ear and did not add anything to the development of our dear nation.
In fact, when have we heard them celebrate our own Osibisa or one of African’s finest, Miriam Makeba?
Whitney never visited Ghana or established any centre in this country to support the needy in society let alone sponsor our own music icons who usually look up to these foreign artistes as their mentors.
For God’s sake, we still have the problems of poor sanitation, schools under trees, adequate healthcare and above all corruption to take care of. Why waste our precious time in reading and sensitising the public through our various music channels about the death of this lovely song bird.
Do not think for once that I hate her or I am a racist. No, you are very much mistaken. I am the biggest fan of Whitney Huston and my favourite from her albums is “Judgement Day.” As I said, her music was soothing to the ear but I am also of the view that her lifestyle alone should not have encouraged that much publicity.
This was an artist who was consumed by the use of drugs rather than using her given talent to preach or advise the youth to stay away from drugs. This alone disqualifies her from being a mentor.
It is high time Ghanaians saw the difference between copying blindly and imitating in order to shape our well-being.
Looking at our music industry, some Ghanaian artistes now find it fashionable to be warned about their attitudes on stage. I might not be a good entertainment analyst or critic but I also think that the music industry should put in place dress codes for female artistes who perform on stage.
I make this statement from the recent news bulletin which stated that a female artist performed on stage without panties. Where on earth did she get this idea from if not from these same western culture and way of life? This attitude is no news in the foreign music industry because fashion, performance and exposure are the hall mark of every entertainment artiste.
But its influence has been so great that this same female artiste refused to accept her mistakes in the name of fashion and entertainment. This is how far the lives of Whitney Huston and other American artistes have affected the way and thinking of our artistes.
We should rather be wailing the loss of our culture and heritage, because of foreign influence, rather than reading her biography. We also need to understand the music we enjoy and the icons we want our children to emulate.
Rest In Peace, Whitney Houston!
Writers email- zainabissah@gmail.com
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