AMAKYE DEDE OUTDOORS NEW ALBUM IN DECEMB

He is currently headlining most of the important shows in Ghana and to sustain the momentum, highlife King Abrantie Amakye Dede has set his sights on releasing a fresh album to help sustain his dominance.

Information gathered by BFT Lifestyle says the new album will be released before the end of the year, preferably in December.

Works on the album have long been on-going and, unsurprisingly, the content of the album still reflects his philosophy of keeping strictly to the genre that has firmly established him as a legend of a sought. Though the album is to have some elements of modernity in it, it will still maintain the highlife flavor.

Presently he is the most likeable musician in this country and it is therefore not surprising that his fan base cuts across several generations. He has more than 30 albums to his credit and almost every single one of them has been a success. Notable tunes such as ‘Dabi-Dabi, Sansankroma, Bebrebeyie, ‘Sokoo Na Mmaa Pe’, ‘Kose Kose’, ‘Mefre Wo’, ‘Okyena Sesei’, ‘Odo Nfonii’, ‘Nka Akyi’, as well as recent songs such as ‘Iron Boy, continue to endear him to the hearts of his ever growing fan base. One of his most popular tunes he released that shot him to fame was ‘Jealousy Go Shame. The song which was delivered in perfect Nigerian pidgin was released during his sojourn in that country.

The album is being worked on, as usual, in Germany where he recently visited. “I don’t believe in coming out with just any album. What is important is that the songs must remain on the minds of people, he said soon after arriving from Germany to master the content of the album.

Amakye Dede who is also a farmer and once won the regional best farmer in the Ashanti Region where he begun his career more than 30 years ago. He first joined the Kumapim Royals under the tutelage of the late Akwasi Ampofo Adjei. He quickly established himself as a composer and vocalist and together, released brilliant and breath taking hits such as Abebi Bewua Eso, Wanware Me A, Odo Mani Agyina and Ohohoo Batani. After ‘Jealousy Go Shame’ which shot him to fame, he formed his own band called the Apollo High Kings in the 1980s.

He was an instant success and the rest is history. He has dominated the highlife scene with back to back records. His unique blend of soca, calypso, lovers rock and pop has been his strong point. He is arguably the one Ghanaian highlife musician to incorporate elements of violin into his records and still manages to keep the songs as authentic as ever.

Amakye Dede at some point became an ambassador of Nigerian mobile company giant, Glo, but fell out with them soon after realizing the deal prevents him from performing at the function of other mobile companies. He has since performed at programmes organised by both RLG Communications and MTN.

He will also perform at the upcoming Music of Black Origin (MOGO) organized by Accra’s based Citi FM in December.