Prez Akufo-Addo will make a world-class rapper - Da’Hammer
Celebrated music producer and life coach, Nana Poku, known in showbiz as Da’ Hammer, says President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is such an astute orator that he could easily turn into a world-class rapper when given the chance.
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As a keen listener of the President, Da’Hammer, who nurtured and produced musicians such as Obrafour, Tiny, Kwawkese and Edem, said Nana Akufo-Addo had an exceptional way of constructing his sentences that make them poetic, which is the envy of every good rapper.
“I can turn the President into a rapper,” Da’Hammer said on the weekly motivational talk show, Springboard, Your Virtual University.
“I listen to him a lot and the way he constructs his sentences; it almost sounds like a poem and it is extremely different,” he added.
He was responding to a challenge by the host, Revered Albert Ocran, on who he thinks has a good talent in music but was currently not in the business.
“His diction and delivery are the traits of a rapper. It is rhythmic African poetry; it is poetry or poems with a bounce.”
“So if you are good at poetry and you can bounce them or go with the rhythm, then you are a rapper,” he said.
Entering into music
He was speaking on the show as part of the Career Development series on the theme: ‘AGENDA 2027: Focusing on the next 10 years and how to gain mastery in your area of endeavour.’
Tracing his entry into music, Da’Hammer said: “I love music and my thinking process is tuned to a particular direction, which is favourable to music.”
“What I do is that I identify the artistes and groom them and what makes it fun for me is the process of the journey that leads to the top but when the artiste gets to the spotlight, I lose interest,” he added.
Scouting for talents
Just like building a house, hunting for talents requires taking deliberate actions to ensure an individual goes through the process of nurturing to be successful in future.
But most times, getting the right people who can identify, nurture and manage one’s talent is difficult to come by in this part of the world.
For many experts, including the celebrated motivational speaker, author and politician, Les Brown, helping others achieve their dreams makes it easier for one to achieve his/hers too.
Da’Hammer shares in that view.
He said a coach could not develop an art without becoming a fan of that person. This means that to facilitate the nurturing process, it is important for a coach to develop an interest for a talent.
Da’ Hammer said the core duty of a coach, producer or mentor was not to change a talent but rather identify and build on it.
He stated that the process also involved identifying the mentee’s weaknesses and taking the necessary steps to eliminate them in order to facilitate the nurturing process.
He also underscored the importance of discipline in the mentoring process.
Using himself as example, the music producer said because he was disciplined, most artistes were often intimidated by him in the studio.
“That is where talent discovery, development and management come in handy. It is not possible for any person to misbehave in my studio,” he added.
“Unfortunately for me, I identify my own art that I want to work with. Therefore, none of the musicians I have produced walked into my studio and said he or she had a song,” he stated.
He likened raw talent to diamond in the rough and explained the need for a coach to identify and see that potential.
“In those days, I normally pinpoint some artistes and good talents and people say thus: ‘Da‘Hammar are you sure about this person’ and I always prove them wrong because I become a fan and I grow with them,” he added.
Mentors for writers
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Smartline Publishing Company Limited, Mr Eliot Agyare, identified that publishers were mentors for writers.
He said publishing involved coordinating and managing writers through the process of creative writing.
He added that the normal scheme of things involved a writer sending a manuscript to a publisher for consideration.
“This process involves editing, proofreading and setting the style of presentations of the book to the consumer,” he said.
Mr Agyare indicated that the role of a publisher also involved the act of marketing and distribution.
For her part, the Manager of the Smartline Publishing Company Limited, Mrs Joyce Agyare, said the aspect of publishing that fascinated her the most was the marketing role.
Without a strong marketing procedure to ensure that a book gets to the right consumer, the work of the writer and publisher will go down the drain.
“In our part of the world, where reading is an issue, it is crucial that publishing firms have strong marketing departments to ensure that books get to the right consumer,” she added.
Given the challenges facing the process of acquiring manuscripts, Mrs Agyare said the office of Smartline Company Limited was often flooded with various manuscripts, some of which often get management excited.
About Smartline
Smartline Publishers Limited is a book publishing and educational service firm.
Since opening in 1996, Smartline has established itself as a clear leader in Ghana's publishing landscape, pioneering both the advancement of the publishing industry in the country and the improvement in quality of material produced locally.
After founding a graphic design firm, Mr Agyare turned his attention to publishing and began Smartline Publishing Limited.
He is the past president of the Ghana Book Publishers Association and has served on many advisory boards at the very highest of publishing and educational circles.
