Shikome is best instrumentalist

Whatever the style of music on hand, assorted percussionist, Justice Nii Adjiri Williams, always has the perfect pattern to groove along with it.

No wonder he got the perfect nod for his abilities at the Accra  International Conference Centre last Saturday, May 7 when he was adjudged the Best Instrumentalist for 2016 at the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (GMA) main event. 

Williams is known widely in music circles as Shikome, a Ga expression meaning once. It is a nickname his colleagues in the then National Theatre-based Vision Band bestowed on him in 1999 for playing superbly along to songs he had heard only once.

That flair for quick learning and smart performance is what has propelled him over the years into a competent, sought-after percussionist in Ghana and abroad.

He has played with a long list of  Ghanaian artistes including Amandzeba, Becca, Kwabena Kwabena, Gyedu Blay Ambolley, Paa Bobo, Kofi Sammy, Rex Omar, Kojo Antwi, Efya, Amakye Dede, Chistiana Love, Tagoe Sisters, Bessa Simons, Bob Pinodo and Daughters of Glorious Jesus.

He has also been a member of bands like Megastar, Patchbay, Western Diamonds and  Wind Afrique along the way. 

Shikome, who hails from James Town in Accra, has also travelled extensively across Africa and Europe and has a 47-gig tour of the United States of America with an Algerian band from the beginning of July.

The bright lights of America are definitely far away from the seedy environs of Avenor in Accra where Shikome’s music career took off with the Dza Tsui Cultural Troupe around 1996. 

“It has been hard work for me since then. Music is all I do for a living. Nobody raised a voice about me winning the Instrumentalist of the Year award this time around because I have a sparkling track record. 

“Everybody in the music business in Ghana knows I deserve the award. They all know I have done well at my job.  Our only surprise is that it did not come earlier,” Shikome, also known for his great sense of humour, said.

Something that came to him three years ago was his installation as Nii Trema II,  the Obonufoi Atse (Chief Drummer) at Sowutuom, a quarter in Accra.  He inherited the position from the late great drummer, Obo Addy and it entitles him to lead all official drumming assignments for the Ga State. 

“I’m the only professional percussionist in Ghana who uses solely made-in-Ghana customised congas. I don’t rely on Latin percussion because I get all the right tones I need from home-made drums,” Shikome pointed out.

Previous winners of the Instrumentalist of the Year trophy at the VGMA include Osei Tutu (trumpet); Akablay (guitar); Kwame Yeboah (keyboards); Emmanuel ‘Shabo’ Koomson (bassist); Frank Kissi (drums) and Victor Dey (keyboards).