It's Eddy Blazay with Weekend Mashup on YFM
I love radio shows that are dedicated to specialist music or music of a specific genre that I like. I find myself gravitating to jazz shows, country music shows, Highlife shows, alternative music shows, jungle music shows, Hip Hop shows and the rest of them.
It is even more interesting to me if the host or DJ shows adequate knowledge of the genre he or she plays and immerses him or herself totally in it.
Those are the shows that I feel as though I have missed something if a week passes by without me listening to them.
One of such shows, which has been burning the airwaves, literally, for a while now has got to be YFM’s Weekend Mashup.
The show is hosted by one of the longest serving radio presenter/DJs in the capital, Eddy Blay Jnr every Saturday from 5pm till 8pm.
It seems to me, and I have long expressed this to a few people, that it looks like this particular show was conceptualised or created and designed for Eddy Blay to host and he fits perfectly into it like a glove would fit a hand.
Even beyond that, it comes across as that show that Blay needed to reestablish himself and let the world know that he may have been around for a while, but he is definitely not as antiquated as some would think he is.
The Weekend Mashup and Eddy Blay have their destiny linked together, it seems to me.
Eddy Blay has been around and has done it all in radio, television and the wider showbiz circles and I am sure he has his stripes to show his street credibility to those who would want to challenge him to any duel in his chosen field.
Let me recount a few of his contributions to the media and showbiz, just to establish that we are dealing with an institution here.
The son of the late former Ghanaian boxer and Italian mother has paid his dues on TV. During the early days of private television broadcast, Metro TV was the go-to place for youthful content and Talal Fatal ensured there was a good dose of that on his station.
One such programme was Smash TV. Though it started on GTV as a private production and had earlier hosts such as BB Menson and Cyndi Anafo, there were subsequent ones that had the likes of Eddy Blay and co as hosts that gave Metro TV a lot of eyeballs in those days.
Smash TV was your typical entertainment and events round up show that spoke with people along the value chain, reviewed places people could go to, gave the multiple hosts an opportunity to express themselves about things happening and the whole nine yards.
As one of the co-hosts, Blay was a big part of the show and he would go on to do other television shows in his time.
For those who are too young to know or remember, Eddy Blay was a top music artiste in his youthful days and he together with a few of his friends from Osu formed the rap group known as Native Funk Lords or NFL for short.
In the heady days of finding what type of music genre would suit our young people, the likes of NFL played a great role with their recordings and stage performances.
As far as radio is concerned Eddy Blay has done a lot as well. From his days at Live FM to being part of the pioneering team of presenters at Radio Gold to all the places he has been before finally settling with YFM, Blay has had his influence on the airwaves over the past two decades.
He has also been involved in so many ways in the arts and entertainment circles over the many years that he has been around and with his friends in the Peer Pressure Crew, he has really lived the life that expresses what he knows how best to do.
From the foregoing, it is obvious that the host of Weekend Mashup on YFM is neither a minnow nor a novice to this game.
He has done it all and yet still has enough energy and enthusiasm to present one of the most adrenaline pumping and energy sapping shows on radio every weekend.
There is always some big action in the studio when Eddy Blay or Eddy Blazay, as he calls himself (and his Instagram account @eddyblazygh shows), sits behind the turntables to play the hottest Hip Hop tunes of the moment, from the past even of the future.
It should be noted that it’s not just about the songs he plays, it’s also about his attitude, his high energy, his quips, his nuances, his voice tone for the show, his engaging interaction with people in the studio, the listeners and with those on social media; Eddy Blay brings it all to the studio.
He knows his genre and he knows the artistes, regardless of the time the song was made or the artiste lived.
Even more important is the fact that he seems to be in-tune with the latest news and gossip in the industry from here to Kathmandu.
That could well be the work of a production assistant, if it was anyone else was the subject, but knowing Eddy Blay, he is in the game himself.
From the listener’s point of view, the Weekend Mashup is what it really is: A mashup of different, but kind of related music genres with the chef’s own preference of hip hop used as the base and toppings to make a whole meal.
It may have no relevance but talking about chef, Eddy’s parents used to operate the famous Italian restaurant, Ristorante Sole Mio at Osu, back in the day.
If there is anything I love about Eddy Blazay and his show, it is his love for the bassline.
I love bassline when it is very well and generously used in a hip hop joint and Eddy knows how to choose them and make them bang out in your speaker and because I like my hip hop on loud volume, especially when I’m driving and he does it for me every Saturday on the Weekend Mashup.
So yeah guys, if you are into hip hop or any genre of the music types that requires that it should br mashed up for you and also want a piece of Eddy Blazay for your weekend, the real Eddy Blazay is on YFM every Saturday to do it for you.
As I have recounted in this piece, Eddy may have been around for as long as private radio has been around, but he certainly is not anachronistic, he knows his music and knows the time, as they say, and he will do it for you. But don’t take my word for it, listen to him from 5pm to 8pm on Y107.9FM.
@TheGHMediaGuru