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Free Magazine MZBEL www.accradust.com >> www.accradust.com Svani ltd ad 1 SVANI LIMITED LET THE COMPETITION BEWARE Ground floor, Crystal Plaza building, Community 16, Sakumono, Tema Tel: 233-22-404063 Fax: 233-21-7012128 Divorce your car. Dumping your car never made this much sense before. The Scorpio's 5-zone cushion suspension promises you the cushiest ride ever. The middle row actually slides back and forth to make more legroom. Let the competition beware www.svanigroup.com SVANI LIMITED LOAD IT. FLAUNT IT. VERSATILITY, MODERNIZED. TAKE ON ANYTHING STARTING NOW LET THE COMPETITION BEWARE Ground floor, Crystal Plaza building, Community 16, Sakumono, Tema Tel: 233-22-404063 Fax: 233-21-7012128 >> www.accradust.com >> www.accradust.com Let the competition beware 2 3 www.svanigroup.com 17 30 27 >> www.accradust.com WE DESIGN & PRINT 4 M: +233 24. 3473161. M: +233 26. 6788246. e-mail: [email protected] 37 9 14 15 Inbox In Accra The truth about being in love 17 Miss Universe Ghana 22 24 Ghana Online Cini 26 27 30 Interview with MENSA Interview with WANLOV Interview with MZBEL 37 38 40 The power in Positive Thinking Slaughter Boy Adventures from the bedrooms of African Women 48 50 53 55 Health Sankofa Short story Human 38 50 24 26 M A R C H - A P R I L F or me, an Accra-based magazine has to tackle real issues, like poverty, religion, politics, relationship issues and so forth. No magazine will survive unless they provide content that the public wants to read, and in a way that the public wants to read it. Putting things in a readable manner is as important as having a magazine that looks good. Also, it is important that you target your magazine at the general public instead of at tourists or the well-off Ghanians. I’m sick and tired of reading magazines that have nothing to do with REAL life in Ghana. N.K.D., Accra W E WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. THE STAR LETTER PRINTED IN OUR MARCH ISSUE WILL RECEIVE A GH¢80 SHOPPING VOUCHER TO SPEND AT GAME OR SHOPRITE AT THE ACCRA MALL. GET IN TOUCH BY EMAIL AT [email protected] I like going through newspapers and magazines but all the printed material in Accra is centered around politics. I’m sick of politics! There is so much more to write about and I wish someone would take the time to write about something different. If Dust can provide new and interesting reading material and still remain free of charge, I think you’re onto a winner! We asked you what you would like to see in a Accra-politan magazine. Here are some of your responses... Nana Akua Opoku, Dzorwulu G hana has a growing magazine culture. We have some impressive magazines out there and it will be interesting to see what else is possible. I’m a mother of three kids, and I am interested in reading about things that can make life more useful, things that are fun and new. The best thing that could ever happen in Ghana is for someone to establish a Cosmo-like magazine that discusses all things related to living in Accra - from money issues, beauty, fashion, and sex... From what I’ve seen so far, I have a lot of hope for Dust Magazine. I can’t wait to see what you come up with. Ms. Acquah, Airport I magery, content and layout. These things are the main things that I look for in any magazine. It must be easy to look through, easy to read and easy to enjoy. Most publications in Ghana rely too heavily on lies and sensationalism, so it would be a welcome change for a magazine to deviate from the norm. It would also be nice to read something without obvious spelling and grammatical mistakes. Gideon Addo, Asylum Down Text ‘Movies’ to MTN & ZAIN short code 1412 and TIGO short code 1450 to get the list of movies showing. Then Text the title of the movie to the same short codes to get the showing dates and times. Website: www.silverbirdghana.com Tel: 021823270-5 >> www.accradust.com . COMING SOON . INBOX 7 DUST MAGAZINE Editorial +233 54 161 8502 Advertising +233 26 266 6222 WELCOME TO THE FIRST ISSUE OF DUST: a new magazine about Accra, by Accra, for Accra. THIS CITY OF OURS IS A VIBRANT, EVER-EVOLVING PLACE POPULATED BY AN ECLECTIC BUNCH OF PEOPLE, RANGING FROM THE CALM TO THE CRAZY. Editor-in-chief V. C. Svanikier Creative Consultant Kobina Graham Thanks to: Thomas Svanikier, Edward Effah, Angela Forson, and Martha Mesah Dust Magazine is a publication of Chrysalis Publications, P.O. Box 9916, K.I.A., Accra. Corporate enquiries to [email protected] www.accradust.com Printed by PIGMENT The views expressed in this magazine are the views of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of the publisher. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved. Copyright © Dust Magazine 2009 From photography and illustrations to writing and commentary, we want every issue to be a showcase of Ghanaian ability; something people will want to read, share, talk about and collect. It is no coincidence that we are launching the magazine in March, the month in which Ghana won her independence. This issue is dedicated to the idea of freedom and as such, we have tried to break free from the usual standards of design and content. We have picked three of Ghana’s most freethinking musicians to grace three special front covers; we have reprinted Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s speech from the night of Ghana’s birth, and included fun, intelligent and informative articles about everything from local sexuality to Ghana’srelevance in the global pop culture. Why ‘Dust’? Because we plan to be everywhere. Dust - the substance - can be found everywhere from the top of the most expensive cupboard in a penthouse suite to the bottom of a poor woman’s feet. We want the magazine to do the same. We are not trying to please everyone, but we want to represent everything about this great city of ours. We hope you like it: after all, it’s yours. >> www.accradust.com Photography Rodney Quarcoo Stylist Renee Q Boateng Model FOKEN boys & MzBel Dust is an ode to all the people of this city. We want to document you: your experiences, your pictures, your opinions; what you like, what you don’t. When your children’s children pick up an old issue, we want them to see snapshots of what life was like in our time. What dreams we had. How we moved the city forward (or how we held it back). 9 10 KSP Rodney Quarqoo Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah Nana Kofi Acquah >> www.accradust.com website:www.kasaprekogh.com Produced in Ghana by Kasapreko Company Limited. DTD NO. 64 off Spintex Road Baatsona Accra -Ghana. Americano Brandy, Lime and Soda Negroni Kobby is a journalist, new media executive and DJ at Ghana’s number one Englishspeaking radio station, Joy FM. Kobby was raised between Accra and London. With over ten years experience writing for magazines, websites and blogs, he has interviewed the likes of the Wayans Brothers (Scary Movie), Angelique Kidjo and Christina Milian. He has also helped organise events for the likes of Samuel L. Jackson and legendary film director, Spike Lee. Rodney Quarcoo is the man behind RQV, one of Ghana’s leading events and studio photographers. He started his professional photographic career 3 years ago and what initially started as a hobby has become a successful profession career. His ability to creatively capture moments is displayed in all this issue’s feature articles. MIX Crystal has been a freelance writer for three years and studied in Cape Town, Oxford and Dundee. She has worked with a number of magazines, newspapers and organisations to come up with creative reports and analyses. She is a former employee of Global Media Alliance (CNN Africa Journalist of the Year Awards, Happy FM, eTV Ghana), working as a marketing executive and assistant editor of Sunday World newspaper (now Weekend World). Nana Kofi is a Ghanaian-born photographer who works across the African continent and beyond. With a strong interest in documentary photography, Nana Kofi rendered his talent for the photojournalism piece “Slaughter Boy”, a visually stimulating piece. Nana Darkoa is a modern Ghanaian woman. With a strong interest in women’s rights and issues, Nana has broke the mould for Ghanaian women. She manages Ghana’s first and most popular blog on African sexuality, Adventures from the bedrooms of African Women. Posts are based on the personal experiences of the contributors and falls in line with Nana’s desire to provide a safe place for women to express themselves whether sexually or otherwise. Kasapreko >> www.accradust.com Crystal Svanikier Contributors Kobby Graham 11 FREESTYLE “You know you’re in Accra when...” 7 13 1 14 2 8 15 3 9 16 4 10 17 5 18 6 11 19 12 20 .The trotro mate feels more important than you, the passenger. .The taxi driver wants to cheat you because you’re dressed nicely or you spoke English to him. .When it rains, 80% of the roads become CHOCOLATE swimming pools. .The streets are choked with child laborers, alias “PURE WATER” sellers. .You can shop for everything you’d get in a supermarket without leaving your car. >> www.accradust.com .You realise, “DANG!”, only 20% of the traffic lights actually work. 12 .The “YELLOW POLICE” - aka. KUFUOR POLICE literally jump in front of your car signaling you that you’ve crossed the red lights with more authority than the Ghana Police. .The Ghana Police actually stand in corners discretely awaiting for you to commit an offence and then pop out of nowhere and saying... “makye wu” (You’re busted!) .Going to the central business district (MAKOLA) can make your heart palpitate beyond measure. . The hotels are so darn expensive that you cannot spend a weekend in one without being broke for the next 3 weeks. . You find ladies dressed in stilettos running to catch a trotro (local buses). . Men take pride in wearing designer jeans and shirts that have bold inscriptions.. (D&G, GUCCI, VERSACE etc) .The cheapest food you can buy is kenkey (but not from Kenkey Boutique in ADABRAKA.) . SAKAWA has nothing to do with Japan. .Fried Rice & Chicken can easily get you a new girlfriend... to be precise, it can get you laid. . You see people eating Pizza with Ketchup.... (yuk!) .Taxi perform 99% of the job of the ambulance service. . The most visited location is the Accra Mall. (so gnarly). . The president’s mispronunciation of a word is the most bluetoothed ringtone of 2009 (Ekomini). . Rhapsodys could mean a swanky Lounge/Restaurant or the revelations of Pastor Chris. visit www.accradust.com for more articles. “The essence of love begins where infatuation ends” - UNKNOWN SOURCE Love is the stuff romance is made of but with loveless marriages and divorce on the rise, one cannot help but wonder what is it about love that makes it seem as just a passing ‘fancy’. New research sheds light on this conundrum and reveals that infatuation and feelings of being “in love” are not what makes a relationship last, but another feeling, long-term attachment, does. So what exactly is the true meaning of love? >> www.accradust.com By Bill Bedzrah Truth about being in LOVE. The 13 Research from Rutgers University in New York City have found that the biochemical pathways for lust and romance differ distinctly from the biochemical pathways for attachment. The University’s leading Anthropologist, Helen Fisher, says that women use sex (actually, orgasms) to determine whether or not a man is good for her. The more orgasms a woman has with a man, the more likely she is to decide that he would be a good husband and father. Using MRI scans, Fisher and her team scanned brain activity in subjects who had been “madly in love” for at least seven months. They showed the subjects two pictures: a neutral one and one of their loved one. The results were astonishing. The pictures of the loved ones sparked off the same parts in the subject’s brain linked to reward and pleasure, the ventral tegmental area and the candate nucleus. At the University of Pisa in Italy, researchers studied the serotonin levels in subjects that had fallen in love within the last six months and had obsessed about the object of their affection for at least four hours a day. The result? The levels of serotonin in the subjects were comparable to people living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (or OCD). So the next time you think about marrying for passion and love, think again. These high levels of dopamine and serotonin fall after a couple of years and a relationship then has to rely on the feelings of being bonded to someone. The hormone that creates these feelings is Oxytocin, which is released when we hug someone, holds someone’s hand, or receive a massage. 14 >> www.accradust.com Its an emotion that women wait for all their lives and men stumble into, but new research is shedding more light on the age-old mysterious feelings of romance, concluding that the parts of the brain that stimulate romance are completely different from the part that sparks long-term attachment. >> www.accradust.com Love. Love and romance spark these areas, one of which is home to dopamine. At the right levels, dopamine creates intense energy, feelings of exhilaration, and motivation. Its the reason love makes you bold, able to stay up all night and do things you wouldn’t ordinarily do. 15 MISS UNIVERSE GHANA J ennifer Koranteng represented Ghana at the Miss Universe beauty pageant held early 2009 in the Bahamas. Her warm spirit, grace and charm made her a strong contender for the coveted crown, captivating the event organizers, her fellow contestants, and even world-famous designer, Marc Jacobs, who was one of the event sponsors. On her return back home, Dust caught up with the intelligent beauty for light conversation over coffee. 1 What made you decide to participate in the Miss Universe pageant? It all started with friends and family encouraging me to enter the pageant and I’d seen the former Miss Universe Ghana doing very well and I saw it as a great platform from which to do good things. 2 Where you in school at the time you decided to join the competition? No, I’d just finished and graduated, so it was perfect timing! 3 16 I went to the Miss Universe pageant with the notion that every contestant had already won in their respective countries, so anyone could come out on top. My utmost concern at the pageant was to do the best that I could and not to look around and think “someone else is doing better,” or “that girl is going to win”. I was more interested in portraying Ghana in the right light to the rest of the world. >> www.accradust.com >> www.accradust.com Early rumors suggested that you were a very strong contender to win, did you ever have an indication that you were in the lead and if yes, why do you think that it didn’t translate to the main ceremony? 17 3 Did you ever experience (or observe) any jealousy between contestants during the pageant? You know, girls will always be girls, but despite this, everyone was conscious of themselves because they knew they were representing their countries - you’re an ambassador for your country. Most of the girls were very courteous and polite. 4 What was your most memorable moment during the pageant? My most memorable moment of the pageant was immediately after the ceremony. We didn’t have our sashes on anymore and I remember some Mexicans and Spanish people chanting “Ghana! Ghana! Ghana!” It gave me so much joy because I didn’t think anyone would recognize me without my sash on. 5 You were quoted as saying that you’d love to use the Miss Universe Ghana platform to “support the needy in society and to spellout the importance of education, especially for the girl child”, what plans do you have to fulfill this promise? I feel that education is a very important asset, especially for the girl child, who is most frequently discriminated against. Together with the Miss Universe Ghana organizers, I’ve cooked up an idea to start a reading program in less privileged schools so we can inculcate the habit of reading. 6 What do you think are the most important challenges currently facing young women in Accra? Employment. Most women have difficulty finding and securing jobs after graduating from school and university. When a man and a woman go for an interview, there is often preferential treatment given in favor of the man. Also, women find it difficulty in being promoted, even when they’ve worked hard to earn it. 7 >> www.accradust.com If you could meet any 3 Ghanaians (dead or alive), who would you choose? I would 18 definitely choose Dr Kwame Nkrumah - I’ve heard so much about him and there’s so much I’d like to learn from him one-on-one. I’d also like to meet our current president, Prof. John Evans Atta-Mills. I’d also like to meet the Chairman of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Joyce Ayonee because she is an inspiration to all Ghanaian women because she is the head of a male-dominated industry and is excellent at her job. 8 On a lighter note, what would you consider to be the ‘perfect’ date? Someone who is handsome, someone who is charming, but most of all, someone who listens. 9 Who do you look up to, and why? My idol and mentor is Ms Isabelle Thompson, CEO of Thompson Consultancy. She’s a very brave woman, she’s high-spirited, she pushes people to be achievers especially since she’s an achiever herself and she never lets anybody down. 10 Do you have a message for all the young ladies out there that see you as a beautiful inspiration and who hope to follow in your footsteps? I would encourage every girl and young woman to never stop dreaming because you’ll never know when you’ll achieve it. Few people realize that I competed in Miss Ghana three years ago and I was first runner up. I knew my dream and I didn’t think it was enough, so I had faith in what I could be and so I continued dreaming that I would be on the world stage, representing my country. So, being at Miss Universe, representing my country three years on from my first pageant, was the most fulfilling experience and I would encourage everyone to never give up on a dream. ONLINE http://www.accradust.com Share IF YOU EVER FIND YOURSELF ONLINE WITH NOWHERE TO GO, HERE ARE A FEW WEBSITES AND BLOGS WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO HELP YOU BREAK THROUGH THE BOREDOM. Personal Wo Se Ekyir: What Yo’ Mamma Never Told You About Ghana http://maameous.blogspot.com/ Arts Kpokplomaja celebrates new books, poems and theatre from Ghana’s modern arts scene and is a great place to go if you’re tired of the same-old, clichéd African writing by the usual suspects. Esi W. Cleland’s blog is quirky, humourous and so well-written that it best describes itself: “This blog is not for everyone. It’s for people who want to laugh. Or de-stress. Or think. People who want to know cool stuff about Ghana. We tell you things you didn’t know. Or had forgotten. It’s not news or politics or even your regular Ghana blog. It’s things yo’ mamma never told ya.” News & Politics Ato Kwamena Dadzie http://www.atokd.com/ Another great website worth investigating for the same reason is One Ghana, One Voice http://oneghanaonevoice.com, which focuses on new Ghanaian poets, the likes of Edith Faalong and DK Osei. Sports With blatant political bias, unimaginative writing and personal opinions passing for accurate analysis, journalists in Ghana often do a disservice to their listeners/readers and their craft. As one of the country’s best known journalists, Ato Kwamena Dadzie is outspoken with his opinion, but he expresses it through great writing and a healthy dose of contempt for both sides of the political divide. Love him or hate him, no-one in Ghana makes the news more entertaining. >> www.accradust.com Sex & Relationships Adventures from the Bedrooms of African Women 20 http://www.adventuresfrom.com We’re such unashamed fans of Adventuresfrom.com at Dust that we invited them to become regular contributors to the magazine. Its name is self-explanatory. Well-written, deeply personal and actually serving a purpose, Adventuresfrom.com is essential online reading for any Ghanaian who honestly wants to know what really goes on behind our country’s closed doors. Kpokplomaja! The Ghanaian Book Review http://kpokplomaja.com/ Ghanasoccernet http://www.ghanasoccernet.com What self-respecting list of Ghanaian websites would this be if we didn’t mention football. Ghanasoccernet is put together by a team of sports journalists who are passionate about the game and who strive to keep readers regularly and quickly updated with all the news they have access to. Entertainment Ameyaw Debrah http://www.ameyawdebrah.com Few people attend more events and are more in the know about entertainment in Ghana than entertainment journalist extraordinaire, Ameyaw Debrah. Starting with a little blog, he has expanded his operation to an impressive and regularly updated website. Also look out for http://www.iheartaccra.com by Toke Olagbaju (coming soon). 21 >> www.accradust.com CINI! GHANAIANS ARE VERY 21ST CENTURY THESE DAYS, SO IF HOLLYWOOD WON’T BRING ITS MOVIES TO US, WE’LL GO ONLINE AND ACQUIRE THEM BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY. THESE ARE THE FILMS YOU WILL BE ASKING YOUR FRIENDS TO BUY/ DOWNLOAD THIS QUARTER. MAY Robin Hood Of course, Dust encourages readers to buy all of these through the right channels (*wink*). The girls from the hit TV show are back for the sequel. >> www.accradust.com The FOKN Bois - Wanlov & M3nsa – star in what looks set to be the most creative Ghanaian film in a long time. 22 Sex and the City 2 JUNE The A-Team That’s right. One of the 80s most memorable TV shows finally makes it to the big screen. Don’t you love it when a plan comes together APRIL The Back-up Plan Toy Story 3 J Lo is back in this comedy where she has it all - love, marriage and children - but not exactly in that order. The third installment in one of the best children’s movie series of all time. MAY Iron Man 2 Robert Downey Jnr returns as Tony Stark in the sequel to the entertaining comic book adaptation. >> www.accradust.com MARCH Coz Ov Moni Russell Crowe stars as the latest incarnation of the English folk hero. When are we going to do a film about Anansi or Okomfo Anokye? 23 FEATURES The Man & the Mangoes AGYUMA IS SIMILAR TO THE MUSICIAN WHO WROTE IT. THE BASS-HEAVY TRACK MAY TAKE CUES FROM LIL’ WAYNE’S HIT, A MILLI, BUT MENSA TWISTS ANY AMERICAN INFLUENCES INTO SOMETHING DISTINCTLY GHANAIAN, WITH LOCAL REFERENCES INCLUDING TAXI DRIVERS AND ‘DANGBELESHIE’ (A SCISSOR KICK). >> www.accradust.com Over a decade has lapsed since hits like Bra Yen Sa and Bibini Ba made Mensa one of hiplife’s early stars. He has spent much of that time abroad, but Mensa feels the distance has actually strengthened his music: 24 “BEING AWAY, I ACTUALLY STARTED APPRECIATING GHANAIAN MUSIC ALL OVER AGAIN, GOING INTO MUSIC GHANAIANS WERE MAKING IN THE 60S AND 70S, PAYING ATTENTION TO MY DAD’S MUSIC. HE’S A LECTURER IN MUSIC AND HE’S ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT PALM WINE HIGHLIFE, TRADITIONAL MUSIC, FOLKLORE AND THINGS LIKE THAT. NOW I UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF ALL THAT, I’M TRYING TO INCULCATE IT INTO MY MUSIC. IF YOU LISTEN TO THE CHORDS AND PROGRESSIONS IN PALM WINE HIGHLIFE, IT’S PURE JAZZ. YET IT’S STILL ORIGINAL AND UNIQUE.” Mensa feels Ghanaian music – hiplife in particular – is in transition at the moment: “Ghanaian musicians are very intelligent. They can talk about anything no matter how plain it is and still make it artistic and enjoyable. But it’s important to be able to make music that ten years or twenty years down the line, I can speak to my son and say “this is what I was doing when I was your age and I still think it has some kind of relevance… a place in history”. You don’t want to just make generic crap, but we seem to be into that. It’s a phase most industries go through. We have so much to offer though. The American thing has been done. What else have we got to bring to the table?” “My music, for now… let’s just call it music from Ghana. It has a lot of jazz, soul, hip hop influences, but it’s essentially Ghanaian music. “ >> www.accradust.com “Mensa is back again / To drive the world insane / Everything I do is a result of hardwork / I don’t ever complain…” 25 Mensa named the album after the only address he has ever lived in in Ghana. “I have the fondest memories of growing up there. As a teenager leaving, coming back home. Leaving the country, coming back home. Going to boarding school, coming back home. And then as an adult, going back to the street to see how much it has changed and how much it has not changed. It’s pretty much all my influences and experiences growing up there and everything around it”. >> www.accradust.com I started playing piano in church at the age of nine. 26 While he’s been away, Mensa has been popping in and out of the country working on his new album, No. 1 Mango Street. He says it is dedicated to Ghana: “I’ve done the whole European thing and America and all that and I just feel like I want to represent Ghana in a different light. To make music valuable again. Musicians don’t realize what their potential is, especially coming from Ghana. We have a sound that the rest of the world has not been privy to. I think most musicians now are making music for the next quick buck. That’s why everybody’s jumping on this hiplife generic sound, but there’s so much more they can tap into… Living here and seeing how people react to authentic music from Ghana or from Africa. People hear Fela Kuti and they are like “Wow. This is actually beautiful music”. How come we don’t hear enough Fela on the radio No. 1 Mango Street features classic Ghanaian band, Osibisa, as well as Nigerian singer Ndidi (to whom he is married) and Samini: “Man, he’s great to work with. The texture of his voice. To be a producer and an artist, to me it’s such a blessing. Recording his vocals, his work ethic. The guy is focused, man. It’s an inspiration to me. I kinda took him out of his comfort zone with that song.” Mensa’s journey has been a long one. Today, he is a complete artist who rhymes, sings and produces his own work as well as those of other artists like regular conspirator and fellow Adisadel College old boy, Wanlov the Kubolor. It all started when he started playing piano in church at the age of nine. His first musical memory was a classical recital gone wrong. He had practiced for weeks but once he hit the stage, he could not remember how to play. He started and stopped ten times and his best friend even joined him on stage to offer her support. Most people might have given up, but strangely this experience made Mensa more determined than ever to show people his potential. He eventually played the song. He is philosophical about the incident: “I think I had all the bad experiences when I started… got them out of the way.” Wanlov / 10 Kweshuns (One Love / 10 Questions) In case you had any doubts, let us put your mind at rest: Wanlov the Kublor is a foolish boy. To be more precise, he is a FOKN boy. We had our doubts... then we gave him our ten question test. 4. ... and you say you’re not into flat duna, either? The downside - which is still an upside - is that more girls go down on me... and I also enjoy women’s downsides. For me, the thing is that once in a while in a moment of weakness for someone’s charm, I will wake up in the arms of someone with a flat duna for which I apologize to my fellow duna watchers. I’m not Peter Petrelli (the character from TV show, Heroes). But I am unable to get an erection from watching flat buttocks. I’ve tried it. It just won’t work. I have to look at shapely buttocks. 2. WOULD YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A ROLE MODEL? 5. WHO ARE YOUR MUSICAL INFLUENCES? I am a role model for people who want freedom. I am also a role model to buttocks watchers because I actually voice the feeling that they have. Gyedu Blay Ambolley, Reggie Rockstone, Sizzla, Fela (Kuti), Busta Rhymes, Eminem. That’s about it for now. 1. ARE THERE ANY DOWNSIDES TO BEING KUBOLOR? 3. WHY - OF ALL THE THINGS YOU REFER TO YOURSELF AS ON YOUR SONG ‘BROAKIN LANGWEIJIZZ’- DO YOU ALWAY REFERS TO YOURSELF AS ‘THE BUTTOCKS WATCHER’ You’ll notice that it is the first line I open my verse with. There are people in the world who do many things. Some for world peace, some advocate a clean environment... everybody has a cause. I realize I believe in some of these causes but at the end of the day I sat down and tried to figure out why I want world peace, a cleaner environment, a safer community. I realized that I want all these things because I want to have the peace of mind to allow me to better enjoy the watching of buttocks. 6. WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? I grew up in Ghana but moved around a lot Little Legon, then Dansoman, Achimota... I moved around Accra a lot. Right now, I’m in Ashioman but I stay a lot in the studio in Dzorwulu. Something funny happened to me in Ashioman that I have to tell you about. The story is so amazing. I was taking a trotro into town when a girl with some serious body, smallish upper body, not too tall and she had the most bangingest ass I have seen in awhile. I was just watching her ass. I wasn’t going to do anything. I was just recovering from malaria. Then she stops me and says “excuse me”. So I turned and said “yeah what’s up” and she says “where are your shoes?” and I told her I don’t wear shoes. She asked me if I’m not afraid my feet will get hurt and I told her that I have been doing this for some years now and nothing had happened yet so I am over that fear. She looks me up and down with this look of disgust on her face and says, “no, no, no, no... that’s not nice, eh? What’s your phone number?” >> www.accradust.com in Ghana? It makes me appreciate the music all over again and I try to take a page out of that book and bring it into my work.” 27 No, I walk through Holland, Copenhagen and once or twice everyday someone will recognize me and say “you’re Wanlov, right?” whereas over here, once every thirteen minutes or so someone will shout “Ei Kubolor!” >> www.accradust.com 8. HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT LOSING THE GHANA MUSIC AWARD BEST VIDEO TO OKYEAME KWAME’S ‘WOSO’ GIVEN THAT YOUR VIDEO WAS MORE CREATIVE? 28 I forget my emotion at the time. That year I was up for four or five nominations and that was the one I knew I was getting. Instead of paining me, my mind tuned channels to find out the reasoning behind it. I heard someone say Abraham (Okyeame Kwame) has been doing videos for ten years and never won an award. The whole thing is 40% public voting and 60% industry. I’m thinking that what happened was compared to ‘Woso’, ‘Kokonsa’ didn’t get any rotation because I don’t pay for my video to be I really admire Okyeame Kwame though as a lyricist, a business person, a person person... I’ve met him and we’ve hung out once or twice. He’s a hard worker, he’s been in the game long before I came out. Panji tells me that it takes a genuine artist who is not being pushed by big money about five to ten years or so to reach full market potential and really blow up. I’m only on my third year. 9. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT (FELLOW DUST COVER ARTIST), MZBEL? Man. The first time I saw MzBel... I love her song ’16 years’, her vibe, you know... I was walking to Labadi beach. I was wearing white supporters – the same one you see in the film ‘Coz Ov Moni’ - and she was walking out with a friend. As she was walking by me, I felt some energy. I felt her vibe but didn’t recognize her. She looks at me with some sexy-ass, strip-me-naked kind of look my staring at and she’s of r’ lo d o in b k u I K . i year ago a and says ‘e g t u o lk b a a was w in is was crotch! Th walk off and as she n o n e e er had b watched h ed her – her name he iz n hed her. S g o tc c a w re I d n a off some e t u o she’s g my tong n ass but a the tip of f o h c u ve m doesn’t ha saucy girl. a ’s e h S . vibe SA? OUT MEN B A T A H 10. AND W A diva. e, man. a headach t the same is sa n e M My God, ne. But a me learn his li yable for He doesn’t de this film so enjo , it’s hard a g m n time, he’s ause when I do a so I treat my it. be c h to tc n a e w st li to nd nt sit down a icked pare for me to ke I’m a w li rk o w y m music and ild cks the ch hild and sa elf. Don’t c a to th ours n bir work for y who’s give tell you there and t to u o e o m g t “ c o like d expe n a re u what? G e o h y k e to give come bac m ’s r It fo ”. g re n thin you a r your ow how good I’m d hustle fo n ni’ unless a o M re v e O th z o out ‘C . d h te tc e to wa so anima hard for m nsa, because he’s on ff o s e Me It com looking at s. m for me. c jo ri ly lm h fi it e th but w He makes rdy level, rel and Ha u a L e m so es yle, he giv love his st I le “ e K is e c k ri li te ly k. I feel My favouri now k I icken nec . h c t” e d n n a inside the s me gizzard le e w o w n e k only puts th e film. He ll when she th e T m o y. fr o b s rap OK N all Mensa’s . Because he is a F e in some of m so. id sa I im h >> www.accradust.com 7. WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF AS MORE POPULAR ABROAD THAN YOU ARE AT HOME? played. So for a video that was playing every 30 minutes of so to one playing once a week or when I was being interviewed, I felt it was a straight-up industry thing. It rewards the money-making more than the artistry side... and I understand it because we are in a commercial environment. If I did not put enough money behind ‘Kokonsa’ I could not expect to be awarded. It’s money before art. 29 The Mzeducation of Mzbel 30 by embodying a character she calls ‘Sasha Fierce’. Meeting Nana Akua Amoah, one is also struck by how shy she appears to be. She too has an alter-ego which she calls ‘Mzbel’ and, in that persona, Nana Akua becomes whatever the people want her to be. with dreams of dancing, dreaming up moves to songs by Deborah Cox, Toni Braxton, Mariah Carey, and J Lo. Her hero was however Akosua Adjapong: “I used to dress like her. Oh God! I had a friend in Cape Coast and we both used to dress up like her.” “People think I’m rude and I’m a loose girl. That any guy that has money can sleep with me. I’m the direct opposite. MzBel is a saucy girl. She doesn’t care what people say. She likes to have fun no matter what, and she’s an entertainer. Nana Akua is a very shy person. Down to earth. Approachable. She likes to hang out with kids and likes to have fun too. Just a different kind of fun.” She says her former manager, Daniel Adjei of Hush Hush Studios, is the one who pushed her into music: “I was working as a production assistant. Hush Hush was new and [people] weren’t patronizing the studio, so anytime there was an engineer in the studio, they could call on you to sing songs to beats they had put together. I recorded about 21 songs and people liked them. One day, Daniel said to me “okay, I think we can make money from these songs, so we’re gonna have a photo shoot and release an album””. It may surprise you to know Nana Akua did not even want to be a singer. She grew up “I didn’t see myself as a musical artist. I wanted to be a broadcaster, in radio or TV. Or a dancer. I never wanted to be the one in front, you know? But they convinced me and encouraged me and before I knew it, I had an album. After they released the songs and they were successful, everybody was saying my name. I thought ‘this is nice’. I didn’t find it difficult putting the songs together, so I thought to myself ‘I can do this’. I realized it was fun.” When 16 Years came out, Mzbel was actually 22 years old: “I looked very, very small. You might think I was 13 or 14 years. But I was an adult. I was old. I’m saying ‘fa ma me, fa wo me’ and people asked ‘why would a small girl be bold enough to say these things?’ By then, Daddy Lumba and others >> www.accradust.com >> www.accradust.com yonce American singer, Be thing Ghana has to s. Some ice vo al sic mu re Mzbel is the closest r girls with mo he ot are e ere er th th ; re, gh ey are thou Knowles. Su rd R&B. Whoever th wa for star ht l aig be str Mz d ke an even ma th Beyonce lack that define bo ey th s ing th o tw are power and duality. a Ghana who can draw ar y female singer in a or d mp ate nte cre co s ha no a is an e Ther her artist in Gh ot no er, ov re h. Mo oa l. crowd like Mzbe l is to Nana Akua Am from herself as Mzbe s it persona as distinct fright who overcome ge shy girl with sta a be to s im cla e Beyonc 31 >> www.accradust.com Since then, Mzbel has had to learn to adjust to living life in the media’s glare: “No matter how hard I try, it comes out. My relationships, where I live, my friends… everything. You don’t see [the media] chasing you but before you realize they have a story out saying all sorts of crap. Some are true. Maybe 30%.” 32 “What I wear on stage is strictly for showbusiness. You know? When I’m on stage, it’s like I’m in my office and I have to wear my uniform. If I come on stage in African fabric and I can’t move, people will say I’m confused. I don’t want to look like the people who came to see me. I want to look different, like an artist. I want to entertain. That’s exactly what I do and people always complain. “You don’t expect a doctor or the nurse to be wearing what you want them to. They wear their uniforms when they are in the hospital and remove it when they are not. When you go to the beach you can’t say “because I’m an African I will wear kaba and slit to swim. This is not our culture so I will wear batakari to swim”. People will think you’re crazy! You’ll wear the bikini even though it’s showing your thighs, your boobs and your back. You’ll wear it because that’s the costume made for swimming. Period. When I’m on stage, it’s the same. I am Mzbel, I like to be comfortable and I like to move. And they love it.” A recent robbery incident reminded her of the dark side of fame: “Before I realized, all the media people were in my house. They wanted to come to my bedroom to take pictures and talk to me. Some people even had recorders behind my window. I don’t know what came over me. I was screaming, yelling and breaking things. I lost it a little but and they were recording: nobody helped. They came to get news. What broke my heart more was that people called radio stations and said I deserved to get robbed.” “I almost gave up, you know? I can direct and edit and do production. I thought maybe I should just buy some computers, set up a multimedia company and forget about music. But I get encouragement from people. “When are you coming out with a new album? We love your song.” You’ll be driving in town and someone will say “Oh >> www.accradust.com were already saying it. But they had a way of saying it.” 33 Mzbel is the last of seven girls and she is closely supported by her family. She attended the DUST photo-shoot with her niece and when she travels on tour, she leaves her eight year-old son with her elder sister. “I love him, papa”, she says. He apparently wants to follow in his mother’s show business footsteps, and features in her new video, Runaway: “He loves it. I don’t know if he understands what it is. He is happy all the time. Before the Miss Ghana show, he saw us practicing the song. As we were leaving the house that evening for the show, he asked “why am I not coming?” I said “we don’t need you” and he replied, “but people will be asking, where is the boy in the video?”” >> www.accradust.com With such support, it is perhaps natural the half-krobo, half-fanti singer does not apologize for being brazen: “I don’t plan any of my songs. I don’t plan the lyrics, the rhythm or anything. It comes naturally. As I’m sitting with you right now, something can just trigger a rhythm or lyrics. As I keep humming the rhythm, the lyrics just come naturally and it fits. There’s nothing I can do about it. I don’t care if it’s offending someone or not.” 34 Her latest single, Saucy Girl is classic Mzbel: provocative and catchy. She says it is her favourite song on the album, as she can dance to it and did most of the vocal work on the track herself. Funnily enough, she originally wrote it for one of her dancers: “She took part in Dance Fever and came second. She wanted to do a single [but] she didn’t have a song so I had to compose a song for her. M zbel’s very small and she’s saucy on stage, so I wrote that song for her. But unfortunately she didn’t like it. She wanted something more hip-hop. So I kept the song for myself.” The new album marks a departure for the singer from Mzbel’s usual sound. While her previous albums were in twi and stuck to hiplife, this time around the singer is being more experimental: “I don’t only perform to Ghanaian crowds. I do most of my shows outside Ghana. They treat you like a star, make you feel special. They are so amazed when they see you, they want to take photos with you. You don’t get that here in Ghana. And you make more money there than here. So this time, I decided to make songs that will fetch me more shows outside.” “The song that fetches me the most shows outside is 16 Years because it has pidgin. [When] I perform other songs, they love them but they don’t understand what I’m saying. So this time around, I’ve studied their style of music and fused it with what I have: I have rock, house music, dancehall, a little bit of crunk too.” “I’m hoping to be nominated for awards outside Ghana. The African ladies that usually get nominated for these awards, their songs are on MTV and Channel O all the time. Girls like Blue, Three, and Sasha. No girl from Ghana has ever won those awards, so this time around, I’m aiming higher. That’s why the album is much different.” With three tracks on the album for those who want her old sound, Mzbel says she has not turned her back on her fans. She does however feel her fans will grow with her as “the foreign music is what they dance to in the clubs anyway.” She is however baffled as to why Ghanaian DJs do not mix Ghanaian music with foreign sounds: “On Saucy Girl, the tempo is a little like Beyonce’s Single Ladies, but they don’t want to play the songs next to each other. They think “oh, this is Ghanaian music” so they only play it when [they are ] playing Ghanaian stuff. But music is music. It doesn’t matter if the artist is from Ghana or Togo or whatever. My new style doesn’t blend with hiplife. They are playing it because I’m MzBel but if a new artist tried it, they probably wouldn’t play it.” Speaking of new artists, Mzbel is not worried about competition: “I’m in it for fun and money. And I’m making the money and having fun, so I don’t see anything wrong with anyone trying to do what I’m doing. If you go to Makola, you’ll see one thousand and one people selling the same [products]. They all have their customers and they are all making their money” Of the new crop of female artists following her footsteps, she sections out Efiya (Jane Awindor) for praise, saying she looks forward to collaborating with her in the near-future. Of the men, she loves Samini, but says she would love to collaborate with her fellow DUST cover stars: “I love Wanlov. I love his style, the way he talks. He’s always calm. When you see him, you think he’ll be this rasta kind of person but whenever I see him, he’s calm. He doesn’t listen to what people say. You know he doesn’t wear slippers? People talk a lot about that. But he’s doing his thing. He loves it, and that’s what I love.” “I love Mensa too. Mensa was one of the few people I used to look up to. He was at OM studios (formerly Syphex). Hush Hush was right behind so I used to hang around there. I’d see them and I’d admire them…” “…and now I’m one of them!” >> www.accradust.com MzBel, that track of yours, I love it, I love it.” MzBel concerts always get packed. When [Graphic] Showbiz put me on their cover, they tell me it sells. When there’s an announcement that MzBel will appear on a TV show, people watch.” 35 ASPIRE Kasapreko 37 >> www.accradust.com Chocolate Lime IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE SECRET OF CALM, HAPPY AND SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE, THIS ARTICLE IS FOR YOU! >> www.accradust.com The power of positive thinking is key to any form of success. Besides its ability to bring you wealth, it also helps bring about inner peace, improves your relationships, and helps wards off stress-related illnesses. 36 1 shot Kasapreko Vodka 1 shot Chocolate Liqeur 1 shot Lime Cordial Fill up with coke. website:www.kasaprekogh.com Produced in Ghana by Kasapreko Company Limited. DTD NO. 64 off Spintex Road Baatsona Accra -Ghana. Thinking positively means using your state of mind to influence events around you. In order to make positive thinking work for you, you must develop a positive attitude towards everything you do in life. This means expecting a successful outcome no matter what you do or how impossible your goal seems. It also means taking the necessary steps to ensure your success. It is not enough to think that repeating a few positive words (or telling yourself that everything is going to be alright) is enough - because its not. It has to be your attitude all the time. It is not enough to think positively for a few moments, and then let your fears and lack of belief enter your mind. It is having a positive attitude even when something does not go acording to plan, trusting that what happened has occurred for your long-term benefit. How it works? Positive thinking is contagious. Adopt a positive mental mood and the people around you will pick up on it. It is human nature for people to want to hang around successful and happy people. Constantly thinking about happiness, good health and success will cause the people around you to desire to help you because everyone likes to be around a “success story”. This said, its true that there will always be people that will try and bring you down. The trick is disarm them with your positivity. And remember, when you’re dealing with negative people: you are what you think about. >> www.accradust.com H ave you ever wondered how successful people seem to have a neverending streak of good luck? Well, the secret behind their success boils down to two simple words: positive thinking. 37 Photojournalism Slaughter Boys PHOTOJOURNALISM I remember puncturing a kid’s head with the tip of an old, heavy, pressing iron and watching the blood escape from his skull and shoot into the air like a liberated fountain. “Who’s next?” I shouted but no other kid came forward. I had fought my poor opponent in school a while back but forgot all about it. On that bloody Saturday morning, I had been sent to take the pressing iron to the repairer, who lived in this boy’s neighbourhood. In no time, about twenty boys had surrounded me. That is how we grew up in old Accra. You fight. If I remember correctly, that was the last time I had to fight. The story spread fast, sounding bloodier with each retelling. >> www.accradust.com I grew up among the Gas, the natives of Accra. I had to fight my way to respect in school but my reputation as a survivor came faster because of the precision 38with which I could hurl a stone at a moving target. >> www.accradust.com Slaughter Boy is a story of survival. Approximately ten years ago, the Government of Ghana demolished the colonial Abattoir in favour of a more modern one in the centre of the capital. What it couldn’t do, was win the fight against the Slaughter Boys. Everyday, several hundreds of sheep and 39 >> www.accradust.com >> www.accradust.com >> www.accradust.com 4040 Nyame” ings’ “Gye s at us. d re ote slaughte ten cedi n goats are A zumah nds of y, sa a d re t a a h b T on the e th came our re e e b h , w Nelson the beach d to be, we could use dream. All building ry e v ink about e d for talk and th oxing. and readie ra. After sb Acc as kids wa market in g, in nted to be rn a o w m o y d We to each bloo d n a and even it s, st a b hampion c the boys re to y dream the gyms though m head for t every oxers. waned, no the train as b d one suffere e m . ti te at the same fa I grew up Nelson h a m u z A when Kwashie He called The Attorh was king. most of sre fe e he Pro Gym, wh himself “T ”. I can ter boys ing the slaugh rs cursor of box oxe mber the train as b still reme urteen y m me to ntly has fo xers re day he ca h al bo ood, whic profession neighbourh one he amateurs. ty ir th ry e and was the v is h to share g , drivin They have grew up in ird with es, gums v lo g eB boxing Nissan Blu . They d white and towels sors and a black an on t late tha have no sp number p but they . M rt O o M ZO no supp read- ZOO he motto, ed around persist. T We swarm No Gain”, alnour“No Pain, him like m t the an inscrip st es a is not ju It s. ished dov ll a ew mbs. Only tion on th nguage sight of cru ead la ly n o st e in th is this time, . s k a a he w they spe of crumbs, y RawlJerr throwing they know that one good boxing match can give them far more than they can ever earn at the slaughter house in a lifetime. 41 SEX & RELATIONSHIP ADVENTURES FROM THE BEDROOMS OF AFRICAN WOMEN By: Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah IS YOUR PARTNER “LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIP” MATERIAL? So you’ve been going out for a couple of months and you finally think you’re with a person you can go the distance with. Researchers suggest that before you decide to jump into the final commitment pool, you consider a few points about your partners personality. 1. Does he or she drink a lot? If the answer to this is “yes”, then maybe you should think twice before getting involved for the long-term. Studies show that men and women with even mild alcohol problems can become violent, abusive and out of control under stress. Men can even suffer from erectile dysfunction. 2. Does his or her family background match yours? This is more important that it might sound. Partners with different family backgrounds, values and reactions to certain situations may be different (or in may cases create conflict). The result can be a break down of sexual relations, or even the relationship itself. 3. Is he or she lazy? A lazy partner can be a huge liability, not only financially, but emotionally. A lazy partner can easily turn into a dead weight when you are compelled to do everything in the relationship, making sustaining the relationship harder than it has to be. It can also make you loose respect for your partner, which will have a negative effect on the longevity of your relationship. 4. Do you have similar views on money management? Money problems is one of the biggest causes of the end of a marriage. A partner’s bad money habits can cause you to spend more of your hard-earned cash than you would have done. If doesn’t matter how great the sex is, if you’re going to loose the roof over your head! GOOD CHRISTIAN GIRLS DON’T HAVE SEX… I am a virgin, always have been, but hopefully (cross my fingers and praying fervently!) will not always remain so. Growing up, the main reason I held onto my virginity was because of my religious beliefs. “Good Christian girls don’t have sex if they aren’t married,” was drummed into my head from all angles - in Church, in school and at home. The constant pressure to not have sex put my virginity on a pedestal. Abstinence was the be all and end all of Christianity and the proud label of a “good girl”. So, being a good girl and wanting Jesus to be proud of me (I have always been somewhat of a pleaser, you see), I have remained completely abstinent. And yes, I am still a virgin. Then I got out of Ghana and relocated to the United States. In this liberal, wholly different cultural and social environment, I began to think about and research into different views and opinions on sex and abstinance. I ended up coming up with valid reasons for my beliefs. I am still a virgin, but at least now, its something I’ve chosen for myself rather than something that was forced upon me. >> www.accradust.com SEX IS ONE TOPIC THAT WE NEVER GET TIRED OF. ADVENTURES FROM THE BEDROOMS OF AFRICAN WOMEN IS ONE OF THE FEW SPACES WHERE AFRICAN WOMEN (AND THE PARTNERS THEY INVITE INTO THEIR BEDROOM) CAN TALK, SHARE EXPERIENCE AND LEARN FROM EACH OTHER ON A RANGE OF ISSUES CONCERNING AFRICAN WOMEN AND SEXUALITY. EACH ISSUE WILL HAVE SNAPSHOTS OF RECENT POSTS FROM THE INCREASINGLY POPULAR WEBSITE. CHECK OUT SOME OF THEM BELOW: 43 SEX IN Here are my top tips for men – based on my personal preferences. Remember: all women are different. “What comes to mind when you think of sex in Accra?” That’s the question I posed to a group of my women friends recently. One of the responses I got was: 1. I like to be touched all over. Please do not just head to the obvious spots…the breasts and clitorises are not the only erogenous zones. 2. Don’t rush through foreplay. Foreplay is the main play. 3. Let’s flip the script from time to time. Sex can get boring when we do the same routine day in, day out. 4. Surprise me with a new trick that you have read about (operative word in that sentence is “read”). Women are forever reading about ‘10 ways to please your men in bed’ as featured in Cosmo or some other women’s magazine. I don’t see why men cannot read about what pleases women and practice. >> www.accradust.com 5. Get acquainted with sex toys. They can add spice to your sex life. 44 6. Send me an erotic text to let me know you are thinking about me…it gets me ready even before we hook up. 7. Go down on me only if you want to. If you cannot do something with gusto please do not even try. 8. Ask me what I want from my partner in bed, or out of the bedroom for that matter… ACCRA By: Nana Darkwa Sekyiamah “Discretion – You’ve got to be very discreet when you have sex in Accra. I recently kissed someone at Tantra (a popular nightclub in Accra) and now everyone thinks we’re sleeping together!” So what is sex in Accra and how is it different from sex in Kampala, Johannesburg or Morocco? I tend to argue that sex in different countries differ because of the different cultural contexts. In Accra, you have a range of sexual relationships that are quite specific to Accra and even though they can be found is everywhere there stereotypical relationship types are very common in Accra. The older man and the younger woman – This is the relationship that I probably find the most problematic. In this relationship the older man gets attention and sex from a young (attractive) woman, who in turn receives material possessions and money. The older man, younger woman and younger man – This relationship is a derivative of the above. The said younger woman (as described above) is only with the older man for what she can get from him so she also maintains a separate relationship with her “boyfriend”. Said boyfriend is usually closer in age to the girlfriend and is either studying or is the early stages of his career. This means that he cannot afford to “keep” his girlfriend in the style to which she is accustomed or to the standards she desires/needs. Quite a few of these younger women are responsible for supporting their families and themselves. The married man, his wife and mistress – Ghana is a polygamous country. Well, that is not strictly correct as polygamy means either the man or the woman can have several spouses. In the Ghanaian context the correct term to use is “polyandry” - men can have multiple wives. If the persons involved are “Christian”, one woman can be married in church/registry office and the other woman gets a “traditional” marriage. Being married does not preclude married men from having mistresses. There is little societal criticism of men who have mistresses or girlfriends. Gay Sex – Oh my goodness! This is a subject to get Ghanaians hot and bothered, but trust me, there is a vibrant gay culture in Accra. The average Ghanaian is highly intolerant and homophobic. Gay sex is seen as “foreign” and “un-Ghanaian”. Many people conveniently forget about the male-male and female-female relationships they experienced in single sex boarding schools. People generally do not question where phrases such as “Kofi Besea” originated from. Then of course there is a host of other sexual relationships between married people, engaged people, boyfriends/girlfriends, buddies, sex workers as well as those who choose to abstain from sex for reasons which are predominantly religious. Sex in Accra is... Let us know what sex means to you. Join our discussion at www.accradust.com and click on “Sex and Relationships”. HOW TO ENJOY RECEIVING GOOD HEAD DONE RIGHT, ORAL SEX CAN BE MORE PLEASURABLE THAN SEX ITSELF - BUT FEW GHANAIAN WOMAN ALLOW THEIR PARTNER TO GO DOWN ON THEM. A GHANAIAN WOMAN SHARES HER VIEWS ON THE ART OF ENJOYING ORAL SEX. As far as I’m concerned, oral sex is nice, but trust me, if your woman doesn’t know how to enjoy receiving oral sex, you might as be licking a mokey’s ass because I can bet you my puny salary that she’ll be wishing thats what you were doing instead. Clam diving, carpet munching, cunnilingus... it’s a fine art - Hello! Its the basis of lesbian sex, but not many men (or women, for that matter) realise that the pressure to perform is complemented by the pressure to enjoy. Many women hardly enjoy sex enough to allow themselves to orgasm, so imagine how it must feel when you’ve got your legs spreadeagled, the most intimate, most hidden, part of you, soaking wet.... its enough to make any woman curl her toes in apprehension. What if I smell? What if he doesn’t like the way I taste? Does he like the way I look down there? Ladies, these are all very legitimate questions and spending time getting to know (and like) your body is essential. Correction: it is the only way to rid yourself of that kind of tension. Cleansing your vajayjay daily (ideally twice a day) should get rid of the smell. However, if that doesn’t help, it is very likely because you either have a yeast infection or worse, an STI (sexually transmitted infection). The yeast infection is easily treatable, but the STI... well, it depends on what you have.... I remember spending my summer holiday in London (Lewisham, to be exact) when I was 10. It was the first time I was allowed to go out with my older cousin, Vanessa, and her friends. Somehow they got onto the topic of douching, to which the only white girl in our group pulled a face of absolute horror, claiming, “You’re not supposed to do that- it cleans itself!” Trust me. Your vagina does not, I repeat, does not clean itself. I don’t mean to start using an aggressive cleaning regime for your little secret, but it is necessary to rinse (not douch) “down there”. It is also important that you wipe yourself well after having a wee, as the little droplets may cause an unpleasant smell (yes, I know its hard when you’re maneuvering not to touch the toilet seat, but its the truth!). Apart from hygiene, I can’t stress the importance of finding the right partner to “go down there”. Trust me when I say you need to be stingy with that *ish, and there’s a very rational reason for this too. Apart from the fact that in order to have good sex there must be a connection (sexual, emotional, etc), people often forget that you must have a confidently willing partner. Having a man with any kind of doubt, isn’t a recipe for the best waakye on the corner. >> www.accradust.com SEX TIPS FOR MEN FROM WOMEN 45 Even though oral sex (also called ‘shrimping’:-) can be very technical, there are a few ‘tricks’ that can help you lie back, relax and enjoy the pleasure that is cunnilingus. >> www.accradust.com Go slow. I realise that slow for some men can span anything from 10 to 15 minutes. When I say slow, try not make anything in particular a goal for the evening. For instance, spend as long as you can kissing, just enjoying the feeling of your man’s lips on yours, his hands traveling (no groping!) around your body; and let that be the end all and be all. Once you reach the peak of that, you’ll automatically spill into something more intense, like grinding against each other, but again, make that the end all and not just another process to some other goal. Sex can still be fulfilling and enjoyable without penetration or orgasm. 46 Relax. There is nothing dirty, scandalous, taboo or sinful that can go on between two partners - so long as both partners consent and they practice safe sex. The society in which we live frowns on a number of sexual practices (including multiple partners, fetishes, bondage, etc) and we can’t but help be affected by the moral standards by which those around us live by. Like I said before, never have sexual relations with a person exhibiting any sign of doubt, and the same goes for yourself: you must never have sexual relations with any form of doubt... If you seem to be going through a “doubt” phase, don’t worry about it, respect it, because there’ll come a time when it’ll pass. When you let go fear, love... of you make way for Accept the precess and let go of fear. Lets face it, we live in a society where a large percentage of us ladies have been sexually abused. The psychological repercussions of this can be great and long-lasting, often making it difficult for women to mentally allow themselves to enjoy any sexual act as a result of the guilt associated with it. In these cases, I can only suggest that you find a good man that respects your body as well as your mind because I’m sure, as a result of your experience, you’re the kind of woman to either a) wear your sexuality on your sleeve or b) be characterised by your intellect. Either way, you need a good partner to help rewire your perception on sexual acts. When you let go of fear, you make way for love... Lastly, I think we need to respect those women who just don’t want to have oral sex performed on them. I guess its a bit like any sexual activity: some women don’t like having their toes sucked, others don’t want to do it doggy-style... To each his own, but the one thing every woman must ensure is that, whatever sexual activity you do like and engage in, make sure its worth it! NANA SPEAKS: AN AGONY AUNT WITH A DIFFERENCE. I consider myself a good Christian, with high principles and strict morals. However, I come from a very poor background and my parents can no longer afford to pay my university fees. It’s something I am extremely worried about, especially since I only have one year left to finish. I have been prepositioned by a number of older men that come to my University to pick up younger girlfriends and I must admit that, even though I thought that those relationships were disgusting before, I am beginning to think that it may be my only way out of this increasingly bad situation. Do you think it would be alright for me to enter into a mutually beneficial relationship with an older/married man just to make sure I am in a position to complete my education? Dear Ama, From your letter it is clear to me that your priority is to complete your university education successfully and that is a commendable goal. I would like to encourage you to do this without entering into a “mutually beneficial” relationship with an older/married man for several reasons. Older/married men who prey on younger women are not interested in supporting your education. They are primarily interested in using younger women as sexual objects; a relationship with a man for financial reasons takes away from your dignity and self esteem. Additionally men who enter these arrangements are likely to have multiple concurrent relationships which increases your exposure to STI’s including HIV/AIDS. So let’s explore some other options which could enable you to finish university successfully without compromising your principles/morals. 1. You mentioned your parents are currently unable to pay your university fees. Is there any other way your parents can support you to raise your school fees? Do they, for example, have land they are willing to sell, or any other items of value that could generate income for your school fees? Could your parents get a loan from a bank or from members of your extended family? 2. There are some Non-Governmental Organisations that are able to provide scholarships for students. You may find that there are some programmes that specifically look to support the educations of young women. Do an internet search to identify some of these organizations that may be willing to support you. 3. Get a part-time job. What skills do you have? Could you work as a shop assistant, receptionist or researcher over the weekends? Is there a need within your campus that you could fill? This could be anything from typing dissertations to copy editing research papers. 4. Become an entrepreneur. Many people pay their fees through their entrepreneurial efforts. Recently I was speaking to a gentleman who had bred dogs throughout his time at university and paid his school fees with the money he had made. Is there anything you can sell (apart from your body) to raise money? These are just a few ideas. I am sure you can think of many more. Sometimes solutions that on the surface may appear easy – like a mutually beneficial relationship with an older/ married man – may end up being the most costly. I wish you all the best in your future endeavours Best Wishes, Nana >> www.accradust.com I’ve had my fair share of sexual partners and this, for me, has been key. I never have sex with someone that isn’t absolutely sure that they want to have sex with me, to explore my body and create a pleasurable experience for us both. 47 Lose Weight ... for Good! “Your body is the baggage you must carry through life. The more excess the baggage, the shorter the trip.” - ARNOLD H. GLASGOW >> www.accradust.com hether you’re male or female, young or old, the one problem that affects us all is maintaining a healthy weight. Obesity is increasingly becoming an issue in Ghana, with statistics showing that 16 percent of the population in Accra is defined as clinically obese. 48 Being overweight significantly increases your risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure and cancer. Plus, it can also make receiving medical treatments riskier. The good news is that nearly 70 percent of ageing factors fall within your control and despite what the media says about weight loss and dieting, we’ve found some easy tips to help you lose those few extra pounds.. Stay focuses on being healthy and not becoming thin. More people tend to be successful in achieving permanent weight loss when they shift their focus from being thin to being healthy. By selecting foods based on whether or not they’re healthy for you, you will easily achieve this goal. Don’t always listen to your friends and family. In many cases, being overweight is looked upon as “being prosperous” in our society. This mindset can cause those around you to discourage you from “loosing too much weight”, or to encourage you to stay the way you are. Be strong and true to yourself. This is your body and your health. Do not eat at least 2 hours before going to bed. I know you’ve heard this before, and its true. Just don’t do it, no matter how hungry you are. Drink at least 8-10 glasses of water a day (or 1 big bottle of Voltic). This helps flush your body of impurities and fat. Keeping your body hydrated will also keep hunger at bay. Eat 3-5 small meals/snacks a day. I know this doesn’t sound realistic, especially when you think of the fufu and ab3nkwan waiting for you at home, but the less meals you eat, the bigger they tend to be - a surefast way to disaster. Dietary control and exercise. It’s true what they say - all you need to do is watch what you eat and use up more energy than you consume. The formula is really that simple. You really don’t need a 100-page book or expensive personal trainer to tell you that. We’ve told you for free! On a diet and feeling hungry? Did you know that the colour blue acts as an appetite suppressant? So next time you think about putting on that blue shirt, rest assured that your fight against overeating got that much stronger. >> www.accradust.com HEALTH 49 50 “At long last the battle has ended. And this Ghana, your beloved country is free forever... I want to take the opportunity to thank the chiefs and people of this country, youth, the farmers, the women who have so nobly fought and won this battle. “... I want to thank the various ex-servicemen who have also struggled with me in this mighty task of freeing our country from foreign rule and imperialism ...from now on, from today, we must change our attitude - our mind. >> www.accradust.com We must realize that from now on, we are no more a colony but a free and independent people. But as I pointed out, that also entails hard work. I am depending upon the millions of people to help me to reshape the destiny of this country. 50 At long last the battle has ended... “We are prepared to build an African nation that will be respected by every other nation in the world. We know we are going to have difficult beginnings, but again I am relying upon your support. I am relying upon your hard work! “Seeing you in these thousands, it doesn’t matter how far my eye goes, but I can see that you are here in your millions, so that we can prove to the world that when an African is given the chance he can show the world that he is somebody. We shall no longer go to sleep any more. We shall show the world that the African man is capable of managing his own affairs. We are going to demonstrate to the world - to the other nations, now, that we are building our own foundations... we are going to create our own African personality and identity. “It’s the only way, which can show the world that we are ready for our own battle. “But today may I call upon you all that, on this great day, let us all remember that nothing requires to be done unless it has the support of God. “We have done the battle and we again rededicate ourselves not only in the struggle to emancipate all the countries in Africa; our independence is meaningless unless it is linked up totally with that of the African continent. “Let us now, fellow Ghanaians, let us now, ask for God’s blessings, and for only two seconds in your thousands and millions, I want to ask you to pause only for one minute and give thanks to the Almighty God for having led us through - obstacles, difficulties, infringements, hardships and sufferings. “To have brought us to the end of our troubles today,” “Ghana is free forever!” Dr. Kwame Nkrumah / the Old Polo Grounds (now the Nkrumah Memorial Park) / 6th March, 1957 These words were spoken by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah the night Ghana was born. Over fifty years on, we still have a long way to go before we become “an African nation... respected by every other nation in the world”. You see little flashes of that potential every time we hit the international headlines for the right reasons, instead of the wrong ones. Whenever we show the world that we are somebody. Like when we became the first African country in which a democratically elected government peacefully handed over power to another party... and took it back through the ballot box. Like when Obama visited; when the world’s eyes focused on our 50th birthday celebrations; like when we discovered that we too have oil; or whenever the Black Stars (or the Starlets) perform well (or win!) Before we can change others attitudes towards us though, we still need to change our own attitude... our mind. Osagyefo spoke of creating “our own African personality and identity.” Dust is a magazine designed to reflect Ghana today, in all our beauty but also in our ugliness. Good things happen here, but bad ones do too: “obstacles, difficulties, infringements, hardships and sufferings”. They come together to define us all: “... chiefs and people of this country, youth, the farmers, women...” Here at Dust, we want to document that definition so that in years to come, someone will pick up an old copy of the magazine and see snapshots of what life was like in our time. We think the best way to begin that documentation is to pause for a minute and look at the past, specifically to what remains the single greatest moment in our country’s history: It’s birth. Happy Independence Day. >> www.accradust.com >> www.accradust.com SANKORA 51 SHORT STORY Written by Kobina Graham >> www.accradust.com He was brought back to earth with a bang as one of his tyres suddenly exploded. He fought with his steering wheel, turning it desperately from right to left as the car veered violently in any direction but straight. With death staring him in the face, it occurred to him how embarrassing it might be telling Saint Paul he died in pursuit of sex with someone twentysix years his junior. Then he remembered Melanie’s curves and became even more determined to live. 52 The skidding slowed down and Kwesi was able to bring the car to a halt by the side of the motorway. He swore to himself and thought, “now what?” There was no one around and he knew the motorway was not a safe place to be at night, especially in a Jaguar. Meanwhile, he thought to himself, Melanie’s time and patience would be wearing thin. He pulled his phone from his pocket but as he started dialing her number, the phone gave out one last beep before his battery died. Sh*t. Just then, two lights appeared over the horizon. As they drew closer, Kwesi saw a third light floating above them. Thank God: a taxi. He activated the car’s security system and flagged the car down. The driver seemed very short in his seat, and Kwesi thought he might be child until he heard the man ask him if he needed a lift in a perversely deep voice. As he boarded the taxi, Kwesi’s nose was assaulted by the strong smell of sweat. The driver clearly could not spell the word ‘deodorant’ much less use it. He also had the kind of matted hair Kwesi only ever saw on madmen. Regardless, Kwesi told the man his destination and then he prayed a quick prayer, “God, please let this ride be as short as this ugly, smelly man is.” “What?” Kwesi was startled by the driver, who was looking back at him in the car mirror. The man sounded offended. “You say what for there?” Kwesi hadn’t said anything. He thought it wise to keep that habit going. “Ennnh? Okay. Me I see you for road top and save you wey you dey insult me?” Kwesi was confused. He was sure he hadn’t said anything out loud. Maybe the man was mad. “Ei! Now you think sey I craze? Okay, we go see!” Then he started laughing. This time, Kwesi was sure he hadn’t said anything. He was suddenly a little scared. This short, smelly driver was either mad or he was… no... Kwesi looked closer at the man’s from behind. Something didn’t seem right. He remembered tales of dwarves from his childhood; mysterious creatures who were short, had backward-pointing feet and were >> www.accradust.com K wesi was speeding down the Tema motorway like a criminal on the run from the police. He remembered his father’s warning: women are not playthings to be used, abused and replaced. That was such a long time ago. Since then, he had grown up to afford a lifestyle his father had only ever seen in foreign films. The car in which he was speeding down the motorway was a jet-black Jaguar with a satellite-tracking system that would make a fool of anyone who tried to steal the vehicle. Kwesi also had a long list of women fighting to steal his heart, or at least his wallet, away from his wife. Life was good. Melanie was the latest addition to that list. After weeks of flirtation, dinners, loans and late night calls, she had finally agreed to ‘open up’ to him. As he sped in her direction, he started fantasizing about her curves, the smell of her; her soft, caramel coloured skin, and the seductive way in which she would touch his cheek when she wanted his attention. Tonight, she would have it all. 53 HUNMAN He awoke to the feeling of someone tapping him. “Massa,” a voice said. Kwesi jumped up with a start. He was still in the taxi, which had come to a halt in front of Melanie’s house. The person tapping him was not the same person who had slapped him, but he was seated in the driver’s seat. Kwesi was confused. “Massa,” the man said, “we reach. Ten cedis.” Kwesi remained completely confused as he got out of the taxi. He reached into his wallet, pulled out a note and gave it to the driver, who then sped off. For a second, Kwesi thought he heard laughter in the wind. It woke him from his reverie and he started laughing himself, unsteadily at first and then louder as he remembered the whole thing. Clearly, it had all been a dream. >> www.accradust.com Then he remembered why he was there, walked up and knocked on Melanie’s door, looking forward to the rest of night. A light came on and he saw her shapely silhouette approach the door and stop. 54 “Who is it?” he heard her say in a curious voice. “Stop playing games, Melanie. It’s been a long night but I’m here.” He pushed the door but Melanie started closing it. “Melanie! I know I’m late, but is this necessary?” He was suddenly annoyed and pushed harder, forcing the door open. For a second, she stood in the darkness frozen. He walked up and tried to wrap his arms around her when she started screaming at the top of her voice. Kwesi was startled. “What are you doing?” As she tried to pull away he pulled her closer. She scratched him in the face and in pain, he let go. Someone walked in from outside, jumped on him and pinned him down on the ground. On the ground, struggling to free himself, Kwesi saw someone approaching from inside the house: a woman. “What’s going on?” The girl ran into an elderly woman’s arms as the light came on. Still struggling to get up, Kwesi stopped as he saw the faces of the two women looking at him in fear. They looked alike, but the girl whose waist his arms had just been around was not clearly Melanie. The elderly woman was. Just as he stopped struggling, the man holding him down smacked him hard in the back of his head. As Kwesi lost consciousness, he was sure he could hear the man laughing. THOSE ARE THE WORDS BEING UTTEREF BY MORE AND MORE WOMEN AROUND THE WORLD. BUT DO THEY REALLY KNOW WHAT IT MEANS WHEN THEY SAY THAT? THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT FEMINISM HAS SEEN BETTER DAYS. MANHATING AND BRA BURNING - THAT’S WHAT MOST PEOPLE THINK FEMINISM IS ALL ABOUT. AFTER REACHING ITS POPULARITY PEAK IN THE 1960S, FEMINISM STARTED TO WANE AFTER WOMEN BECAME MORE ACCEPTED IN THE WORKPLACE AND WERE GIVEN A MORE VARIED VIEW IN THE MEDIA (BEFORE THE 1970S WOMEN WERE EITHER PORTRAYED AS A HOMEMAKER OR A SIREN - GRACE KELLY OR MARILYN MONROE). FEMINISM ADVOCATES FOR EQUAL RIGHTS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND EVEN THOUGH IT MAY APPEAR TO BE REDUNDANT IN THIS DAY AND AGE - ITS NOT. IN FACT, ITS MUCH MORE RELEVANT THAN MANY OF US REALIZE. THE MOST OBVIOUS INEQUALITY IS FOUND IN THE WORKPLACE. ALL OVER THE WORLD, WOMEN ARE CONSISTENTLY PAID LESS THAN THEIR MALE COUNTERPARTS (YES, THIS PHENONMENA ISN’T FOUND ONLY IN THE DEVELOPMENT WORLD). IN THE UK, FOR INSTANCE, THERE IS AN ESTABLISHED HISTORY OF SALARY INEQUALITY BETWEEN THE SEXES, WITH WOMEN WORKING FULL TIME EARNING 73.7% OF MEN’S SALARIES. THE STATISTICS ARE EVEN WORSE IN THE US WHERE WOMEN EARN 77% OF THE SALARIES GIVEN TO MEN. DOES THIS SOUND FAIR TO YOU? NO, I DIDN’T THINK SO. DON’T BE AFRAID TO CALL YOURSELF A FEMINIST. STAND BY THE RIGHT TO EQUAL PAY AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR BOTH MEN AND WOMEN. >> www.accradust.com generally malevolent and mischievous. In one story, a man who followed a dwarf into the bush returned home an hour later to find that his wife had grown into an old woman and his five year old son was older than him. “Reality check: dwarves don’t exist,” he told himself, but the uneasy feeling in his gut wouldn’t go away. The driver began laughing even harder. He turned a disturbingly sharp corner and Kwesi realized they were in Melanie’s area. As his body swayed with the car, his vision fell on the driver’s feet. It was dark but he was sure… Just then, then driver shouted “hey!” and without stopping the car, turned around and gave Kwesi a slap so hard he passed out. 55 www.accradust.com IF YOU HAVE ANY INTERESTING ARTICLE IDEAS, OR YOU WOULD LIKE TO WRITE FOR DUST EMAIL US AT [email protected] WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU! 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