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Vodafone Ghana Music Awards 2015; Ten Things To Look Out For

The Vodafone Ghana Music Awards is here with us again. The music festival which rewards artistes and celebrates Ghanaian music is happening on Saturday 11^th April, 2015. The theme for this year’s awards is ‘Ignited by Passion, Powered by 25million Fans’.

Here are 10 things to look out for;

1. This is the sixteenth year of the awards and no female artiste has ever won the overall Best Artiste of the year award. The last time a female artiste was nominated in the ultimate category was in 2012, when Efya and Becca lost out to Sarkodie.  

2.  Naturalgirl MzVee has been nominated in the Artiste of the year category. The simple probability that a female will win Artiste of The Year is 14.3 percent (one out of seven). If MzVee wins, she will become the first female artiste, the first female dancehall artiste, the first unsung performer to win it the next year, and probably the youngest winner ever!

3.  This year’s edition sees a new category- Reggae/Dancehall Artiste of the Year. The total number of categories has now increased to twenty five. In line with this year’s theme, Headline sponsors-Vodafone Ghana unveiled a fan park on the Osu Oxford Street for more fans to experience the festival.

4.  No Gospel artiste was nominated in the Artiste of the year category. UK based gospel singer, Sonnie Badu was a strong contender last year, but he lost out to dancehall king, Shatta Wale. The simple probability that a gospel singer will win the ultimate award is zero.

5. Sarkodie makes another first!  With 11 nominations, Obidi has just set the record for the highest number of nominations ever! Before this record, the highest number of nominations was nine. Volta Regime Music Group rapper, Edem follows closely with 10 nominations. Both Edem and Sarkodie will be competing in 6 categories - Artiste of the year, Hip life/Hip-hop Artiste of the year, Vodafone Song of the year, Best Rapper of the Year, Best Collaboration of the year, Hip Hop Song of the year, Best Rapper of the Year.

6.  In his very first attempt, Realer No hit maker, Pappy Kojo, is challenging for the HipLife/Hiphop Artiste of the Year, Hiphop Song of The Year, and Best New Artiste of The Year awards. That is a good feat for the new star.

7.  With over twenty albums to his name, Daddy Lumba of Yen Tie Obiaa fame is challenging for five awards including Artiste of theYear. Fans say like fine wine, he gets better with age and his music appeals to both the young and old.

8.  Some heavyweights from previous years who are nowhere to be found this time are Kwabena Kwabena, Sonnie Badu, Eazzy and Shatta Wale. In contrast, artistes like VVIP (formerly VIP), Samini, Edem, Castro, Guru, Sarkodie, EL, R2BEES, No Tribe and 4X4 have been highly consistent on the basis of nominations only.

9.  Sarkodie is the only artiste who appears three times in one category - Best collaboration of the year. Two of the songs are his and he was featured in the third.

10.  Last year’s champion, Shatta Wale is the first ever winner to be sued by the organizers and disqualified from the competition the next year. Reggae singer-poet, Blakk Rasta has also been disqualified before, but the Dancehall king is the first ever winner to be taken to court and disqualified by the organizers.

May deserving artistes win.

Author
Fatima Ibrahim has been a keen follower and analyst of contemporary African music and movies for years. When she is not checking out the latest in entertainment and current affairs, she spends her time working on a career as a professional telecoms engineer. Follow on twitter @fatizahrahim

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OUT NOW! The Newaccra Achievers Report 2015; 30 Ghanaians About To Shake The World

Newaccra Magazine has released the 2015 edition of the Newaccra Achievers Report, a celebration of unsung Ghanaians making impact and showing promise in diverse fields.

This year’s report is titled ‘The Newaccra Achievers Report 2015; 30 Ghanaian achievers about to shake the world’. A total of thirty individuals who are making impact and showing future promise in diverse fields were profiled in the report. More than half of the achievers are entrepreneurs and one fifth are females. The aim of the report is to shine the spotlight on unsung impact makers.

This is the second consecutive year of the report that comes out in March each year to mark Ghana’s independence month. Newaccra achievers are selected by a rigorous consultative process that ensures that honourees have actually achieved something that will be considered outstanding among peers.

In a press statement released earlier, the publishers described the report as a credible reference for entreprenuers, investors and donors, academics, policy makers, media and civil society.

Commenting on the unveiling, the project manager, Kwamina Sagu Ekremet, described the work as challenging and fulfilling. “We had limited room to showcase unlimited stars. But at the end of the project, fulfillment comes from presenting trailblazers who are lighting the uncharted murky paths for their compatriots to follow. That sole purpose has been achieved” he says.

For his part, the team lead of Newaccra.com, Eric Kumah said "there are so many unsung people out there doing amazing things. This is our service to such people, and we are happy about the early excitement that our report is generating in the entreprenuerial community. It has a deeper meaning for us because we are on a mission to become Africa’s most trusted name in success and personal development”. He ended by appealing to media teams to follow up on the achievers and help promote their work.

Newaccra.com is a leading online success and personal development magazine that has thousands of visitors from more than ninety countries. The magazine produces special reports and runs unique events for current students, recent graduates, and young entrepreneurs.

The twenty seven page report features a list of achievers and detailed analysis including forecasts. It is available online for free download online.

DOWNLOAD BELOW:

FULL LIST OF HONOUREES- THE NEWACCRA ACHIEVERS LIST 2015.

Adjei                      Agyei-Baah, Haiku Poetry Champion

Anne                     Amuzu, Nandimobile

Bryite                    Asamoah, Healthline 255

Christian              Atsu, Footballer

Daniel                   Ampofo, Ninety3 Studios

Emmanuel          Nyame, Ghana StartupCup

Emmanuel          Tagoe, Boxer

Eric                        Vondee, My Home Teacher

Frederick             Osei Mensah, GMC Consulting

Gamel                   Adam, Gamel Clodin

Josephine           Marie Godwyll, Young At Heart

Joshua                  Ayinbora, Agriculturist

Kenneth              Owusu Akyaw, Gnalet

Kobby                   Blay, Ghana Health Nest

Lesley                   Afra Aidoo, Afra K Designs

Lily                         Kudzro, Devio Arts

Maafoa                Acheampong, TouchMakeup Artistry

Martha                 Bissah, Olympic Gold winner

Michael                Dakwa, Team1000words

Michael                Bediako, Adinkra Inno.V8

Nana                      Akwasi Awuah, Lawyer and Activist

Papa                      Oppong Bediako, Illustrator

Patrick                  Atsu, Filmmaker & Engineer

Philip                     Kofi Ashon, Citi FM,

Philip                     Osei Bonsu, Public Relations Specialist

Prosper                Ahmed Amuquandoh, Academic

Randy                   Osae Bediako, Kharis Group

Theophilus          Acheampong, Petroleum Economist

William                 Okyere-Frempong, HuD Group

Yaw                       Odoom, Trotro Diaries

END

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Meet our new website - Newaccra.com

Thank you so much for visiting Newaccra Magazine

We have great news for you - We have now moved to a brand new website!
Because you make time to read our work, we have built the new site to make your visit more enjoyable.

Our brand new website - www.newaccra.com does more for you;

• We have dedicated categories for all the topics you are interested in
• We make it easy for you to share the cool stuff you see with your friends on Facebook and twitter.
• We're bringing special coverage for tertiary students, enterprenuers, Brazil 2014 and lots more. 

So check us out now and tell your friends you were here first !

Regards,
Your friends at Newaccra.com

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7 tips to become a great leader

 

Having studied what made King David (KD), the man known as 'a man after God's own heart', one of the greatest Biblical leaders, leadership coach Kwamina, writes on 7 tips to become a great leader.

 

1.    Have faith in a Higher Being – God:  Many successful leaders including; war time leader Sir Winston Churchill, emancipator Abraham Lincoln, freedom fighter Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, anti-racist campaigner Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, business leader Thomas Edison, scientist Albert Einstein, have attributed their great achievements to belief in a Higher Being. Most modern leaders also attribute daily meditation as a booster to high performance and wellbeing. King David was also a leader, who right from boyhood decided to put his confidence in a Higher Being (God). The book of Psalm shows his relationship, trust and love for God.  

2.    Back faith with good character traits: King David was a man who had good character traits to make him a great leader. He had integrity even as a shepherd boy and was patient to wait for the right time to ascend Israel’s throne. During his reign, he exercised authority with humility and was courageous to face his enemies and lead the fiercest battles. His encounter with the couple Abigail and Nabal and the poor in general showed a man, who was determined, resilient, kind and generous. By forgiving King Saul and family as well as his rebelled householders including Absalom, he showed a man with a heart to forgive. KD was also a loyal man and maintained a good relationship with his God, friends and team. 

3.    Have the right association and team: King David understood that he was an average of the friends he had and this is seen by the associates he had throughout his life. Challenge-takers, achievers and learners; in this case men of war, like Abishai, Sibbechai, Elhanan and Jonathan, were his friends.  These were men, whom like himself, killed a giant each (KD killed Goliath and his friends, the four giants from Gath), to make KD’s generation befitting of the title, 'Giant Slayers'. KD also consciously and deliberately selected his team, who were known as the Three Mighty Men (his core) and the Thirty Men. 

4.    Get a good understanding and situational application of leadership styles: Throughout the chronicles of King David, it was clear he employed all the leadership styles under different situations to lead his people. He delegated authority to his men during wars. He participated in wars and battles. He was authoritative and decisive during times when strong decisions and strategies needed to be employed against their common enemies, depending mostly on his God and tried and tested instincts.  

5.    Love excellence: From a shepherd boy to the King of the nation he exhibited excellence in all his dealings. Malcolm Gladwell in his book David and Goliath chronicles how KD defeated Goliath using seemingly primitive weapons of war at that time. He had confidence in his tried and tested weapons of war. He saw opportunities in excelling at small things including defeating of bears and lions when they came after his sheep during his shepherd boy days. He played the string instrument with excellence which led to his being recommended to King Saul 

6.    Build systems within the ambit of the Law/ Constitution: King David understood that for his ideals to outlive him, he needed to build systems which were unbiased. He established systems championed by institutions headed by men of competence. These institutional leaders were champions in their field of expertise. This led to national security, wealth creation and national development.  

7.    And finally develop a clear succession plan: King David ensured he had appointed his successor before dying or leaving the reins of leadership. Mostly that is the nemesis of great leaders. They do not groom their successors leading to collapse of the systems painstakingly built during their tenure. KD ensured that his successor was selected, groomed and crowned before he died. 

These tips deduced from King David’s leadership era teach us that we need not be perfect in order to excel but continuous learning has the potential to make us excellent leaders who can bring generational change to every facet we lead.

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About the author

Kwamina Ekremet is a youth leader, volunteer and a Process Engineer. He believes that individual Africans can change Africa by making Africa's problem their personal problem and then solve it in their generation. He is in love with Africa’s potential and her rise to become a force to reckon with in world affairs.

Newaccra Magazine is a positive lifestyle magazine for the young and driven. Our goal is to inspire ambitious young people to achieve their big dreams. We do this by providing high quality content on personal development and success, positive mindsets, healthy lifestyles, and current sports and entertainment. Follow us on twitter for more @newaccra or Facebook/Newaccra or by email- info@newaccra.com.

photo; actioncoach.com

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