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Rapper Derrick Sarfo Kantanka, known in showbiz as Amerado, has urged all musicians to be mindful of the lyrical content they create when recording songs.
This comes in response to the Ghana education system’s new initiative of capturing the lyrics of artistes as part of the questions in examinations, including the ongoing 2024 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
In an interview on Joy Prime’s Prime Morning show on Thursday following the artiste’s post about a portion of his song, ‘Kweku Ananse’, which was used for a question in the Creative Art and Design paper, Amerado expressed that the action shows how influential musicians can be in society.
As a result, he advised that musicians need to pay attention to their composure and character in public, considering the level of influence of their songs and lifestyle among young people, particularly students.
“It shows that what we are doing could go as far as being positively impactful on people’s lives. So, as an artiste, if you’re going to the studio to record a song or going out to perform, you should check your dress code, the way you portray yourself, and the kind of words you use in your songs because someway, somehow, you’re having an impact on people’s lives.”
He said the initiative helps to strengthen the connection between the corporate sector and the creative industry, adding that they are equally valued in society and contribute to Ghana’s education growth.
Despite society tagging musicians as bad influences on society, the rapper encourages them never to relent their effort and keep up the hard work so as to be recognised.
Question 26 of the Section A of the Creative Arts and Design paper, reads: Select the moral lesson from the lyrics Mani mmere wo mpaboa no in the song ‘Kwaku Ananse’ by Amerado.
For Amerado, featuring his song in the examination is an encouragement for him to do more and support the growth of the sector.
“Now we have a question like ‘M’ani mmre wo mpaboa no’ in the Ghanaian BECE questions, which means that what we’re doing is just not for fun. At the end of the day, you’re teaching the children not to be envious of each other irrespective of the situation, and me as a musician, seeing this speaks volumes to me that Amerado, when you’re doing songs, you need to do songs that are not going to allow people to go out there to smoke.”
He went further to pronounce the answer to the question, saying it is A, which is ‘Do not be envious.’
The ‘Kweku Ananse’ hitmaker expressed his sincere gratitude to the Ghana Education Service (GES) and West African Examination Council (WAEC) for the recognition.
This is the first time junior high school candidates for the Basic Education Certificate Examination are taking an examination on the subject since it was introduced into the curriculum.
