After grabbing the most important award in Ghana music for a record second-time in 8 years, the trio has dropped two brand new singles and unleashed quite a plan to storm Africa- starting in Nigeria this Easter. But would there be enough energy left in Promzy (Emmanuel Promzy Ababio), Lazy (Abdul Hamidu Ibrahim) and Prodigal (Joseph Nana Ofori) when they return to defend the Ghana Music Award topmost title in 2012? Blackachieversonline.com spoke with V.I.P prior to their Naija trip.
Within the first 11 years of the MTN-sponsored Ghana Music Awards (GMA), it was almost an official rule (until V.I.P’s second coming) that when an artiste won the ultimate Artist of the Year, they faded off and never surfaced again for a major honour.
But with V.I.P, after winning the 2004 Artist of the year, they did not only fade off, they went albumless for close to half a decade. However, in 2010 when they bounced back with their record seventh [hiplife] album [title: Progress], they won the GMA Artist of the Year for the second time; a feat yet to be equaled by any musician in Ghana.
“It really doesn’t feel any different, having won it once before at a time we thought we were at our peak”, lead singer/rapper, Lazy tells blackachiversonline.com.
And as if in the studio backing his fellow member, Promzy quickly adds: “The secret is that you have to produce songs, songs and songs until they sound good to the ears. Songs people can identify with and not necessarily following the crowd. We have been hustling from day one when we were 5 members (Friction and Bone left the group before album number 3).
After their manager and Executive Producer, Issac Aidoo (Goodies Productions) was incarcerated for drug bust in 2010 (arrested April 23, 2008), “almost everyone thought the group would die”, Promzy recounted.
And, yes, it almost did die considering that Goodies had just release V.I.P’s fifth album- My Love (2007).
“That was the most difficult part of our career. Goodies had been there for us and just like that, he was out of our career. We had to start all over again”, says Promzy.
Before then, their self-titled fourth album, Vision In Progress had won the highest number of awards by any hiplife artiste at GMAs- 5 awards. They had almost gotten to the highest point in their career with Koras, Channel O, Best Group in Africa" in March, 2005 at the Channel O Music Video Award, and even appearance in U.S hip hop bible- Source magazine.
The album forerunner- Ahomka Wom- had become number one in both Ghana and Nigeria (so far the second most popular song in Ghana after a Nana Acheampong hit). To the extend it scored in a number of Nigerian movies that wanted to break into the Ghanaian market. “Nigerian actress Patience Ozorkwor had to remix the song”, says Prodigal.
“After winning the Ghana Music Awards song of the year and several others in Nigeria and other parts of the world, we went back to where we began…. hustling till last year”, Promzy takes us throw the highs and lows of the group with the most plaudits in youth music in Ghana.
Their last album, Progress, secured 5 nominations at the 2011 Ghana Music awards but they went home with only two, including the most important- Artist of the year
“I wouldn’t say we didn’t see 2011 coming. We knew we would bounce back but it was just a matter of time; so when we saw how seriously Ghanaians received the first track off our last album we thought that was the time. Within six months of the release of Progress, three songs including ‘Away’ and ‘I Think I Like Am’ had become street-and-nightclub anthems”, says the baritone rapper, Prodigal.
So how would the trio prove they can stand the test ahead by not allowing themselves to return to major honours again, after another half decade?
“Three things: GOOD SONGS (without copying blindly), stay close to our FANS and be STRONGER as a group”, Promzy lectures.
“This way, we can easily achieve pertinent activities planned to keep us always hot- such as the upcoming tour we will embark on before the end of 2011”, says Promzy.
With seven albums why are the V.I.P yet to embark on a major nationwide tour?
“We haven’t had the right time. May be the time is now having produced enough albums that are on the lips of everyone. Our deal with Duke Banson of Paradise Entertainment is alive, anything can happen soon. But we won’t embark on a tour until after we are done selling our music and representing Ghana appreciably in our five main destinations, namely: Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Senegal and Gabon.”
“Now, we can comfortably say we are bigger than Ghana, it’s time to move to the next level and that is Africa. This time we will take our last three months of the year to hit the road in Ghana”
This weekend their rep. in Nigeria, Kennis Music, known for blowing such big wigs as Nigeria’s 2Face Idibia, is hosting V.I.P. in a major event dubbed Easter Fiesta at Lagos on 23th and 24th April.
Recently, they did some stints in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
To help push the Africa campaign, V.I.P. have released two singles Kiss Me Quick featuring R2bees and ‘Oye Me Taste’ off their July 2011 scheduled seventh album titled ‘Seven-Eleven’. “It is simply 7-11 because it is our 7th album released in lucky year of 2011”, says Prodigal
Reggie Rockstne, hiplife founder almost always describes V.I.P as the only true soldiers standing because all the groups V.I.P started with- including Buk Bak (Bright and Ronny), Akyeame (Okyeame Kwame and Okyeame Quophi), NFL, and even PLZ (Reggi Rockstone and Freddi Funkstone) are dead, so what’s the secret behind the V.I.P power?
“Consistency is our secret, basically. That is, we keep on keeping on as a group no matter what troubles we encounter each moment”, says Lazy. Plus we are almost always recording new songs because that’s the only way you can call yourself a musician. Our last album, Progress has 17 tracks; the upcoming 7-11 will have 20 songs. With that number we are sure to satisfy almost everyone, if not everyone”, says Promzy.
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