The auditorium of the Church of Pentecost Prayer Camp at Ablekuma was last Sunday set ablaze with cheers and excitement as the crème de la crème of the nation’s gospel stars gave outstanding performances to grace the launching ceremony of new entrant Patricia Appiah’s maiden album, ‘Odo Ben Ni’.
The event, which had the venue filled to capacity, could have passed for a musical concert with good live band music to back it. The master of ceremony (MC) for the event, Kwasi Ernest, the Greater Accra chairman of MUSIGA, also contributed significantly toward the progress of the album launch.
Some of the artistes who graced the occasion were Cindy Thompson, Hannah Marfo, Philipa Baafi and Joe Beecham.
One artiste whose performance moved the crowd was DSP Kofi Sarpong. The policeman cum gospel star thrilled the crowd with his stagecraft and dancing skills with great energy, doing the adowa dance when he sang his hit song ‘Nyame Ntonko’.
His performance was not limited to the stage as he came down to join the crowd who were on their feet dancing the day away.
Another artiste whose performance wowed the crowd was Noble Nketia, who performed some of his hit songs including ‘Yesu Do Yi’ and ‘Woyi Madisua Nyina’.
Patricia Appiah, whose album was being launched, also gave a great performance despite her pregnant condition.
30-year-old Patricia Appiah, a seamstress who hails from Obo Kwahu in the Eastern Region, is married to Emmanuel Appiah, with whom she has two children namely Catherine and Emmanuel Jr.
In an interview after the launch, she told BEATWAVES that she was grateful to God for helping her finally hit the limelight with her maiden album.
“This wonderful launch has completely compensated for all my years of toil and disappointment prior to the release of this album.”
Her maiden album, ‘Odo Ben Ni’, is an 11-track album with good songs which are uplifting and enjoyable.
‘Odo Ben Ni’ is a beautiful mid-tempo highlife piece with well arranged instrumentation to meet the demand of gospel music fans.
Her powerful voice on this song was replicated when she performed the same song at the launching ceremony.
Another great song which has a rather subtle but enjoyable percussion is ‘Saa Na Otie’. This song uses a fusion of jama and highlife beats as the playing of the conga and other drums are neatly interlaced with rhythms from the guitar.
‘Yeyi Wa Ye’, another song on the album, is a popular worship song sang in Pentecostal Churches but Patricia treats it differently as she adds her style by garnishing the lyrics with a bit of her own inspirational words amidst RnB beats.
Other equally great songs on the album produced by her husband Emmanuel Appiah and programmed at Wavbox Studios are ‘Titi Trenee’, ‘Nipa Afamu Die’, ‘Me Hwihwe Nyame’, ‘Eye Woa’, ‘Saa Na Mikra Kondowo’, ‘The Angel’, ‘Saa Na Otie’ remix and a praise medley.