What speeches could do at the NDC campaign launch in Cape Coast, a song did better.
Hiplife song, ‘Mahama Paper’ composed by Shatta Wale got large sections of the party supporters up on their feet at the Cape Coast stadium in the Central region during the 2016 campaign launch.
The song drew a notable reaction from popular boxers cum entertainers Ayittey Powers and ‘Bukom Banku’ as they geared up to lay off some dance moves.
Okay FM presenter and a John Mahama fan, ‘Abeiku Santana’, joined in the moves as the launch went on a ‘political break’ with the evoking beats of the hit song.
‘African King of Dancehall’ Shatta Wale released ‘Mahama Paper’ in October 2015. Parts of the lyrics read;
“We kill'em and ever
One day things will soon get better
Big up mi fan inna Ghana, America and Jamaica
I dey count ma paper
I no make anything fi hater hey
Gyal you are mi honey
You know say mi love you only
Mi love how you wind pon mi
You kill mi when you call me
My heart desire,
You are the only one I require, I require Forever, forever, forever
You know say I no go fi take another, another, another
Make dem talk, I no go bother,
bother, bother
If e no be you then my paper,
my paper, my paper
Oh yeah, Mahama paper, paper, paper
Oh yeah, Franklin paper, paper, paper”
Trying to understand the song, President John Mahama while in Tamale in the Northern region reportedly said on Radio Savannah that after asking for the meaning of the song, he was told;
“Mahama Paper is our currency the cedi and that all of us spend it and that we must protect it”.
In another guess, the President has explained that ‘Mahama Paper’ may have been composed following a mix-up of his script when he was reading his speech during the 47th Ordinary Session of Ecowas in Accra last year.
“When I came to Tema this morning, we were walking to these grounds and I learnt a new song. They were playing Mahama Paper. It’s my first time of hearing it. But I was trying to wonder what the ‘Mahama Paper’ was about and I remembered that one of the times during the ECOWAS summit, my page thirteen was missing.
And so I was asking where my paper is. I’m sure that is what he used to sing the song. But I want to thank Shatta very much”.
But Shatta Wale, born Charles Nii Armah Mensah, is reported to have explained on Kapital Radio in Kumasi that the song is about love.
“Well you know the track title is Mahama Paper. I used that because we are under the Governance of Mahama but the whole song talks about love..If you listen to the verses I was talking about a girl who should believe in a dream…It will get to a time when we are going to spend that ‘Mahama Paper’”.
“The whole song is about love. How we should love ourselves because I believe hating each other wouldn’t be the key to where ever we want to get to but when we love each other it’s going to be there”, the self-confessed John Mahama fan has reportedly said.
The president has also picked his favourite song ‘Baafira’ by BET award winner Stonebouy.
His other choice of popular highlife song ‘Yen Tie Obia’ by veteran ‘Daddy Lumba’ generated a reaction from the opposition NPP which claimed the song represents the president’s posture to ignore concerns of ordinary Ghanaians.
It is a political season in Ghana with a crucial general elections coming up on December 7.
Like all other elections, songs are set to define the enthusiasm of party supporters and creativity of the parties.
