Manifestivities 2023 – A True Celebration of Hip-Hop & Rap, The Review
Written By: Nana Kojo Mula.
Sunday, December 17, 2023, will go down as one of the best nights of the celebration of rap and Hip-Hop in Ghana with Hennessy on board as seen internationally with other rap and Hip-Hop Icons and Concerts, recognizing Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary.
Over the weekend, Ghanaian rapper Manifest held his annual concert Manifestivites at Untamed Empire in Accra which was a climax of months of publicity, planning, organization, and execution of a great experience for all who attended the event.
As advertised, the event was moving from its old home at the Bukom Boxing Arena to the Untamed Empire. It was a match made in heaven. Manifestivies is one of the most well-organized events and for a venue noted for having its own issues, they did an amazing job.
In the end, everyone who came for the show can attest to the former, prooving that experience will always come out on top. Gates were opened at the advertised time, with food and drink stands at vantage points and some games to keep people who came during the day engaged. I noticed the heavy security presence, which ensured the space was safe and secure for everyone. There were some DJ sets in between to keep patrons company as we prepared ourselves for the performances of the night.
Phase two of the event was kicked off by KQTheArtist, who serenaded patrons with music during his DJ set as part of the warmup session. There were other DJ sets in between from Eff The DJ, Afrolektra, and DJ Pizzaro, who all delivered back-to-back jam sessions. The first performance of the night was by Odeneho who set the tone for the night with an energetic performance on the Hennessy Gen Next Stage. Other acts like Kojo Trip, Kojo Vypa, and Lor, as well as Anabel Rose, Marince Omario, and Romeo Swag, all gave great accounts of themselves. It was great to see these young emerging artists put a lot of effort into curating their performances, which brought life to the stage and the event. This writer applauds the crowd, who were very supportive of every act who mounted that stage.
The man of the night, Manifest started his set with an electrifying entrance, which upped the excitement in the space. He delivered masterclass after masterclass with each performance. The energy with the band, the engagement of the crowd, and the overall flow of performances were amazing to watch. There were moments in his performance when Manifest paused to take requests from the crowd and gave acappella renditions of the songs the audience requested. He also brought out the winners of the 50 years freestyle open verse challenge to rap their verses to the applause of the audience.
Along the line, he introduced some guest performers from Reggie Rockstone, Cina Soul, Ladipoe, Bisa Kdei, Kojo Cue, La Meme Gang, Worlasi and Ria Boss, who filled in for Kwesi Arthur, who was not present at the event. Although other acts advertised could not make it, Manifest made up for it by bringing out King Promise, who delivered a great performance. To top it off, they gave fans a teaser of a new song that will be released next year, “Hang My Boots.” After hours of back-to-back exciting performances, we were given an amazing closing by the guys from Life Living Records, who treated us to back-to-back Asaaka songs.
As someone who has been to other Manifestivities, this year’s edition might rank higher in terms of execution, taking into account the relocation of the event, among other things. While we constantly blame event organizers for not starting events on time, it is also important that we, as attendees, take a portion of the blame. The organizers had everything set up on time, but attendees did not come on time. Bar that, Manifestivities 2023 was a true celebration of rap in the country, and we look forward to many concerts.
Photo credit : Elorm
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