Ebony’s career journey: From choosing of music name to death – A YEN.com.gh feature
Since the sad demise of Ebony Reigns hit the nation some few weeks ago, virtually everything in the entertainment industry is revolving around her.
Yesterday, February 18, 2018, was her one week observance; and from what YEN.com.gh gathered, Ebony was really loved by many people.
That is if that could be determined by the thousands of fans and mourners who thronged the premises of St. Martin De Porres School in Dansoman, Accra, to join in the service.
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YEN.com.gh has been following Ebony since she started her career, but specifically from the time she came into the limelight in 2016 with her hit song ‘Kupe’.
Based on the information gathered from various sources, including Ebony herself, her management led by Bullet, YEN.com.gh brings you a detailed highlights of Ebony’s career so far.
Ebony, real namePriscilla Opoku-Kwarteng, was born on February 16, 1997 to Nana Opoku-Kwarteng and Madam Beatrice Oppong.
She was discovered by Bullet, also called Ricky Nana Agyeman, of Ruff and Smooth fame, in 2015.
Bullet has revealed in an earlier interview how Ebony had reached out to him for help to begin her career in 2015.
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At that time, with the support of her father, Ebony had left school at form two going to form three. She had explained to her father how the urge to start music was irresistible for her.
So, her ever supporting father backed her decision to leave school, Methodist Girls Senior High School at Mamfe, Koforidua in the Eastern Region.
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He then asked her to send a voice note of any song to him via whatsapp and just when he heard her voice, Bullet said to himself: “This is the kind of voice I want to train to be a star.”
So he arranged for a meeting with Ebony, and when they finally met, they stared drawing her career plan.
The first step, according to Bullet, was the choosing of her stage name.
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Therefore, he gave Ebony a sheet of paper with list of names, catchy ones for her to choose from, and Ebony ended up picking ‘Ebony’.
Later, she explained to Bullet that her local name was ‘Ohemaa’ which means in English, Queen, and with the firm belief that she would reign in her career, she begged Bullet to add ‘Reigns’ to ‘Ebony’ and it was so!
READ ALSO: Ebony’s mother explains the meaning of her name Nana Hemaa
According to Bullet, he informed Ebony that with the enormous experience and talent he has, she should be able to ‘hit’ with her third song, otherwise he would drop her.
“In fact, with the kind of experience I have, I told her that she must hit and become popular at our third song, otherwise I would drop her.”
“But she responded: ‘Are you afraid, Boss?, I am talented, let’s get rolling, I will make you proud,” Bulllet had said.
The first song he wrote for Ebony was ‘Dancefloor’ which she released in 2015, but that song didn’t gain much attention.
The next song after ‘Dancefloor’ was ‘Kupe’ released in 2016, which became an instant hit.
Bullet revealed that he was surprised Ebony manage to hit with her second song, because he had been dicouraged with the performance of the first one ‘Dancefloor’.
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“It was after Kupe that I started paying serious attention to her; and it was after ‘Kupe’ that she started gaining popularity leading us to our first ever show,” Bullet disclosed.
According to Bullet, Ebony’s first pay for her first ‘Kupe’ show was GC500.00 which got her so excited that she never wanted to spend that money.
So Ebony managed to save that amount till she reached GHC1,000 and she expressed her excitement and gratitude to him, saying: “Boss, me too today I have GHC1,000.”
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Then came 2017 when Ebony made all the hits and waves in the music industry.
She first released ‘Poison’ which became an instant hit. Then followed by ‘Sponsor’ which undoubtedly shot Ebony to ultimate fame.
What made ‘Sponsor’ so special and a massive hit was that Ebony sang of how it was prudent for every young lady to get herself a man who can afford everything she wants and needs, not a mere broke boyfriend.
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A line in the song which says: “A boyfriend who can’t buy you food when you’re hungry...is that one too a boyfriend?” became a common phrase among most Ghanaians ladies.
Another special feature of ‘Sponsor’ is the fact that Ebony featured her dad, Mr. Opoku-Kwarteng, in the video acting like her ‘sugar daddy’.
The song caused hullabaloos among members of the public.
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While others believed it was a song of bad influence, particularly the men who feared that their girlfriends would jilt them for the ‘sugar daddy’ Ebony was preaching, the ladies believed it was a song of 'good motivation'.
After ‘Sponsor’, Ebony then released ‘Date Ur Fada’, another controversial song which also generated a lot of buzz within the public.
In that song, Ebony sang that if her boyfriend should ever make the mistake of breaking her heart, she would not cry over him, but rather make his father her next target and in fact, date him.
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Explaining how she came by that song in an interview on E-Talk, aired on GHONE TV and monitored by YEN.com.gh, Ebony revealed that she had jokingly posted on her Whatsapp status that she could date her boyfriend’s father if the boy leaves him.
“So Bullet saw that status and called me telling me that we can make a good song out of that. So the next day I went to meet him and we wrote the song together the same day, and it later became a hit song,” Ebony had said.
After ‘Date Ur Fada’, Ebony went ahead to release her massive banger ‘Hustle’ which is still receiving massive airplay.
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She released ‘Hustle’ popularly called ‘Mondi Me Dwa’ somewhere in the third week of November.
Ebony, together with her management and other team members, officially premiered ‘Hustle’ in a movie bus, naming it a “Christmas” banger.
According to her, she sang that song purposely for the market women, who work hard to ensure that they get something to support their family.
After ‘Hustle’ came ‘Aseda’, a gospel song from the ‘Original90sBadgurl’.
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In ‘Aseda’, Ebony sang of how God had shown her special favour, raising her from being underground artiste to a popular artistes.
She also sang of how people hold her in high esteem where ever she went all in the name of being a star.
After ‘Aseda’ came ‘Maame Hw3’, a song that obviously lies in the heart of every Ghanaian.
In ‘Maame Hw3’, Ebony preached against domestic violence, of which women are mostly the victims.
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The song was acclaimed nationwide and in less than a month after uploading its video on You Tube, it garnered over one million views.
This really got Ebony excited and she celebrated that feat with her management and friends.
On Wednesday, December 7, 2017, Ebony chalked another enviable success in her career.
She launched her first album ‘Bonified’ after just two years in the industry! This had never happened prior to her, considering her young age of 20 years and her short period of existence – 2 years – in the industry.
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Another thing that made her album launch topical for sometime was the fact that she surprised many with her choice of dress for that event.
She was praised for appearing modestly at the launch which was held in collaboration with Kasapreko.
Ebony followed up with the launch of ‘Bonified’ Album with a free-of-charge show organized to “thank” her fans at the Westhills Mall in Accra.
That show was well attended by her fans and followers as well as celebrities.
READ ALSO: 10 heartbreaking things we know about Ebony's untimely death so far
Still in 2017, it cannot be forgotten how the young talented Ebony Reigns received massive backlashes for her choice of dress and grooming.
She was tagged a bad girl who was hungry for fame and so could do anything including going naked for it.
For instance, the see-through dress she wore to perform at the 4syte Music Awards, became a topic for discussion in the media for many days.
Again, she wore a blue long dress to another event at the Accra International Conference Center, and from the shots taken, Ebony was captured without any underwear beneath her dress.
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As expected, this dress also caused a lot of controversies with many well-meaning Ghanaians bashing Ebony and calling her to order.
But in all, she remained resolute, firm, focused and never wanting to give up on her talent and career.
She went on to give off her best in her performances and also music releases.
In the same December 2017, Ebony won two major awards – The BASS Artiste of the Year Award, and People’s Celebrity Award’s Best Female Musician of the Year.
READ ALSO: Ebony beats Stonebowy, Mz Vee; Samini; others to win BASS Artiste of the Year
She beat heavyweight musicians including Samini, Stonebowy, Efya, Becca, Mz Vee, Obaapa Christy, Joyce Blessing, and others to win those two awards, and she was proud about her achievements.
She drew the curtain over her 2017 releases with ‘Maame Hw3’ and all this while, Ebony was busily performing at various shows and events, gaining more experience and of course, cash.
In January 2018, her first mega deal was made public, and that was the $200,000 deal by Kasapreko, to serve as brand ambassador for their Hi5 Chocomalt.
READ ALSO: Kasapreko's contract would have fetched Ebony this ‘gargantuan’ amount
Unfortunately, Ebony did not live long to see the deal materialize for her to enjoy. At age 20, she died painfully in a gory accident that claimed her life and those of two others on board.
She had visited her mother and other family members in Sunyani, and was returning to Accra when the sad incident happened.
Ebony died together with her bodyguard, Lance Corporal Vondee Francis Atsu, and her personal assistant, Franklina Nkansah Kuri, on the Sunyani-Kumasi Highway.
Her one week observance was held yesterday, and her final funeral rites will come off on Saturday, March 17, 2018.
YEN remembers the beautiful life of dancehall diva Ebony Reigns with this video below:
READ ALSO: Shatta Wale breaks down at Ebony’s one week
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Source: YEN.com.gh
