Zapp Mallet Expresses Disappointment in Lord Kenya Over Rejection of Songs

• Zapp Mallet has expressed disappointment over Lord Kenya's disavowal of their hiplife music collection
• Lord Kenya publicly has labelled his past hiplife songs as 'ungodly,' rejecting his former musical identity
• In a video, Zapp Mallet reflected on the pain of creative rejection, a position Gabriel Myers Hansen agreed with an interview with YEN.com.gh

Legendary music producer Zapp Mallet has expressed deep disappointment in rapper-turned-evangelist Lord Kenya.

His disappointment stems from Kenya's decision to publicly disown the hiplife songs they created together, saying the move has made all his creative efforts feel wasted.

Lord Kenya's repentance and disavowal of songs

Born Abraham Philip Akpor Kainya on September 19, 1978, Lord Kenya was one of the topmost rappers during the peak years of hiplife.

He released seven albums, including Sika Card (1998), Sika Baa (1999), Yeesom Sika (2001), Sika Mpo Fane Ho (2002), Born Again (2003), Akasieni (2004) and God Dey (2008), before 'repenting' to become a Christian preacher in 2010.

Read also

“She is not resting in peace”: Karma President sends strong warning to Ebony's family

Among the hit songs Zapp Mallet produced for Lord Kenya are Sika Baa, Medo, Ye W'adwen Yie, Driver, Nwom No, Fameko, Chap with the Rap, and Sika Mpo Mfa Neho.

In July 2014, Lord Kenya called on radio presenters and DJs nationwide to stop airing his hiplife catalogue, describing the songs as "ungodly."

He has since maintained that as a born-again Christian, anything he considers "worldly" should no longer be linked to his name.

This decision, Zapp Mallet, has noted, was not communicated to him in any form by Lord Kenya.

Zapp Mallet disappointed in Lord Kenya

Speaking in an interview on Max TV, the respected sound engineer, widely regarded as one of the founding figures of Ghana's hiplife genre, singled out Lord Kenya as the "biggest artiste" he has ever produced, making the evangelist's disavowal of their shared work all the more painful.

"In a certain sense, it has made all my work look in vain. I just have to take it as it is, because it's all part of life. Sometimes life can be very bitter; it comes with so much bitterness, but you have to bite into it," he said.

Read also

Deputy Chief of Staff Nana Oye speaks about judgment of RNAQ and wife's divorce case

Zapp Mallet argued that by denouncing the songs, Lord Kenya had also dismissed his contribution as a producer, since the two created the music together.

He questioned how any creative person would feel watching their best work being publicly rejected, even as those same songs continue to generate recognition and value.

"The biggest artiste I produced has come to say that he doesn't like all the songs he did again. He has parted ways with that life, so he doesn't want that life again. If you are a creative person, how would you feel?" he asked.

Watch the Facebook video below:

Zapp Mallet has a point

Reacting to Zapp Mallet's lamentations, music journalist Gabriel Myers Hansem agreed with him, saying:

"What Zapp Mallet is describing is a specific and largely unresolved tension in the music industry: what happens to jointly created work when one creator undergoes a values transformation so fundamental that they disavow the product itself? Lord Kenya has every right to walk away from his past life as a matter of personal faith. But moral disavowal is not the same as legal ownership relinquishment. Those songs belong to both men in the creative sense, Zapp built the sonic architecture that made Lord Kenya's voice land the way it did. When an artiste says 'stop playing my songs,' a producer can reasonably ask: are they your songs alone to silence?

Read also

All there is to know about Richard Nii Armah Quaye's ex-wife Joana after divorce settlement

Mzbel cashes out amid Afia Schwarzenegger's beef

In other news, YEN.com.gh reported that Mzbel had intensified her feud with Afia Schwarzenegger after receiving GH₵30,000 from a prominent friend

In a video, she showed off three bundles of GH₵100 notes in excitement as she resolved to continue firing Schwar.

She also offered to send GH₵10,000 to Schwar's children in Ghana to use for their upkeep.

Source: YEN.com.gh