Music commentator Ricky Tenneson has expressed his disappointment over what he describes as a missed opportunity by Black Sherif to properly honour Ghanaian highlife legend Amakye Dede in his new Iron Boy album.
The album, which was released on Wednesday, April 2, had been billed by Black Sherif himself as a homage to the iconic singer — a sentiment that raised expectations across the music community for a project that would reflect elements of Amakye Dede’s rich musical legacy.
However, in an interview on The Chat on Channel One TV on Saturday, April 5, Tenneson expressed shock and dismay over the complete absence of any musical or lyrical tribute to Amakye Dede across the entire album.
He pointed out that despite the album’s title and prior statements made by Black Sherif, there was no thematic, sonic, or symbolic representation of the highlife legend’s influence anywhere on the project.
“This [album] was supposed to pay homage to Amakye Dede the Iron Boy, but there was nothing like that. The tape doesn’t have anything related to Amakye Dede, and so I was like, what was the whole linkage about paying homage to Amakye Dede?
“A day before the release, there was a conversation between Black Sherif and Kwadwo Sheldon where he said this project was actually to pay homage to the Iron Boy [Amakye Dede], and so I was expecting to see elements of that, but nothing. With even the Iron Boy song on the album, I was expecting to see that, but there was no connection in any way.”
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