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| KKD bares it all |
1/11/2007 |
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Kwasi Kyei Darkwah is, by all standards, a gentleman. Of royal lineage, Kwasi is the first son of Opanin Kwasi Darkwah and Ohemaa Ama Asokwa Kyei Darkwah, owners of Darkwah Plaza and Jatokrom Hotel in Tema. Since childhood he has had this burning desire to become an ambassador, to serve as a fitting representative for his motherland.
He has a unique way with words and an eye for style and fashion like no other. His poise and control as a public speaker and on stage as a Master of Ceremonies makes it seem as though he was born on a dais. KKD has evolved over the years and has contributed immensely to the media and entertainment industry in Ghana. Kwasi is essentially, a ‘happy and proud black man’. The things we know and do best provide a livelihood for us and, trust me, Mr Darkwah is very happy with what he does -- writing, producing and directing adverts, PR campaigns, special events and broadcast productions.
KKD got into media before he knew that is where he wanted to be. He found his ‘calling’ early as his parents had record shops and an enterprise that promoted select West African musicians in the early seventies. Perhaps being in the company of great musicians like Nana Kwame Ampadu as a toddler helped shape his dream. “As a child I found the lives of the best paid performers appealing. I was writing plays for acting at school at the age of six and organizing themed student jams from age 11. How I got these skills, I do not know.”
Those gigs as a boy were a microcosm of what he does now: writing, producing and presenting for special events like Kojo Antwi’s December 24th shows. “I love the adrenaline rush and ideas that come with each new production or campaign”, he says. KKD is keenly interested in the what-needs-to-get-done, and who-has-to-do-what part of shows, and strongly believes that the audience and sponsors should get their money’s worth no matter how small the event is.
From organizing jams and dance competitions for secondary students, he went on to organize fashion shows in PRESEC Legon. By age 15 he was writing advertising copy and from age 17 recording jingles and voice-overs following the commendation of GBC sound technician, Philip Agbale. He bought his first car, a Fiat Campagnola 4X4 when he was just 18 -- just what he needed to transport his mixing console and massive sound system. He enjoyed connecting with an audience so much so that it became clear a career in Mass Communication was written on the wall for him. He undertook short courses in Hotel Management with the Ghana Tourist Board and promoted his own events at Big Daddy’s Palace in Tema at a time when his contemporaries were just hanging out or attending holiday classes. “I still don’t drink alcohol nor smoke,” he says. “I guess I was too busy doing things that made more sense to me.”
Some find their calling late in life. KKD was just fortunate to see his clearly as a teenager. He studied at the Ghana Institute of Journalism whilst working at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation from age 20, and graduated with a Diploma in Journalism. The people he looked up to worked in Marketing Management, Media, Government or the Diplomatic Service. They included the likes of PV Obeng [ex-PNDC minister], Geddy Laryea [CEO of MMRS] and Mike Eghan [veteran broadcaster]. “I strongly believe that the kind of people the young admire play a major role in their aspirations, and ultimately their career and life choices,” he says.
KKD won the maiden Africa Disc Jockey Championship while he was still in GIJ and donated half of his prize money to the School for the Mentally Handicapped in Dzorwulu. He would later present his prized Technics turntable and dapper suits to younger up and coming DJs in Tema and Accra. The Finest has a long roll call of protégés: Azigiza Jnr, Fiifi Pratt, Kwame Bampoe, Kwame Faakye, Baaba Andoh, Cox Tamakloe, Lovin’ Cee and Kofi Okyere Darko, to name just a few. As co-owner and director of programmes and marketing of Sunshine Radio he insisted all his presenters and newscasters use their African names, a trend which has influenced young broadcasters since.
It has been a fantastic voyage for KKD, moving with ease from radio broadcasting (with his signature see-through perspex brief-cases for carrying his records), club promotions, live event hosting, TV production and presenting. By age 31, KKD had managed Advertising and Promotions for ABC Brewery Limited in Achimota and served on the executive planning committee for the Miss Ghana Beauty Pageant, all while commanding the highest booking fees for a presenter in this part of the world. But his young wife’s insistence on moving to the UK in search of a job placed a booming career on hold. “I was upset when she refused to return the kids to Ghana when she had found that farther pastures were not necessarily greener,” he says. “I felt blackmailed”. That doesn’t mean he’s completely passing the buck, though. “I accept full responsibility for the decisions I have made but in retrospect I regret the move. But I guess if we are willing to take the blessings then we must also learn the lessons.”
When he moved to the UK, KKD first worked as a cashier attendant and later did some odd jobs at places like Marks and Spencer. His first break in Europe came when after being hired by Alice Congrès of France to co-host a corporate event for Elf in Africa, he got connected and later found a job as an Investment Researcher at Georgeson Shareholder Communications. He invested what was left of the money he brought from Ghana and used some to buy his favorite car -- a Jaguar Sovereign in celebration of his new city job after 6 months in the UK.
By 2001, the KKD we know had re-emerged as he got hired and trained for a position in a healthcare management firm in London. On the side he started his private enterprise producing advertising campaigns for African-owned businesses in the UK and the US and presenting events.
After seven (“mostly enjoyable”) years of marriage, KKD’s domestic life fell apart and he filed for a divorce on February 2nd, 2002. He remains “a devoted father” raising his son Kwaku, 13 and daughter Ohemaa, 10, who live with him in Westminster.
Sagittarian KKD is Creative Director of The Finest Productions, UK. Recently turned 41, he oozes the same finesse and joie de vivre that singles him out as Africa’s best Master of Ceremonies.
Source:
JIVE
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