- Mummie’s boy
Known as ‘Radical Dee’ within the DJ circuit, Mr Dennis Tawiah and his former group 90 per cent were popular promoters and the only prominent organisers for African events. Dennis went on to set up ‘Akwaaba Promotions’ which is now one of the top promotion companies for Ghanaian events. Akwaaba has brought the Ghanaian and African community events like Ghana Independence, Miss Ghana UK and Party in the Park. After a successful 21 years in the promotions and entertainment industry, with the help of his mum, Mrs Comfort Tawiah and Mr Freddie Annan, Dennis was presented with a Special Achievement Award by the Ghana UK Based Achievement (GUBA) Awards last Saturday 10th November 2012 at the Park Plaza Hotel in London to appreciate his contribution to the promotions and entertainment industry.
GUBA spoke to shocked Dennis about what this accolade means to him and his experience in the promotions industry.
You have just been given a GUBA Special Achievement Award. What does this accolade mean to you?
I’ve never won an award in my 21 years as a promoter so this award means so much to me. The GUBA award to me signifies a formal acknowledgement from my fellow peers. It is good to know that people appreciate the work you do and I’m very happy to be recognised by people in my industry. I thank my mum for her surprise appearance and co-presenting the award with Freddie.
Why did you transition from DJ’ing to Promotions? After being a DJ for almost 15 years, I felt that I had done a lot in the DJ circuit and was ready to try new things. I decided to try promoting to see what it would be like to organise events from scratch, so I started off with organising and promoting my own events.
What did you hope to achieve with Akwaaba Promotions prior to its setup? My objective has always been to bring people together and to entertain people. The whole setup of Akwaaba was to make sure I fulfilled my objective of entertaining and unifying people.
How do you feel about being in the promotions industry for 21 years? I really enjoy being a promoter and there’s nothing better than enjoying what you do. It feels great to have been doing it for 21 years; I have no regrets and will gladly continue doing it. It is a very special feeling when you organise events, put things together and see the results at the end.
What would you say are the three key things that have brought you this far? My quest to bring people together especially Ghanaians, my love for promoting and a love for entertaining people is what has kept me going. Ghanaians like bringing people together and it is a community that always stuck together in the beginning when Africans weren’t recognised in the music and entertainment industry. My aim to entertain and bring people together has brought me this far
Have you got any other plans you would like to embark on aside from promotions? I love being in the promotion industry so I will continue doing so. Also, I always challenge myself to do bigger things so if a unique and exciting opportunity comes up within my range I will definitely take it on.
What do you think about the Ghana UK Based Achievement (GUBA) Awards?The concept behind GUBA is a very good one. It is a way for fellow professionals to acknowledge one another and such acknowledgement goes a long way. GUBA have taken on the challenge of representing Ghanaians in the UK and doing so very well, I hope GUBA carries on with the good work for a very long time to come. I also thank GUBA for this special accolade
GUBA will like to congratulate Mr Dennis Tawiah on his impressive contribution to the entertainment industry. He along with his former group has helped to pave the way for African promoters in the UK. We wish him and all the other nominees the best of luck.
Interview by Claudia Andrews
