The President of Sierra Leone, Brigadier (Rtd.) Julius Maada Bio has seen fit to officially appoint an ambassador for entertainment and investment. He chose a controversial figure in an active hip hop recording artist by the name of Kao Denero
According to the appointment letter bandied about on social media, Amara Turay Jalloh was appointed on the 12th March 2021 with a mandate of serving in the capacity of Special Envoy for Entertainment and Investment.
He should also be ready to accomplish 'other duties assigned by His Excellency the President from time to time'. The President is a politician so this aspect of the role would likely fill neutral entertainers with some amount of apprehension, as the needs and wants of politicians do not always align with those in entertainment.
One of the first to congratulate Mr Amara Jalloh was a rapper known as Boss LA, who has been a nemesis for Kao Denero.
However, Boss LA showed a high level of maturity, which may surprise many, when he put out a congratulatory message on his official Facebook account congratulating Kao Denero and also recognizing the importance of the role that his recording rival has been given.
Many others have been congratulatory and superemeINC join the chorus of voices congratulating Kao Denero, as we see this move as a good one for the entertainment sector as a whole.
Previous presidents have had people in similar roles, but never before has it been done is such a transparent way and accorded the respect of a proper office by His Excellency.
Being an active artist up to and including the time of the announcement, there are challenges that we foresee, but are not insurmountable.
For starters, we hold the view at supremeINC that an active recording artists cannot effectively push the careers of other active recording artists because of the inherent rivalries in the business. Everyone wants to be Number One; and we don't see that changing, as long as Kao remains active in the professional entertainment arena.
With this in mind, it is up to Kao to ensure that he takes off his recording artist hat and puts on that of a business man when he steps into his Special Envoy office, as many will be looking up to him for development, whilst others will be looking for him to fail miserably.
A leading figure in the movie sector, Henrietta Mbawah who co-founded Salone Lives Matter with Lawrence 'Chief Bolo' Coker, has already voiced her own opinion on the appointment, and is unsure that a musician can represent the movie makers viewpoint.
Fantacee Wiz, a folklore recording artist and performer has also waded in with her views.
She is keen for there to be accountability in the new environment with Kao at the top.
At the time of going to press, we are yet to hear from many of the other leading stars in entertainment, but having communicated with Emmerson via WhatsApp, whose solo career we launched, we can convey that he is happy about the appointment and is looking forward to the development of the entertainment industry which has been really good to him.
Mr Jalloh aka Kao, has many years of experience in the music industry, both at home in Sierra Leone and abroad in the USA.
He has maneuvered himself into a position of permanent relevance over the last 20 odd years, with challenges for the top spot from the Dry Yai Crew in the early 2000s, and more latterly with BossLA.
His role and exactly what it means for the various entertainment sectors will not be clear until Kao has had an opportunity to seat at his desk for a few weeks and has had dialogue with the leaders of the different entertainment groups.
We are also curious to see how the political elements work to ensure there is harmony in the entertainment industry, which is the only way that meaningful investment can materialize. What happens when an artist or movie maker wants to push a project that is not complimentary to the government of the day? Is it the mandate of Kao in his new role to support dissenters or will he be guided by what's good for the President who appointed him?
These and many other aspects of making entertainment viable for the masses are going to be challenges, but once again, kudos to President Bio for formalizing this role, which has been performed by various people in the past in an ad-hoc manner that benefited only a few.
We wait with bated breath and hope and pray that Mr Jalloh aka Kao Denero succeeds in the role as he takes a stab at making a success of not just entertainment, but investment in Sierra Leone.
Be warned Kao, many, such as myself, are waiting in the wings to take a stab at the role you've been given, so work hard, work smart, be diligent and make it happen to the best of your abilities. Create a track record of success that benefits all and your lasting legacy will be a great one, deserving of a Son of the Soil that has done so much - in good and bad ways - to push Salone music forwards. Hope you are doing good in the new office and you can count on our counsel, should you ever need to hear a different voice that knows what it takes to get our billion Dollar entertainment industry working as it should.
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