Ataman Nikita is Ready with Still Here

“Still Here” is the final decision by Richard Azunre, aka Ataman Nikita, to pursue music professionally. It is not the first song he has made, but #thesavannaonline can authoritatively say that this is the start of the musical journey to bring an alternative voice that soothes Ghana Music.

Ataman Nikita is a lecturer and a Systems Administrator at the Bolgatanga Technical University. Even though he has been dabbling in music most of his life, he appears to be finally deciding to pursue music as a profession. People familiar with Dr Pushkin’s music will recognize a familiar voice in many song hooks and choruses: Richard Azunre’s voice, aka Ataman Nikita. He is also Dr Pushkin’s brother.

The Story of “Still Here”

“Still Here” is the story of persistence, consistency, and staying true to oneself. It reminds us of a story we are all familiar with: slander, unbelief, and broken promises by people who would rather see us in squalor.

What is music if it cannot ignite an emotion?

This amazing piece of music created by Ataman Nikita, Strongman, and Dr Pushkin is a great tune and a song that speaks to each soul. Being scathed by commentary from haters is a choice. A person is indeed capable of damning such comments and charges.

This collaboration was birthed by Dr Pushkin’s desire to collaborate with other artists who appreciate his craft and are willing to do joint songs to complement their respective talents.

Strongman won the Best Rap Performance category at the 2024 Telecel Ghana Music Awards with his song “Rap God”. Interestingly, that win was not surprising. However, the time it took to win such a prestigious award is the surprise element for a peerless career that started in 2010. Strongman has been a major force to reckon with since he burst into the limelight after winning “Focus Fm Freestyle Friday” in 2010. Then he won Kfm Freestyle Saturday in 2011 and “Tha Next Big Thang in GH Hip-Hop sometime in 2012. 

He eventually joined Sarkodie’s Sarkcess Music, working with several other artists to drop hit after hit. When his contract ended, and he chose to start his label, Strong Empire, fans felt uncomfortable due to the tough nature of Ghana Music. To prove everyone wrong, he has released monster hit songs with an impressive catalogue of rap songs. He has also been able to navigate through the music scene despite being independent. Many have attempted to swipe at him through music and slanderous commentary, but he has always slayed. The last major lyrical swipe came from Medikal, and everyone knows how the Mayanka boy did back2back he unleashed rap bars that Medikal could not fathom.

Dr Pushkin’s 2024 thus far

Working with Strongman was inevitable for an artist like Dr Pushkin as he stayed true to his beliefs. Many rappers have turned singers. However, Strongman has found a way to stay relevant and on point with his highly dense Rap songs. This feature was, therefore, another instance of “real recognize real”.

Still, Here is the Dr Pushkin’s 6th single for 2024.

The revered Dr Pushkin is in Ghana for a conference on Khaya, a language recognition and translation App. He is also here for a Ted Talk at Kumasi’s Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. As part of the visit to Kumasi, Dr Pushkin visited his alma mater, Opoku Ware Secondary School, to mentor students. All of the above is due to his second hat, which carries the name Paul Azure. Dr Pushkin is also known as Paul Azunre in Tech circles; he is often regarded as the GOAT of Ghana’s Brilliant Science and Maths Quiz program, where he helped Opoku Ware SHS win the title in 2002.

Dr Pushkin is a fast-growing person of interest due to his unique combination of music and his role as a top developer of the Khaya language recognition and translation app.

“Still Here” basically says that when the odds stack up against you, remaining firm and resolute, albeit ingenious, is paramount.

The song is currently available on all digital platforms.

Ataman Nikita is currently working an album set to be an explosion of Talent. We will keep you informed on this amazing singers journey. Way to go Ataman Nikita

Afara’nga is here.

Kundivi Mahama, formerly Zazzy, has released yet another beautiful composition. The song, Afara’nga, furthers his agenda to dominate as a live performer with an enviable repertoire. Afara’nga is currently available to stream across all digital music platforms. 

The song is off his yet-to-be-released album, scheduled for late 2024.

Kundivi Mahama’s Stature

Kundivi Mahama, who resides and operates from the Upper East Regional capital, Bolgatanga, is one of the top five vocalists in the region. His stature is undoubtedly high. His dexterity as a lyricist, vocalist, and live band performer remains peerless. His consistency as a stellar musician remains his call to fame. 

In the last few months, he has been on a streak; he released songs that offer fans an idea of what to expect on his album. The songs released have so far exhibited the characteristics of a world star in the leagues of the Youssou N’dours, Angelique Kidjos, and Wiyaalas. 

Songs from his Album Released so far

Afara’nga follows Yineme, featuring Soorebia, Sheiwuna, and Taafama, which have solidified his rise. Other songs like Pon Dem Case and Echanga also make listening unforgettable.

The Above songs marked his journey when he rebranded from Zazzy to Kundivi Mahama. The new persona came with his desire to bring back the sound and rhythms of Uppers International Band, which reigned in Ghana from the late 1960s to the early 2000s. He pursues this feat with the touch of an original self; thus, fans get a feel of two worlds. 

According to Kundivi Mahama, Afara’nga is a tribute to the Uppers International Band. 

A more detailed profile about the life and music of Kundivi Mahama is coming soon.

CHECK SAFE WAYS TO TRAVEL AROUND NORTHERN GHANA HERE

What Wyldthang brought to ‘Winning’?

There are rappers whose daily objective is to impress. However, there exist others who focus on being the best. But we know that seeking to impress calls for swaying to trends and what’s in vogue. However, perfecting your craft remains the standout factor. Such is the case of Wyldthang, the Houston rapper featured on the Remix of Dr Pushkin and Budukusu’s Winning. 

He prides himself in “being Willie Good”; the phrase is about an Austin – Texas legend Willie Nelson. He is an American country singer, guitarist, songwriter, and activist. He has remained peerless in skill and style to the extent that at age 91, he’s still performing to fans. His kind of perfection is what guides his pursuit of music as a career. As a street poet, his lyrics usually reflect his emotions juxtaposed with a unique worldview. In the process, he has become a lyrical dynamo with a penchant for releasing awe-inspiring lyrics.  

In a short interaction about discovering his talent, here’s what he said.

“Like everyone else, I’ve loved music all my life. On this journey, I believe everybody lives out their own story. Stories become songs. I tell my story through my songs.”

How he Met Dr Pushkin.

His relationship with Dr Pushkin started when the latter performed at SXSW 2022. He was awed by the performance. When Winning was later performed, Thang went wild with love for the song. 

In a classic case of “real recognize real” the two artists, got a conversation going. The result of that conversation is a remix of Winning. 

Previous Works

He is a lover of motorcycles. His passion for Bikes led to him making an entire album titled Motorcycle Music in 2021. The Album featured nine songs. 

He also released another album titled RIZE. 

The incredible rapper is gearing up to release another album, Graffiti City. If you loved his flow on Winning, you will be awed by his next project. The rapper has also teamed up with Vox Machina to form The 6th Street Rebelz. The 6th Street Rebelz is currently gracing all stages across the Austin-Texas area. He also has several singles out there.

The Story Behind Winning

Before this remix, Winning rode the tides of encouragement for all in pursuit of success. People are often scared to try or continue. A situation that stems from tying their gains to others. However, while the people around you can play roles in your life, knowing your ability is paramount. “Winning” thus encourages all to avoid self-inflicted doubt. 

The ever-enigmatic Budukusu complimented Dr Pushkin’s resounding words of wisdom on the first version of the song. However, with this new performance on the song, Winning has been given a new feel that encapsulates two different cultures and worldviews. Call it the Americanised version of Winning, and you’ve got it right. While Budukusu combines dancehall/reggae vibes with the song, Dr Pushkin goes philosophical. Wyldthang then brings an impressive flow of uplifting words capable of winning American rap fans. 

Winning was mixed and mastered by Lloyd Osei Baffour Peewezel-cue with Esi Hooper on the choir

Dr Pushkin and Collaborations

This song is Dr Pushkin’s second feature of an artist from the Austin Area. His first song was with Aggie, an artist from Austin. The song is titled Forgive Them and was released with a stellar music video resonating with the song’s quality and value.  

Dr Pushkin known in academia as Paul Azunre is expected to speak at the Ghana Natural Language Processing launch of an AI Conference series later in June this year. The event is dubbed “nhyAImu”, a Twi word which means “a gathering”. However, the “AI” in the word stands for Artificial Intelligence. nhyAImu is a collaboration between Academic City University College and NLP-Ghana. Khaya Language App, Africa’s leading speech recognition and language translation AI tool will be the focus of this event.

Themed “Unveiling the future of African Languages with Khaya AI”, the focus areas of the conference include the following:

• Introduction to Ghana NLP and its mission
• Overview of engineering pipelines emphasising MLOps
• Detailed demo and guidelines on using Khaya AI’s APIs

There will also be an interactive Q & A session.

nhyAImu will take place on the campus of Academic City University College in Accra, on 12th June 2024. Time is 10am – 12pm.

Despite working tirelessly on his Khaya App, he’s gained a reputation for featuring artists worthy of the tag “artist”, and not necessarily trending artists.

Dr Pushkin is in the meantime readying a monster rap song featuring Kumasi’s finest rapper.

2024 has been a busy year for Dr Pushkin. Check out his releases for 2024 below. 

Dr Pushkin 2024 – Songs released so far