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

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 

About Fancy Gadam’s ‘If’

Fancy Gadam has once again mesmerised fans with an impressive accompaniment to his song “If”. The ‘explicit’ song performed over an endearing beat is a danceable song through which the artiste cautions his partner against not climaxing during a sexual encounter. While the subject matter may be controversial, the musician minces no words in expressing the importance of intimacy in a relationship.

‘If’ is the latest song from this prolific hitmaker from the Northern Regional Capital of Ghana.

Who is Fancy Gadam?

This musical enigma was born Mujahid Ahmed Bello on January 1, 1988, in Gurugram, a town in the Northern Region of Ghana. He eventually picked up music as he encountered more and more of the music culture of his ethnicity. As a young man in contemporary times, a fusion of his nature and trendy sound would urge him to stand out and do music professionally. 

The young Gadam completed both his Basic School and Secondary School in Tamale, the Capital of Ghana’s Northern Region. The hurdles associated with accessing higher education did not affect his love of music; thus, when the opportunity presented itself, he pursued it. From participating in talent shows with his dance and musical prowess, he honed his talent and became ready for mainstream music. Music Industry insiders in the Northern Region saw his potential and pushed his craft leading to a breakthrough as a musician.

Despite making Waves in the Northern Region, the release of “Total Cheat” which featured Sarkodie was the defining moment for Fancy Gadam. The amazing musician was already known to be the only artist who was filling up stadia and any venues he held events. Interestingly, most of such events were hosted and headlined by himself. 

‘Total Cheat’ coincided with one of those stadia-filling moments, making Fancy Gadam a sensation across Ghana. After riding on the back of that song to nationwide recognition, he released more chart-topping songs including “Customer,” “Concrete,” and “Sofo Moko,” and several others.

His musical style is unique. He fuses Afrobeat, Dancehall, and ethnic Dagomba vibes to offer something refreshing for music lovers. 

Fancy Gadam‘s story is one that inspires; talent, perseverance, and dedication remain the key to his success. 

His Most Popular Songs

This incredibly talented artiste has several songs that have dominated the airwaves. In Ghana and Beyond, some of his songs are seen as what describes his stature. Notable among them are the following;

1. “Total Cheat” ft. Sarkodie: This undoubtedly is the biggest song. It is what propelled him to the rest of Ghana and the world. Many argue, there might never be another song that big from him.

2. “Customer” ft. Patoranking: This also topped the charts, and was Fancy Gadam’s first international collaboration. 

3. “Concrete”: This song proved that the artiste didn’t always need a collaboration to prove his worth. 

4. “Sofo Moko”: This was also a furtherance of his stature as an artiste.

5. “Yaka Chana”: As an artiste whose musical influences include his cultural heritage, he used this to project and celebrate his traditions. 

Fancy Gadam has many more hit songs, however, the above standout in his career per thesavannaonline‘s analysis. 

Fancy Gadam is a renowned musician from the Northern Regional Capital of Ghana.