Zed Ay Kay fans go gaga as his debut album, ‘Versatility’ pops up.
After several months of twitchy expectations and waiting, music aficionados and fans of rap artiste Zed Ay Kay (aka Zak) are ecstatic as his highly anticipated debut, ‘Versatility’, has finally popped up on the terrain.
Zak permanently silenced sceptics with the release of a 14-track album which music analysts have already tagged as á game changer’ and claim the album defies any straitjacket classification because it fits virtually every contemporary Ghanaian and international music form: a mixture of hiplife, R&B, hi-life, reggae, and afrobeat.
The album was released weeks ago, stirring up euphoria among fans in different parts of the country, particularly in metropolitan Accra, Kumasi, and Takoradi. Every tune on the album comes spiced with its own exclusive lyrical and instrumental ingredients, enabling each to fit exclusively into one or more of the prevailing local musical genres.
“Versatility’ appeals to multiple audiences; that’s why it is not so easily classifiable. Finally, we have here a package that every true music lover craves for – a pleasurable melange of creative vibes and provocative rhythms,” said Chris Allotey, a London-based music critic, after hearing the first six of the 14 tracks of Versatility.
“This level of creativity and self-confidence point to greater things to come from this dude. This might very well be the game-changer, and although Zak may not yet be classed as a mainstream artist, this album has all the hallmarks of one made by a seasoned artist – the perfect prescription for good music lovers around the world,” said Allotey.
The Versatility project benefited from the resourcefulness of a string of remarkable producers, including Guilty Beatz, highly rated UK Afrobeat producer, Jay Brown, Luv Number Productions and Wei Ye Oteng, who produced a huge chunk of the album, among others.
The 34-year-old diva describes his debut album as a blend of different music styles, carefully crafted to fit the different musical genre which have caught his fancy over years. He christened the album “Versatility” chiefly to reflect the diversity of his own artistic and creative potential, he says.
The line-up of featured artists is just as impressive, with a host of both Ghanaian and international artists, including FOKN Bois, Jamaican Dancehall queen, Stacious, UK based RnB singer, Candy, Ras Kuuku, Yaa Pono and Italian X-Factor winner Jiggy, who was Zed Ay Kay’s former group mate in his Replay days.
Although Zak may now be a debutant and may not be on the front row of the business of music, his name and craftsmanship have streamed across the spotlights of the music scene during the past five years, sailing on the wings of a selection of highly celebrated but previously unreleased tunes.
‘Versatility’ will be officially unveiled at a special Listening Session in April but music lovers and fans who cannot wait will find it on all digital streaming platforms around the world.
Zed Ay Kay educates about the Coronavirus
with ‘Armah Senegal’
with ‘Armah Senegal’
The global Coronavirus pandemic which has gripped the world, has seen countries forced to forego various greeting rituals for hygiene reasons. In a time when we are all being encouraged to find creative solutions to problems, people around the world are getting creative with their greeting habits in an effort to reduce the risk of contracting the Coronavirus and to prevent its spread.
In Ghana, however, the social etiquette of a handshake looks like one of those old habits that will not be dying anytime soon. The temptation to shake a friend’s hand is so strong that it will take a conscious effort on everyone part to resist the urge. That said, handshakes and other forms of bodily contact will need to be avoided if we are to succeed in slowing down the spread of the virus. That is the message Zed Ay Kay is seeking to communicate in his latest piece which he describes as a public service announcement.
The song titled ‘Armah Senegal’ on the aptly named “Vaccine Riddim” produced Dream Jay.
Explaining the ‘Armah Senegal’ choice as a song title, Zed Ay Kay said ”In Ghana, refusing a handshake is seen as a snub, so we need an alternative rather than just refusing to shake hands. As people have already come up with the foot shake, I thought about giving it a name”. He went on to add that ”The action of the foot shake resembles a tackling action. My lyrics also talk about having a strong defence against the virus, so I thought I name it after arguable the best and most endearing Ghanaian defender of my generation. In times like these, we need heroes and Armah Senegal is definitely one”.
Zed Ay Kay ft. Article Wan – Me P3n Demara
Prod. By Wei Ye Oteng
Prod. By Wei Ye Oteng
Zed Ay Kay has teamed up with renowned producer, Wei Ye Oteng for another masterpiece. ‘Me P3n Demara’ which is his first single of 2019 features Article Wan and can be described as Afro-Pop with a hint of Highlife.
Zed Ay Kay who is quickly gaining a reputation for writing good songs, does not disappoint once again. Article Wan lends his usual humorous lyrics to the song making you want to simply sing along. Zed Ay Kai said,”I have been working on completing my debut album, but I felt it had been a while since I put a song out. I am hoping to release my album before the end of the year so in the meantime, my fans can vibe to this”.
‘Me P3n Demara’ follows the success of ‘Deliverance’ which gained a lot of airplay and yet another track from his forthcoming ”Versatility” album, due to be released in 2020
Zed Ay Kay – Deliverance ft. Singlet
Barely a month after releasing his classy Highlife single ‘Two Guitars’, fast rising star Zed Ay Kay has once again teamed up with highly rated producer, Wei Ye Oteng and Takoradi’ sensation, Singlet to serve up another potential club banger, ‘Deliverance’.
This is yet another song from his forthcoming album” VERSATILITY”. On ‘Deliverance’, Zed Ay Kay catches most of his fans off guard with his Fante rap, punctuated with his regular pidgin style. Those who know Zed Ay Kay however will not be entirely surprised as half of his parentage is from Shama in the Western region.
Not only is ‘Deliverance’ set to be a banger, it is also the new term, with gentlemen offering ‘deliverance’ to ladies up and down the country.
Zed Ay Kay – We No Know ft. FOKN Bois
Disenchanted, disgruntled and despondent. A feeling the majority of today’s artist can be identified with. But then again what do you do about it? Who do you go to for advice? The FOKN Bois of course!
‘We No Know’ is yet another single from fast rising star, Zed Ay Kay and features FOKN Bois (Wanlov the Kubolor and M3NSA). Programmed by UK based producer, Candy, the song addresses the hustles upcoming artists go through to get recognition from other industry players.
In Ghana, all you need to steal the ears of most listeners is creating hype, investing in radio play and making commercial or danceable songs whether they make sense or not. It is obvious talent or good music content isn’t appreciated in Ghana; and this have kept most young artists at a stagnant level. They never get heard even though their music could make emotional impacts on the listener. Zed Ay Kay might have spoken from personal experience and FOKN Bois being advocates to a better music system in Ghana, shared their views as well.
This is the truth, a song we need to listen to, drive us to change our perception about up and coming” artists and value their talents before they get accepted somewhere else.
This is more of a listening song and he also calls it an anthem for all up and coming artist, expresses Zed Ay Kay.
Zed Ay Kay – Nah Give Up ft. Ras Kuuku
Ghanaian rising star, Zed Ay Kay has enlisted the help of 2017 BASS Awards Reggae Artist of the Year, Ras Kuuku for his new song titled ‘Nah Give Up’ done on the ”Free Yourself Riddim”.
The “Free Yourself Riddim” project is a follow on to the “Take Time Riddim”, which took the reggae world by storm. Speaking to Zed Ay Kay on why he jumped on the riddim, he said, ”It has been a privilege to feature on a Luv Number One production, especially as the album features distinguished reggae artists such as Macka B, Deep Jahi, Jah Vinci, Skarcha and many more”.
” As soon as I was sent the riddim, the first person I could think of featuring was Ras Kuuku, which he obliged. The rest as they say is history”, he added.
The” Free Yourself Riddim” album which features thirteen artists and is available on iTunes for downloads.
Zed Ay Kay set to excite Highlife
music fans with Two Guitars
Zed Ay Kay follows up his hit single Lemonade with a highlife song taken from his forth coming album VERSATILITY. Two Guitars sees Zed Ay Kay at his affable best with yet another endearing pidgin rap delivery, and features highly talented highlife singer Kumi Guitar who recently signed a lucrative deal with Accra based Zylofon Media.Two Guitars is produced by VGMA nominated producer Wei Ye Oteng. The song also features Ghana guitar legend Acka Blay, and Noah Thompson, a renowned guitarist from Alabama based band Roman Street lending a helping hand.
Two guitars is a love song that celebrates unconditional love. The song is set to confirm Zed Ay Kay's arrival on the Ghana music scene as a formidable artiste.
The video for Two Guitars is Directed by critically acclaimed Director Wanlov The Kubolor, and is set in Dansoman where Zed Ay Kay resides.
Click here to watch the youtube the video.
Video: Zed Ay Kay – Ghetto Feeling (Feat. Melo Brown, Italo Skarcha/ Serocee)
After releasing a Highlife song ‘Stop My Love’ and a slow groove jam ‘Lemonade’, fast rising Ghanaian artist, Zed Ay Kay has released the third single from his forthcoming album ‘Versatility’ and provides us with more clues of what the album will contain.
The song titled ‘Ghetto Feeling’ is a reggae song that basically talks about the everyday struggle and life experiences in the ghetto.
‘Ghetto Feeling’ features U.K based singer, Melo Brown, dynamic reggae star, Italo Skarcha and Hip-Hop/Reggae artist,Secoree.
Song produced in the U.K by by Birmingham based producer, Duncan Grimley, video shot on location in Birmingham and Takoradi (Ghana).
Enjoy!
Zed Ay Kay Releases Second Single – Lemonade
After much anticipation, Zed Ay Kay follows up his debut single with Lemonade. Lemonade is of course cryptic and not a song about the lemon flavoured drink. The song is masterfully produced by Guilty Beatz, with chords similar to G-Funk from the mid nineties.
LEMONADE features trademark Zed Ay Kay delivery, Gage’s unique ‘toasting’, and Yaa Pono at his abstract best. The song is an absolute banger an one that will be played at every good jam up and down the country.
A video is set to be released in May, but the question still remains, “What does Lemonade really mean?”
Zed Ay Kay Returns With Refix Of Highlife Classic - ( Stop My Love - Zed Ay Kay Ft Felix Owusu, Produce By Oteng)
Replay's refix of Gyedu Blay Ambolley’s Simi Rapp is still regarded as one of the best ever made since the birth of hiplife. Produced by Kill Beatz in 2010, the song featured Ambolley and received great reviews and air play in Ghana. Since then several other attempts have been made by various artiste to remake old popular highlife songs. The fusion of old song with rap to give it a contemporary feel has generally been the method. A few of these fusions have been successful, although a majority have met with no great acclaim.
The success of the Replay refix of Simi Rapp can be put down to the fact that it did not follow the “add-rap-and-take-off-old-verse” formula. The effortless mix of old school meets new school, masterfully put together by beats produced by renowned producer Kill Beatz, gave the song a modern edge, and helped transform the old classic into a modern classic.
Despite the success of Simi, it has taken over five years for another refix from the Replay boys, but this time only featuring Zed Ay Kay as part of a solo project. Stop my love is another old time classic, by another revered legend of Ghana music Felix Owusu. Taken from the 1996 E'show Me album, the refix of this old classic keeps its highlife identity, with the unique rap style of Zed Ay Kay, complimented by the sweet singing voice of Felix Owusu.
"I have been a fan of Felix Owusu , and listened to his music since childhood. The opportunity to record with such a distinguished artiste was a dream come true for me. Both Ambolley and Felix Owusu are now like uncles to me, and people I can go to for advice. I was also privileged to feature on Afihya Pa a song taken from Felix Owusu's recently released Members Only".
Stop My Love is the debut single by Zed Ay Kay, taken from the forthcoming album VERSATILITY.
Replay Debuts Maiden Album Senorita [@ghana_replay]
After announcing their arrival in October 2010, it has taken 5 years to the day for Replay to release their debut album. The group which brought you Simi (featuring Gyedu Blay Ambolley) and Wonkoaa. They came with a promise to excite Ghanaian music and have returned from a sabbatical with their debut album SENORITA.
The long absence from the local music scene however can be explained by the extenuating circumstance which inevitably led to the prolonged break. Both members of the band travelled to Europe to continue with their studies, Zed Ay Kay to France, and Jiggy to his native Italy.
Although the group has not recorded as Replay until last year, when they recorded Viva La Vida Local, one of the songs on the SENORITA album, Zed Ay Kay and Jiggy have both been working on individual music projects.
On his return from France, Zed Ay Kay has been working on a solo album, due to be release in January 2016, while Jiggy has had great success in the Italian music charts with Expo We Are, a song co-written and performed with Alison Medini, and more recently featuring on Pappy Kojo’s De Ja Vu.
Zed Ay Kay said “we felt it would be a good idea to put all our old songs on one album for our dedicated friends and fans who have stuck with us throughout. We felt we needed to do that before releasing any new material, as well as our individual projects we are looking forward to recording as Replay again really soon”
Although most of the songs on the album have been previously released and in the public domain, it also contains unreleased material such as She dey play, the title track Senorita, and Viva La Vida Local. The album features some of the best producers in Ghana including Killbeatz, E.L, Appietus, Oteng, Richie Mensah and GuiltyBeatz, and artistes such as Gyedu Blay Ambolley, Pappy Kojo, and Obibini to name a few.
The SENORITA album is now available on, Amazon, ITunes and several other online music platforms