TIPTOPSTARS

February 28, 2015 has been described as a Saturday to remember for Cameroonian movie actors living at home and abroad. Under the banner of the National Actors’ Guild of Cameroon (NAGCAM), it is a day they have set aside to choose the ones amongst them, who will ferry the aspirations of the group to the greatest height within the film industry in Cameroon.

In Cameroon, the February 28 NAGCAM election has been the talk of the industry, perhaps because the actors’ guild is the most vibrant within the industry, at least as far as ordinary observation is concerned. TIPTOPSTARS was told all roads will be leading to Buea’s famous Hotel Residence Carlos, situated in Muea, venue of the elective General Assembly.

“We had some delays obtaining permission from the Buea Administration, but I just got a call that the file is ready and we can now secure a pass,” Ala Leo, interim NAGCAM President told us, when we contacted the Bamenda-based actor who is at the head of the GA organization. “We are now set to go with the accord of the Buea D.O,” Ala Leo went on.

The acting NAGCAM President however explained that the apparent silence of Moma Pascal (NAGCAM President said to have been deposed) and Otia Vitalis (actor and current Board chair of the Cameroon Film Industry, CFI) has a psychological toll on the group. “I have tried severally to reach both of them, but neither Moma nor Otia would pick up my calls,” the NAGACAM interim boss reported. “Even when the Cameroonian Ministry of Culture asked us to have a meeting with Otia Vitalis, he would not,”

TIPTOPSTARS wrote to Otia Vitalis and Moma Pascal via Facebook for their reaction to the allegation, but by press time, both personalities had not responded. 

According to the acting President, this however, hasn’t stopped the NAGCAM elective GA from taking place. Reports indicate that actors Fred Takum and Kesha Kena are vying for the post of president of the NAGCAM.

In the diaspora, the same exercise has been billed for Saturday. Cameroonian actors, under the banner of Actors’ Guild of Cameroon – USA are gearing towards having new leaders. “Preparing is going on smoothly. I have noticed a lot of enthusiasm amongst members,” Mat Atugon, current acting President of the Actors’ Guild of Cameroon – USA told this reporter. Logistically, all is set, the agenda is ready and venue for the GA arranged, Atugon reported. He further explained that a Constitutional Committee will be set up to work with the elected officials in view of adapting the NAGCAM statutes to suit the USA branch. 

So far, Terence N. Limona has publicly declared his intension of becoming the USA branch actors’ guild boss. Fondly called T-Boy by film industry folks, his candidature has already been endorsed by a good number of USA-based Cameroonian actors. It is little of a surprise. The Houston, Texas-based actor has demonstrated militated love and interest for film industry issues to the point where he is ready to bear every weight.

Talking to this reporter on the line to Houston, Limona said he was motivated to run for the presidency because he has come to terms with the fact that Actors’ Guild of Cameroon – USA is an elitist group, with people who need to be considered as such. In such a group therefore, communication has to prevail, which communication, the young actor intends to provide through his leadership. “To that effect, we will talk, criticize constructively, bring forth development-oriented ideas and fix the basics that are required for us to advance as performing artists,” he told us.

Limona told us that he will be encouraging his folks to do entertainment with a lot of fun, but committed to those things that truly define their careers, professionally speaking. To that effect, their rights as actors will not be joked with. “We will create a very professionally liaison between producers and artists and make sure excesses are thoroughly controlled,” he explained. “We want quality work, either in the administration of the group or the performance we will be dishing out as actors on set.” Limona went on: “I’ll be a president with an open-door policy, accepting everyone as we share our goals in total trust of each other.”

Limona, who is also a certified and practicing Accountant acknowledged that it will not be chocolate running the group from its top position. “But, we will achieve our goals if we work together,” he cautioned.

Meanwhile, Maryland-based actor cum singer, Ntube McBright Powell aka B1 and actress Edith Pikwa are postulating for the position of Public Relations Officer (PRO) and actress/model Nathalie Bih has declared her wish to be the Cameroon Actors’ Guild – USA Treasurer. 

These elections (first official for the USA branch) come at a time actors in Cameroon are in dire need of branding following recent concerns that they are not creating any impact neither at the home front nor abroad. They have generally been acclaimed for their giftedness and brilliance in their performance, yet very little is known about Cameroonian actors by their country folks, let alone the rest of the world. 

In a 2009 interview with Emeka Ike, one of Africa’s movie acting legends, endorsed, Solange Yijika, Moma Pascal aka Bob, Lynno Lovert, just to name a few and told this reporter he was ready to work with them again and again. Other foreign actors have given their Cameroonian counterparts an excellent score, yet the latter have not progressed to the front seat of the bus.

Who has to brand Cameroonian actors? Is it the media? Is it the industry? Do the actors have to settle on self-branding? These questions have lingered around for so long and seem to be the most pressing issue at hand as NAGCAM goes in for election. Meantime, efforts are being made in the direction of branding with the creation and running of multiple social media platforms to sell the image of Cameroonian actors.

TIPTOPSTARS comes back to this story after Saturday’s election.

Passion for something is one thing. Hard work is another. But skills in it must be present, if success is expected. The third of these options is a reality, when it comes to Missy BK. Her savoir faire in music is as glaring as the impressive reaction that follows each of the singer’s music outings. This time, it has even been more spectacular with the release of Ndolo, a new singe that seems to be beating the brilliant records the young Cameroonian singer had created in the past.

In a typical Missy BK style, Ndolo dropped like a stun, getting every music lover off their feet. It is a love song par excellence, sweetened by an irresistible melody that replicates the Canada-based contemporary artist’s giftedness in the art she knows best.

In the 3.19-minutes-long track featuring ISH and sung in English and pidgin (lingual franca), the author declares her filial love for parents, yet reveals her attachment to siblings. In words like “I no di kolo, na ndolo”, literally meaning she is madly in love, the singer aims at portraying the strength love can exerts on humanity, especially at a time the world is going through avoidable crisis, some of which are a result of the lack of this much-needed value.

Produced by Willbeatz Productions, Ndolo, from all indications is making great in-roads with the media playing a salient role in the track’s promotion. The artist has lined up radio/TV interviews this and next week, to tell the Ndolo story. Amongst them are the ones with the Buea-based Mount Cameroon FM, run by CRTV and Batimu FM, run from Belgium. These interviews are supposed to have taken place by now.

On Thursday February 19, 2015, Missy BK will be on La Voix de St Laurent Quebec and two days later, she will talking on CIBL Radio, Montreal. Sunday February 23 will be POM Radio’s turn with the young and dynamic radio host Prince Oro. On Monday February 24, the author of Ndolo joins the Africa Crest Radio team in talking about her new single.

Ndolo (meaning love in Duala – Cameroonian mother tongue spoken by the people of Douala, Cameroon’s economic capital, and its environs) comes less than three months after her organization, the Missy BK Foundation shared love with some 38 orphans in Buea via a philanthropic gesture. That the December event and her newfound passion in humanitarian activities would have inspired Ndolo, is what TIPTOPSTARS will be finding out from Missy BK. But for now, savour Ndolo and show the artist some love by supporting the project.

Fears that Cameroonian indigenous genres could one day disappear in favour of contemporary music may soon be a thing of the past. You may only have lesser unadulterated Cameroonian traditional music, but much of it is being fused into other contemporary genres to get new results. That too is creativity and it is but normal that artists act as such.

For one thing, Cameroonian singers of the contemporary epoch still hold makossa in very high esteem and have not parted away from it. In their productions, a good number of them have dug into the archives, brought back some of the finest makossa pieces in the yesteryears, fused them with rap, hip-hop, afro-hop, afro-rap, you name and the results have been brilliantly crafted music, excellent for consumption. That is one of the strong points of singers of this generation.

Two of such singers have been on this and after a lot of behind-the-scene work, they have decided to emerge with their own version which some observers are already describing as a jamais vu. A single, Original Makossa, released to that effect is now considered as one of the best things that happened within this new dispensation. Original Makossa, released a couple of weeks ago is a catchy melodious track that would stay firm on every taste bud, so long as you get exposed to it. Its authors, M. Ngede Smith alias Vivid and Yekabong Carven aka Abs who make up Realm Squad (name of the band) are as vibrant in their singing and dancing just as Original Makossa is soul-searching.

The video of Original Makossa is sweet mixture of impeccable images and sound and artistically successful choreography. This is handiwork of two of Cameroon’s finest music video directors, at least in recent years – Nkeng Stephens and Mosima P. In the video illustrated by album jacket photos of some makossa legends including Eboa Lotin, Kotto Bass (both of blessed memory), Many Dibango, San Fan Thomas, etc, the Realm Squad is reminding the world that makossa is a Cameroonian creation and everyone has to dance to the beautiful tunes of this great genre.

Original Makossa is mostly sung in French (one of Cameroon’s official languages) and pidgin (lingual franca).

Realm Squad is an extraction from a former Bamenda-based four-man (students at the time) dance crew (Vivid, Abs, Gilo Brown and Banky). Upon the relocation of Gilo Brown and Banky to the USA and Nigeria respectively, Vivid and Abs took up Buea as new station. It was in the regional headquarters of the South West that they sprang and Original Makossa is the maiden professional product out in the market under the banner of Realm Squad. It is produced under Max Empire, a music label run by the group.

Just like it is hard to distinguish a comedian’s jokes from their seriousness, so too you may always be tempted to think that real moments in an actor’s life are happening on a movie set. But sight of delegates with participants wearing official UN badges that run down from their neck and world flags-flooded conference halls, a scenario typical of the United Nations systems, tells you it is no movie. It is all about official world matters - work, work and work! That is a new experience international actress, Merlisa Determined is meant to start getting used to, apart from movie set activities she has commonly done since she opted for movie acting.

In her new status as United Nations Ambassador with Special Consultative Status from UNECOSOC,  Merlisa has since the start of last week been on her first outing in that capacity and is currently taking part in one of the several conference holding in Geneva, Switzerland.

Amongst other things, the actress cum UN Ambassador has been involved in discussions  at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights which discussions centre around business and activities of the Strategic Alignment of Like Minds – Insurmountable Women, under whose direct banner, she is in the UN today.

“I had a warm reception here Ernest and everyone has been very friendly, cooperative and helpful to me,” the award-winning actress told TIPTOPSTARS when we reached out to Merlisa. “It has generally been a great experience here in Geneva and I must say it's an honor to participate on world issues and networking with people from across the globe. I'm learning quite much. The sessions are very enriching.”

Another session which would definitely be more enriching is the screening of DIFRET, film released a couple days ago, co-produced by Angelina Jolie and directed by Zeresenay Berhane Mehari. The film highlights some of the virtues propagated by the United Nations including economic, social and political rights for women. The screening of DIFRET in will be followed by a discussion on the movie’s theme(s).

Merlisa, born in the Caribbean Islands is an experienced movie actress who has won several awards and had worked a great deal with filmmakers and artists around the world. She became an accredited UN Ambassador on September 18, 2014 following her devoted efforts in helping women and young girls in the U.S., Africa and the Caribbean Islands from less privileged backgrounds. She currently resides in the United States.