He is reckoned as one of the pioneers of rap music and also noted to be among those who lifted the face of hiphop in Ghana. But Eddy Blay continues to keep a low profile when key people in Ghana’s music industry are being called.
Speaking to Graphic Showbiz last week, the half-Italian half-Ghanaian born who has been a regular presenter of the MTN Football Academy on Metro TV said that he loves what he does on that show because it combines the two things he is crazy about – music and sport.
Taking inspiration from his late father, Eddy Blay, who was an astute boxer, DBlay, as he is called by his mates and fans, said, “I love football so I draw a thin line between sports and entertainment”.
It is therefore not surprising how DBlay has managed to navigate a largely sports programme into an entertaining reality show”.
DBlay has been a host of a TV show in the past which was hugely popular. When asked about it, he said, “I am currently working hard to bring back Smash TV, which was the show I started with about 15 years ago. I am hoping it would start showing right after the World Cup tournament.”
DBlay is noted for being adventurous in many ways. Although not a professional journalist, he is doing some writing for newspapers too. “I write for the newspapers, I always try new things. I felt like trying that too and when I was up for the challenge and I did it,” he said. Today he writes for the Daily Guide newspaper.
Asked if he would ever do music again, DBlay stated that he did music as a hobby.
To him, he did music at his leisure time but was not sure if he wanted to do it full time. “I have not thought about doing that yet”, he said.
Eddy Blay was part of popular music group, NFL, sometime back and even though the group members may not be together doing music, he said they still kept in touch.
Asked about how his other members were doing, he responded, “they are really doing great. Currently, one of them Jake, is also in the media and the rest of the members are doing pretty good in all their various endeavours”.
NFL is known for songs such as Vote for Me and Titieta Woje Osu.
When Graphic Showbiz contacted Jake Aryee, he said that even though they were not together as a group, he could recall the good old days when they did music and were able to release two albums. jake is also currently into movie production and directs music videos as well. He is working on a forthcoming TV show titled, The Underground.
DBlay is of the view that, music in Ghana is currently booming as there are many success stories in the industry. To him, many musicians in the country are making a positive headway because some of them are becoming, or have become international artistes.
“This was what we were fighting for back in the day and it’s good to know that the youth are benefiting from that toil. We made a lot of sacrifices as a group because we used to organise programmes for free for young artistes and that was a result of the passion we had for music”.
A lover of tattoos, DBlay said that his tattoos are mostly Ghanaian symbols. He explained that it is a demonstration of his love for the country.
Though he didn’t want to delve too deep into his marital status, DBlay, a divorcee, stated that he wouldn’t mind marrying again and described his ideal woman.
“She should be self-sufficient, tall, beautiful, loving, caring and most of all loyal”.
He said he was not a fan of what he described as “big booty girls”. To him, his ideal lady should be slim and athletic.
DBlay had his Primary and JSS Education at Lincoln Community School at Dzorwulu in Accra and continued at St Thomas Aquinas Senior High School. The known TV icon had his Diploma in Journalism and Public Relations from the Ghana Institute of Journalism.
He has hosted a lot of TV and radio programmes and shows. He has also emceed alongside big names like Ludacris, Amber Rose, and TI.
As a veteran in showbiz, he had this for the youth: “Do not try to please everyone because it is not everyone who would like you.You need to be true to who you really are”.
Source: Graphic Online