Radio presenters should be politically neutral

By Oliver Griffin

We at Central Press enjoy music as much as the next man – with this is mind, we decided to track down Ghana’s sweetest DJ, Sompa FM’s one and only Candyman to have a chat about music, radio and Central Press being the best newspaper this side of the sun:

DJ Candyman

Another humid day in the ever wonderful Cape Coast has left me thankful for the air conditioning in Sompa FM’s lobby. Although not much to look at on the outside, the inside of Sompa’s building is nice. Polished tile floors and well-kept surroundings could forgive you for thinking you were in a Hollywood studio and it’s only when the door to the outside world is opened and the lively bustle of Ghanaians going about their business filters in, are you reminded that you aren’t.  I wait only for a few minutes before possibly the coolest man I’ve ever seen opens the door and invites me into his presenting booth. “Okay, we have about five minutes, that enough?” It’s a statement more than a question, but I understand. The Candyman is Sompa FM’s ‘transport time’ DJ and I’ve turned up at about 4 o’clock, right in the middle of his show. If anything, I’m grateful he has time to see me at all.

After a few niceties, he explains a bit about his back ground. Once I enter the plush studio, I sit behind a desk with three microphones while my host keeps his listeners occupied with music as we talk. “I was born in a village called Butre, in western Ghana” he says. “My full name is Lucas Candid Meimseh, which is partially where Candyman comes from.” Aware that he is short on time I ask him about Sompa FM’s political neutrality. “It’s easy. Governments come and go and we don’t want to run into difficulty just because we supported a previous government. Instead, we promote learning and try to bring this to as many radios in the central region as possible.”  It’s easy to see where he’s coming from – as a politically neutral radio, Sompa can better serve the interests of Ghanaians without an agenda. Candyman’s support for politically neutral radio may come from previous employments, like when he worked for the state radio. When I ask him about breaking into the radio industry he explains “My Dad had a friend called Kwame Inseidoo, who inspired me a lot. He worked in broadcasting and helped me get work experience; he told me to record a demo tape, so I did. Radio stations liked my voice and so I was invited to shows, now here I am.” I ask him if he’s been working with Sompa FM since he began his career but he quickly informs me that he started working with Kwame at the GBC state radio station in Cape Coast. He says “it was good there; they had a vision to help beginners, to train new DJ’S. But when Kwame moved, I felt that it was time to move as well.”

It turns out that Candyman has a lot of radio experience. He tells me about his early career with pride – “I worked for the University of Cape Coast radio Valco 95.3 FM. Everyone wanted to present and DJ there so I presented sports (he later became the head of sports). Since then, until about seven months ago, I presented on Radio Attomka in Elmina. I like working here at Sompa, though. The facilities are better, the online and digital services are up and running so we can reach more people here.” He’s right about the facilities. The room is a hive of hi-tech equipment, which is maintained excellently with love and affection. Slowly, the talk turns to hobbies and Candyman reveals he loves reading “I just love to read, it’s great. Here on Sompa we try and encourage people to read as much as possible. I love to read books and newspapers” ‘And you love central press yeah?’ “Haha, yes!” he laughs “I love central press too, it’s a good paper.” Damn straight. Besides his excellent choice in newspapers, Candyman is an excellent speaker, I’ve known him only five minutes but I feel completely at ease in his presence. We laugh and talk about music, which he is greatly passionate about. He expresses his love of Ghanaian music and also international artists, R-Kelly and Amy Winehouse are but a few on his list.

All too soon it’s time for me to go. I get up and after we shake hands (I’ve got the Ghanaian handshake down to an art now) I leave. As I step into the share taxi back to Abura, Sompa 90.9 FM is on the radio and I join a multitude of people as a listener, no longer an interviewer.