NOT even the choked auditorium and intense heat inside the Accra International Conference Centre were enough to mar this year's edition of the Rapperholic concert, held on Christmas Day, which once again established rapper, Sarkodie's status as one of Ghana's biggest musicians.

Tickets for the show were oversold and there were complaints about people with VVIP tickets being unable to find seats while the management of the Conference Centre came under fire for their non functioning airconditioners but all that seemed to be much ado about nothing for the patrons as Sarkodie and about 30 artistes gave them performances sure to be talked about for years.

In the six years that Rapperholic has been held, some of the biggest names on the Ghanaian and Nigerian music scene have hit the stage but the seventh edition managed to outdo all the other years as old and new school artistes came up to thrill the patrons.

From the old school there were Ex-Doe, Chicago, Akatakyie, T Blaze of Lifeline Family fame, Tinny and Bright of Buk Bak. Nana Boroo, Stay Jay and 5five were also in the building.

Then there the new school guys who are currently rocking the scene including Joey B, Pappy Kojo, KiDi, Kuami Eugene, Wendy Shay, Kojo Cue, Shaker, Mr Eazi, La Meme Gang, Epixode, Kofi Kinaata, Kwesi Arthur, King Promise, Strongman, Akwaboah and Efya.

Joey B
The underground acts who featured on Sarkodie's Biibi Ba challenge including Don Itchy, OBkay among  others also getting the opportunity to let the world see what they can do. And then there was the biggest fish, Highlife legend, Amakye Dede.

The show started at 10:30pm with some of the underground rappers doing their thing. That portion dragged a bit as there were quite a number of them.

Kofi Kinaata, Kwesi Arthur, Joey B, Pappy Kojo, KiDi, Kuami Eugene and Wendy Shay also took turns to excite the audience, many of who stood the whole night, jamming to songs from the artistes.

Amakye Dede is always a delight to watch on stage and this was no different as he treated the audience to a live band session that clearly was well appreciated as people sang and danced along.

The old school acts also did an amazing job and one of the best moments was the performance by rappers Ex-Doe and Chicago. The two delivered a show that looked well-rehearsed, a blend of theatrics and their hit songs and they were cheered on by the patrons.

With the audience well primed, it was time for the man of the night to show up and he opened his act in a dramatic way, appearing at the top of the stage and he did in style.

Sarkodie was stylish on stage
The screams from the audience was an indication that they were ready to be thrilled and Sarkodie did just that, dropping songs like Original, Baby, Painkiller, Adonai, Gboza, Illuminati, Down On One, Hope, Life, Megye Wo Girl and all the popular hits one can think of.

He closed his show with Can't Let You Go featuring King Promise and left the stage for some of the other acts to continue entertaining the audience.

It was another win for Sarkodie this year
This year's Rapperholic was an improvement on last year's edition and patrons who showed up had more than their money's worth.

One noticeable upgrade was Sarkodie's wardrobe which was very stylish. There were the all white and all black attire he favours but there were also some colourful outfits and camouflage.

Some popular faces sighted in the audience were Hollywood actor Idris Elba, footballer Emmanuel Adeybayor, Sandra Ankobiah, Moesha Boduong among others.

Nana Aba Anamoah
The show was hosted by notable Sarkodie fan, media personality, Nana Aba Anamoah.

Showbiz