Management of 2016 Jigwe Award winner, Rashidatu Mohammed, whose controversial video popularized the term ‘malafaka’, has finally pulled down the controversial video from Facebook two months after its release.
In an interview with freelance journalist, Lord Kweku Sekyi, Bismark Atta Boamponsem (Mr. Awesome), who currently heads Rashida’s management team, said the decision became necessary due to Rashida’s growing brand which requires the need to shift focus to her current projects.
“Initially, the reactions were mostly negative, because of the strong language and references to sex, but gradually, people started expressing their love for her, so a new chapter is opening.”
According to Mr. Awesome, the 18-year-old’s sudden rise to fame has changed her perception about life and boosted her morale to work hard towards her dream of becoming an actress — which is on course, after she received offers from some of Ghana’s leading production houses.
He says Rashida will enrol in a training programme to improve herself for the industry.
“Sometimes, good things come out of bad situations, and that’s exactly how Rashida’s journey has begun. And already, her fan base extends to Europe and America, because, aside the malaka part, a lot of people think she possesses something special within her to do better in life.
Rashida Black Beauty is now a brand that portrays confidence and pride of being an African with dark skin,” he concluded. Rashida is one of the most searched Ghanaians on the Internet in 2016, after her use of the term ‘malafaka’ (a corruption of the offensive American slang, ‘motherfucker’) in a video that was shared thousands of times on various online platforms.
In the video, originally meant for her ex-lover who she referred to as Kushman, the young lady claimed he had verbally abused her after jilting her for another lady.
Rashida proudly touted herself as “Black Beauty”, and narrated how faithful and supportive she had been to Kushman prior to the break up.
At Berekum in the Brong Ahafo Region where the story originated, a rap song, titled Malafaka, was released by Mr. Awesome and his rhyme partner Kooko, which had Rashida featuring in the video, a situation that led to a video reply from Kushman, who attacked the two rappers and referred to Rashida as having a “black dog’s face.”
On December 22, 2016, Rashida’s video beat “I can’t think far” by popular comedian Kwadwo Nkansah Lilwin, to receive the award for Viral Video of the Year at the Jigwe Awards organized by Viasat-1 TV at Kempiski Hotel in Accra. In the same month, the Rashida Black Beauty fan page on Facebook hit over 20,000 likes in just three weeks.
