What Cina Soul said about M.anifest at the anniversary show
Cina Soul used her appearance at M.anifest's Nowhere Cool @ 10 Live Experience to credit him with backing her before she had built a following. GBC Ghana Online reported her remarks on 26 October 2026, two days after the concert at the Accra Polo Club on Saturday, 24 October. [1]
She described being at university with a single released song and little recognition, and said M.anifest recognised her before she recognised her own potential. He answered by calling her one of the most gifted artistes he had come across and said he had been convinced from the first time he heard her. [1]
The pair shared the stage for 'Nowhere Cool' and 'Now Here Cool', both tied to the 2016 album. GBC framed the duet as a highlight of a night built around that record, and noted that Cina Soul's contribution to the title track links her early career to a project still in M.anifest's catalogue. [1]
How the anniversary concert was set up
Pre-event reporting by GBC Ghana Online on 22 October said the show would run through all 14 tracks of Nowhere Cool rather than a greatest-hits set, bringing the album's songs, guest collaborations and stories onto one stage. The same report named Kwateng, AratheJay and Annabelle Rose as support acts performing their own sets before the headline appearance. [2]
That preview also said M.anifest had hinted at surprise guests, possibly including musicians from the original album, without naming them. A separate GBC interview piece published later the same day repeated the 14-track plan and listed the same three support artistes plus others. [2] [4]
Why the album still carries weight a decade on
In an interview on Hitz FM reported by GBC on 22 October, M.anifest, born Kwame Ametepee Tsikata, said the record was among his most loved and cherished, and that many listeners tell him it gives meaning to their lives. He described a body of work like this as a fortification of his reputation. [4]
He said the project was assembled with care for more than the music, including its visual identity: each track carried its own artwork, and the overall presentation reflected the creative direction behind it. The album's title, he explained, came from a short story by the late Ghanaian author Ama Ata Aidoo, who also reads passages from that story as part of the record's concept. [4]
He noted that his career had begun well before the album, through study and work in the United States and after his return to Ghana, and that earlier releases preceded it. Ten years on, he said listener feedback suggests the music has aged well. None of this rests on chart positions or sales figures, which the reports do not provide. [4]
The free-entry debate he was asked about
Three days after the concert, Pulse Ghana reported on 29 October that M.anifest had been asked about organisers who let people into ticketed shows without charge once performances are under way. He declined to criticise them, saying he was not familiar with the discussion and had deep empathy for every artiste and team trying to make an event succeed. [3]
The debate, as Pulse described it, centres on concertgoers who pay premium prices only to see unpaid attendees admitted after the show begins, which critics say undercuts those who paid. Rather than join that argument, M.anifest said his focus was helping build a live music industry that lasts, particularly so younger artistes inherit a better situation. [3]
What to watch next in Ghana's live scene
Read together, the two reports point to a question the scene has not settled: how a young artiste moves from a single song and an early champion to a stage that pays. Cina Soul's account shows that mentorship can open a door; M.anifest's remarks suggest the door still leads to a business model he thinks needs rebuilding. [1] [3]
The open questions are practical. Whether the anniversary show's full-album format becomes a repeatable template, and whether any organiser acts on the call for a more sustainable model, are not answered by these reports. Both remain things to watch rather than outcomes to report. [2] [3]
Published 26 October 2026 · Updated 31 October 2026 · By Beats & Business Desk. Read our editorial standards.
