Mr. Drew
Ghanaian highlife and afrobeat artiste and dancer, Andrew Nii Commey Otoo, known by the stage name Mr. Drew, has expressed his displeasure over the level of popularity and attention given to lookalikes in the country by fans after their emergence on social media.
The outspoken performing artiste revealed during a DGN interview that the majority of his core following largely disregarded his work and supported the imitations.
“It feels tremendously encouraging when someone is motivated by me to make a physical change. The only issue is trying to sell your imitation. On the other hand, I disagree with media outlets interviewing them while the original artistes struggle to get support for promoting their works.
He added that “the Ghanaian community is part of the problem. We are giving them so much attention,” he said.
There have been several agitations and mixed reactions between original acts and their respective lookalikes in Ghana’s entertainment industry.
This is following their emergence on social media. In recent days, some industry players have called for immediate action against these lookalike celebrities.
These celebrities are alleged to impersonate artistes by taking money to perform their music at events.
In a recent development, a Ghanaian lawyer, Bobby Banson, has warned the lookalikes of Medikal, Black Sherif, King Promise, Mr. Drew, Kuami Eugene, Fameye, and others about mimicking their profession for personal interest.
The lookalikes perform at gatherings to earn money at the expense of the people they imitate, according to Mr. Banson, who defined their acts as illegal.
He claims that impersonation is illegal and that those who continue to act illegally would be prosecuted.
“I believe you can take a look at the unfair competition act, which permits a person to bring legal action against another when that person uses that person’s reputation to obtain unfair financial advantage,” he stressed.
Some Ghanaians have praised the lookalikes for their skills in perfectly imitating the performers. Others, however, have criticised their attempts to capitalise on the entertainment personalities they emulate.
BY Prince Fiifi Yorke