Highlife artiste Kofi Boakye Yiadom, popularly known in showbiz circles as Kofi B, has blamed Charterhouse for not supporting Ghana’s music industry to grow because of how it goes about nominating artistes for Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMAs).
According to him, the processes leading to the selection of the nominees for the awards are not transparent. He also believes the criteria used in the selection processes are questionable.
When asked why in spite of his numerous hits he has not picked up any awards at Ghana’s flagship music awards event, the ‘Bantama Kwasi Boakye’ singer, speaking to DJ Premier on Entertainment Capital on Accra100.5FM last Saturday, said winning awards at the VGMAs is not the focus of his career.
“I see nothing in getting an award. I view the awards like the sneakers I am wearing. What can the awards do for me? Even the lives of those who have won an award have not changed,” Kofi B mentioned.
He added, “I don’t see the reason why I should pick a form and fill before I am nominated [for the VGMAs] when no one paid for my work in the studio. I don’t need any award! Even if I am nominated, I will still not go for it.”
According to him, he will focus on treating his fans to quality music than expecting to receive an award. He mentioned that the arts has been disrespected for long and entreated that talents be given the due recognition.
Apart from Kofi B, a number of artistes have also registered their misgivings at the annual Ghana Music Awards, with some calling on their colleagues to boycott it. They have argued, among other things, that the scheme is not credible.
In February this year, highlife artiste Kwabena Kwabena stated on Hitz FM in an interview that the award scheme has become a “private party” and so sees no reason to be a part of it.
“Everybody knows my stance as far as Ghana Music Awards is concerned in the last three years when all the chaos began. It has become a private party and I’m not interested… I have my reasons but that will be at a later date,” he said.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.