Two veteran Ghanaian musicians, Antwi Himaiti and Nana Agyemang, say the Ghana Music Awards missed out on their greatest hits, elevating new questions on how nominations and winners are chosen.
The Ghana Music Awards, organized for many years by Charterhouse and now run underneath Telecel after a few years of sponsorship by Vodafone, will enter its twenty seventh 12 months in 2026 and stays the largest annual honor in Ghanaian music. Talking individually on Asempa FM, each musicians mentioned their experiences, many years aside, confirmed there was a niche in the best way the system acknowledged hit songs.
Antwi Heimighty of the duo Antwi Ne Antwi mentioned the group’s songs “Uncle Ebo” and “Sakina” attracted a big viewers within the early 2000s, however had been by no means nominated. He mentioned that “Uncle Ebo” was a giant hit in 2003 and “Sakina” was a giant hit in 2001, however neither music was registered within the awards system.
He mentioned the nomination course of again then was completely different from the way it works at this time, the place artists and managers submit entries themselves. He mentioned organizers used to determine which songs and artists to honor based mostly on gross sales experiences from merchants within the Cantamanto market, a way that utterly excluded his group.
Antwi Haimaity additionally recalled a dialog with Fred Nii Armah, during which he mentioned the potential for nomination to the group, however mentioned that nothing got here of it. Regardless of their low profile, he mentioned the response from followers through the years has been the group’s greatest reward.
Nana Agyemang expressed one other concern, saying his hit movie “Alaba” was nominated in a number of classes. He mentioned he obtained a name from a stranger who supplied him that the music may win as much as 5 awards if he agreed to an interview first. Mr. Agyemang mentioned he ignored the calls and continued to lose in all of the classes during which Mr. Alaba was nominated.
He mentioned organizers later blamed the loss on the music’s allegedly profane language, a declare that surprisingly contradicts this system’s personal guidelines that prohibit nominations for songs which are thought of profane. “Why did they identify it within the first place?” he requested. Mr. Agyemang made associated allegations in 2024, telling different shops that individuals related to the awards sought bribes over Mr. Alaba’s nomination. Charterhouse denied the claims on the time, saying votes and honor issues would decide the winner.
The 2 accounts, separated by many years, add to the controversy in Ghana’s music trade about how a lot hit music and public help truly counts in an awards course of that artists say they not often see from the within.
