On June 1, 2024, Ghana’s premier music award show will return under the new name Telecel Ghana Music Awards (TGMA). When its headline sponsor Vodafone Ghana transitioned into Telecel Ghana earlier this year, the fate of the awards was uncertain. But following the transition, Telecel Ghana stated its continued commitment to sponsoring the event. On March 28th, the nominees for the 2024 TGMAs were unveiled at a ceremony in Accra. Ghana’s biggest award show was officially back. And so were the questions about whether the format truly recognises and validates Ghana’s music culture.
The impact of award shows on the music industry is a universal topic of debate. In recent years, shows like the VGMAs have provided validation and recognition to artists at a crucial time for Ghanaian music. But, in the same breath, these shows have always been business ventures first. And as much as we would like to think otherwise, awards aren’t won on merit alone. We often see deserving artists snubbed or ignored altogether because of associations, lobbying, or simply not fitting a business agenda. And this year seems no different.
2023 was a good year for Ghanaian music, as we saw an array of artists score some memorable hits, amplifying Ghanaian music globally. Black Sherif, Amaarae, Stonebwoy, OliveTheBoy, and King Promise, to name just a few. The year also saw a slew of emerging acts grab the headlines and our attention. Oseikrom Sikanii, Sevenkzs, Oneman1000, Banzy Banero, Baaba J, and 99Phaces all had amazing runs, and people were looking forward to seeing them receive recognition on a national stage.
The reigning Artist of the Year (AOTY), Black Sherif, enters this year’s ceremony with six nominations, including AOTY, which could see him win the category for a consecutive year. but he faces stiff competition from other previous AOTY winners: Stonebwoy, who has 15 nominations, Kuami Eugene, with 14, and Sarkodie, with eight Other strong contenders, King Promise and Nacee, are yet to win AOTY.
Historically, the TGMAs have always recognized women in their biggest category. But, shockingly, this year’s AOTY nominations featured no women. Per the category definition, to be eligible “the artiste(s) must have released a hit single/EP/album and must be one of the artistes with the highest nominations in the year under review.” It’s hard to imagine that no female act met these criteria – or that acts like Joyce Blessing, Amaarae and Gyakie had been excluded.
This year’s nominations had several blind spots. Lasmid had an amazing year as a solo artist, with his hit song “Bad Boy” enjoying widespread love and accumulating over 20 million streams across DSPs. Still, he missed out on several nominations, including Most Popular Song. Baaba J was another dark horse, releasing an amazing body of work with Okay Baby, Let’s Do This, a project that was bizarrely ignored in this year’s nominations. The TGMA Academy defines the Album/EP of the Year as “the most outstanding compilation (either by the number of hit songs or the quality of production).” Everything Baaba’s project lacked in hits, it made up for in its quality. Her absence from Record of the Year and Songwriter of the Year categories was surprising. Just as disheartening, Amerado and Jay Bahd were also omitted from the AOTY category despite the calibre and impact of their offerings in 2023.
Additionally, this would have been the best time to reintroduce the Group of the Year category. The category that produced iconic winners like VIP, 4×4, Praye, Bethel Revival Choir and R2Bees has been absent from the awards since 2022. In a radio interview, TGMA board member Robert Klah explained that, “Group of the Year for this particular year, we’ve seen it to be not competitive. We do not have enough groups this year.” It’s hard to see how this statement merits a years-long exclusion of the category altogether, when groups like Fra Band, Senku, DopeNation, Keche, Jay Bahd & Skyface, O’Kenneth & Xlimkid, and SuperJazzClub have put in the work year after year. It’s a shame to see so many culture-shifting music collectives denied the opportunity to be rewarded for their work because the TGMA has still not reinstated the category.
TGMA is arguably the biggest event on Ghana’s music calendar, and as such, it comes with huge expectations from consumers and within the industry. With 25 years under its belt and the world’s eyes on the continent, the Ghana Music Awards must put its best foot forward. And if the mixed reactions to the nominee announcement are anything to go by, there is still room for improvement. From its membership and nomination procedures to category definitions, the academy should change with the times. And while organisers work on improving the event and experience, artists also need to play their part by showing up and rallying support for the event that has been celebrating them for over two decades. When all is said and done, this remains the single Ghanaian awards show that has platformed and elevated the careers of many artists and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. It’s only right that everyone in the music ecosystem plays their part in improving the event and the culture..
Written by Nana Kojo Mula & Brian Benjamin Owusu-Konadu
