Selfish Concerns Of Iwan/Blakk Rasta Misplaced!!

Blakk Rasta

Blakk Rasta



The success chalked by the Dancehall genre in the 2013 musical year has led to concerns by a section of the Dancehal/Reggae artists-IWAN/BLAKK RASTA concerning the few and fused categories in the Ghana Music Awards over the years.They have the right to equal recognition in the awards scheme, equally, they have a responsibility to earn that right in our local music awards.

True!! Dancehall’s finest Samini-Shatta Wale were talk of town in that particular year. But then isnt it early to rise for ‘independence’ already? BTW, this same Iwan would claim that what Samini does is not Dancehall, but lets leave that for another day… Not that this is the yardstick of determining how a genre is to be recognised, but HOW MANY TIMES HAS THE DANCEHALL/REGGAE GENRE/ARTIST CARRIED THE MOST COVETED AWARD OF DAY? The gospel may have suffered same fate but then there is no denying the fact that gospel genre in Ghana has rooted itself in Ghana music, maybe because of the growing interest in Christianity in the country. The point I’m trying to make is that the Dancehall/Reggae genre has not had enough influx in Ghana music.

I agree with Nii Ayitey Hammond, Director of Productions at Charterhouse when he said that you don’t just go ahead to create a category and that you will have to watch out for say 3 or 4 years to determine whether the trend is sustainable. And that is what we do the moment there is a trend. A year’s success does not automatically put you in a place amongst the green leaves. There is something as consistency, which must be preserved by the Ghana Music Award scheme. If numerous and seperate categories are created for Dancehall/Reggae this year, and there is not enough music from those genres the following year, what happens?? We dissolve it and wait for another year’s success??

These attempts by the few Dancehall kingpins are but a selfish approach to grasp for themselves as many Ghana Music Awards as possible .They have come to a realisation that beating artists from the other genres in a general category is almost an impossibilty.Thence creating a category for themselves would ensure their continual survival in the industry. This be the case, Isnt this attempt a selfish one??

I feel Iwan and Blakk Rasta have had a misdirected or misplaced fury in these couple of weeks. What needs to be done is an organised front, indigenously evolving the music to the average Ghanaian standards and producing many worthwhile songs. Those are the issues the fury is supposed to be directed towards and not Charter House.

It is quiet misplaced for Iwan to think that Ghanaians have not accepted the Dancehall genre yet, in fact it is a sign of ungratefulness on his side. His genre has come a long way to be accepted by all age groups and class of people.

I am hoping Shatta Wale wins the coveted award of the night to pave way for them next year.

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