Ghanaian musician, Armstrong Affum, popularly known by his stage name Opanka, has expressed how he really feels about awards and nominations.
He was asked during an interview on eTV Ghana’s Late Nite Celebrity Show how he feels about not being nominated among the Best Rapper category in the recent Vodafone Ghana Awards, and he responded that with the cause that is before him, which is to inspire people and touch lives, he is not really focused on awards.
According to him, the success of his cause cannot be measured by the number of awards he receives but by the number of lives he is able to touch. “If I’m able to inspire people, win souls and get genuine love from fans, that is my award”, he told Foster Romanus.
Opanka intimated that no matter what anyone thinks or whoever the Best Rapper Award is presented to, he believes in himself and his craft and believes he is the best rapper; hence, he does not need anyone or any award validation to be sure.
“I don’t need someone’s validation to know that I’m the best, and I feel like no human being needs to wait for anyone’s validation. It is just an institution that they have set up, so if they decide to pick some names and I’m not included, I respect that, but I believe in my craft, and people give me genuine feedback so if I’m able to inspire people, that is more than an award to me because I’ve achieved my purpose”, the rapper said.
He clarified that awards are not useless because we live in a country where people need to see an award as a validation of someone’s craft before they give the person a certain level of respect; therefore, it is important.
However, he is not fulfilled by the validation that awards give but by the genuine love of fans and knowing he has inspired someone through music.