Artiste manager and entertainment pundit, Mr. Logic says the crowning of gospel musician, Diana Hamilton as the overall ‘Artiste of the Year’ at the just ended Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMAs) is an indication that the Ghanaian music industry is unserious and lacks strategy.
According to Mr. Logic, industry players should have rallied behind a musician who is capable of breaking into the international scenes and selling the country’s music to the entire world rather awarding Diana Hamilton whom he believes does not have what it takes to take the country’s music globally.
Making reference to the Nigerian Music Industry, the artiste manager said the Ghanaian music industry will remain stagnant and its talents will not be recognized internationally on global platforms like the BETs and the Grammys if industry players do not adopt a national strategy in projecting musicians through awards.
“I think in our industry, we are not strategic and we always exhibit that in everything we do. We are not serious people. The industry is not a serious industry. There is too much excitement and fun. That is how come we are where we are. We can’t even read between the lines regarding what we want. If we are not careful, stars will come and stars will go and this industry will still remain stagnant regardless whatever initiative we implement.
We don’t even see the need for a national agenda for the industry. An artiste like Kidi who started doing projects with Jack Knight, Teddy Riley and all those people, at this point in his career, if we couldn’t sit down as industry people and understand that the gentleman has worked beyond faith and emotions and religion then we don’t know what we are about. Are we going to sell Christianity to America? I expected the whole industry to see that Kidi is taking us somewhere based on the projects he is doing and project him,” he stated on Accra based Hitz FM.
In his opinion, High-life and Afrobeats singer, Kidi should have been given the coveted award on the night instead of Diana Hamilton. He contended that the ‘Say Cheese’ hitmaker has worked hard and is already breaking into the international scenes hence, crowning him with the ‘Artiste of the Year’ award from the country’s most prestigious award scheme would have put the spotlight on him in the global music industry.
Diana Hamilton was on the night of Saturday, June 26, 2021 crowned ‘Artiste of the Year’ at the 22nd edition of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards held at the Grand Arena of the Accra International Conference Center (AICC).
She beat industry giants like Sarkodie, Medikal, Kidi, Kuami Eugene and Adina to grab the coveted award.
Although a section of the public believes she is deserving of the win, Mr. Logic argued that her win was not based on merit but on religious sentiments.
