Nana Richard Abiona, better known by his stage name Fuse ODG has appealed to Ghanaians to stop over-hyping the Black Entertainment Television, (BET) awards and start to appreciate and believe in their own music.
Speaking in an interview, the ‘TINA’ hitmaker said the BET awards should not be the ground on which the success of our music as Ghanaians is measured.
“I don’t think BET should be used for measuring success or how great our music is. Some of the greatest Musicians never received awards, Bob Marley is one of the greatest musicians but he never received an award. I think we need to stop praising such platforms and start building our own platforms and reward our artists.”
He added that “BET is not here and they don’t understand what goes on here in Ghana, they are not real, and they don’t respect Africa in the first place. They are not here helping us build schools, they are not here helping us build our economy. Ghana has influenced African music worldwide and BET is not going to be the measurement as to how influential Ghanaian music is.”
Meanwhile, the President of Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) ‘Obour’, in an interview with DJ Advicer on Happy FM‘s Ayekoo After Drive Show, stated that it’s not obligatory for Ghanaian musicians to be listed every year.
The BET Awards were established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate African Americans and other American minorities in music, acting, sports, and other fields of entertainment over the past year.
By: Joseph Nii Ankrah.