The highlife artistes can talk all they want and the hiplife guys can shout all they want, but the fact still remains that Gospel Music is the most popular genre of music in Ghana.
Ironically, with all its popularity and following, the most popular genre has never won the ‘Most Popular song’ award at any of the annual Ghana Music Awards – and it beat the minds of music enthusiasts. Gospel music is the most air-played song on radio and television, the best-selling music on the market, and the highly patronized music in Ghana. Checking all the music charts on radio, TV and print, gospel songs surpass all the others – commanding 15 spots on a Top 20 Chart.
The Song of the Year/Most popular song of the year prize is the topmost award at the Ghana Music Awards. It is the last prize awarded which signifies that, after awarding that category, nothing else is recognized – but unfortunately since the inception of the Ghana Music Awards in 2000, a gospel tune is yet to take home the top honour.
In the 8-years history of the much-publicized awards, Hiplife music has won the Song of the year prize for an unprecedented 4 times, highlife/contemporary highlife comes close with 3 and King Ayisoba’s indigenous Afro-beat boasts of 1. Daddy Lumba won the award with the controversial ‘Aben wo ha’. Kojo Antwi followed suit with ‘Tom and Jerry’ in 2001. Kontihene made a case for hiplife when he won the award with ‘Aketesia’ in 2002.
Lord Kenya’s ‘Medo’ was the most popular song in 2003 and VIP cemented the dominance of hiplife by the winning with ‘Ahom ka wom’. Obuor kept the hiplife rule alive by annexing the top prize in 2005 with ‘Konkontiba’. Ofori Amponsah saw to the revival of highlife/Contemporary highlife by winning with ‘Otoologe’ and then underdog King Ayisoba defied all odds and took home the coveted prize in 2007 with ‘I want to see you my father’.
The closest gospel music has come to winning the topmost award came in 2004 and 2007 respectively. In 2004, the now –oblivious Daughters of Glorious Jesus were top-joint award winners with 4 awards but they could not annex the most important prize as they were edged out by the now-floundering VIP.
It is confounding that gospel music with the huge patronage has not got there yet, especially when you consider the fact that a chunk of the voting rights go to the public. Why would the same public that purchase the huge number of gospel songs not vote for it to win the top prize? The only plausible reason is apathy – that the same people that follow gospel don’t follow the music awards.
Another year, new nominations and another round of voting beckons us and yet again gospel music knocks on the door of ‘Song of the Year’ award. Could 2008 be the year that a new record is encrypted in the GMA history books? Is this the year that somebody establishes his/herself as the first gospel musician to win the top prize? Can the jinx be broken? With the proceedings in the music terrain right now, I’ll be so damned if gospel music does not win this year. At all cost, by all means necessary, gospel should take it.
Any gospel artist who gets nominated should entreat his/her church to vote. If Kwaku Gyasi, a Church Of Pentecost member had entreated all the members in the over thousands assemblies across the country to vote for him, then you can guess what the results could have been (That’s just by the way). If Herbie Hancook and Jazz music waited for 50 years to get the top prize at the Grammy, Ghanaian gospel music can’t afford to wait in the wilderness for that long, somebody say Amen. All things being equal, I have inkling that a gospel song could annex it this year. My advocating for a gospel win is not just because it has not won it in 8 years, but it truly deserves to win.
No official nominations for the Song of the year category have been issued but the names making rounds are;
Daddy Lumba – Tokrom
Ofori Amponsah – Odwo
Cee - Osabarima
Ohemaa Mercy - Wadwen
Lenny Akpadie - Most High God
All the above pseudo-nominated songs stand a good chance of winning but I strongly believe that, it will be a ‘dogfight’ between Ofori Amponsah’s Odwo, Ohemaa Mercy’s Wadwen and Lenny Akpadie’s ‘Most High God’.
Ohemaa Mercy sold millions of records, topped the charts for multiple weeks and garnered maximum airplay and so has Lenny Akpadie sold millions and got maximum airplay. Ofori Amponsah could always give any nominee a run for their money and although Odwo did well, it lacked the same impact as Otoolege and Emmanuella. There fore, at the end of proceedings, I expect Wadwen or Most High God to walk away with the ultimate prize. If Ofori Amponsah beats them to it again, which is possible, then gospel music like jazz music at the Grammy, can wait till the next 50 years.
