Grace ashy, the gospel musician cum cheerleader, and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have a bone to pick over her latest hit song ‘Agye se Awurade Ba Mu’. While Grace Ashy aka Obaa Yaa is saying that the NPP is using her song for campaign purposes without paying her anything not even a single pesewa.
NPP Chairman Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey has however expressed surprise at the news and denied the claim. He says he has never heard of the ‘Agye Se Awurade ba Mu’ song in his life and that the only gospel musician they have a deal with is the sensational Phillipa Baafi fo her ‘Go High’ track.
When asked whether the party would pay Grace Ashy for the song, Jake said the NPP would pay any musician whose song the party decides to use for whatever purposes.
In a telephone interview with News One yesterday, Grace Ashy said “they are using my song and everyone knows this; they cannot deny because they play the song everywhere and everyone knows this.” Grace Ashy noted however that though the NPP is using her song, it is not true she had gone to the media to complain and that she demanded that she should be paid for it.
The gospel diva explained that during a recent interview about her career, there was a question on whether she was aware the NPP was using her song and whether she had been paid for it.
“The interview was generally on my song. That issue of the NPP was just an aside but the media picked that part and started using it…if I want to be paid for the song, I would not go to the media because I can do that myself but we were having a general interview and that issue came up and I explained the situation,” Grace Ashy explained.
Grace Ashy, in her song ‘Agye se Awurade Ba Mu’, talks about a situation that is so bad that it can only be made better if the Lord intervenes. During the 2008 elections, the NPP adopted Phillipa Baafi’s ‘Go High’ trace as one of the party’s official campaign songs.
Phillipa appeared on NPP political platforms together with the party’s presidential candidate Nana Akufo-Addo. She was quoted by the Daily Guide to have said that “I am not worried at all that the NPP is using my song; it is a popular song and I hear it is even played in some clubs so I am not worried a political party is using it. “The National Democratic Congress (NDC) could have used it as well; They are using Pastor Lennie Akpadi’s ‘All Other Gods’, so if the NPP was fast enough and they choose to use my ‘Go High’ to support their campaign, it is very cool with me.
“Look, that song is very inspirational and encourages people to go higher in whatever field of endeavour they are, and if the NPP is using it to tell Ghanaians to go higher with them, I am cool with that.”
