'I'm not partisan' – Gasmilla

Hip life artiste Gasmilla has revealed he’s not partisan and does not indulge in politics at all, for which reason he will not make any monetary demands on any political party that decides to use his songs to prosecute its campaign.

Ghana goes to the polls on December 7, 2016, to elect a new president and 275 lawmakers for a four-year term, and it is common practice for politicians to draw upon hit songs to drive their campaign.

Already, dancehall king Shatta Wale’s Mahama Paper has been latched on to by the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) for its 2016 push to get President John Mahama re-elected, while Lucky Mensah has composed Y? Se Sa Mu for the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) as the party, led by Nana Akufo-Addo, bids to wrest power from the governing NDC.

Other artistes including Daddy Lumba, Kwabena Kwabena, Obaapa Christy, A-Plus, and Mzbel have either composed campaign songs for political figures or had their songs adopted for electioneering purposes by political parties.

But the International Fisherman, asked where his political allegiances lay and whether he would agree to a party using his song to prosecute its campaign, told DJ Premier on Entertainment Capital on Accra FM on Saturday October 22: “I am not a partisan person and I don’t indulge in politics at all. I don’t mind where my songs are played because I did it for everybody and I believe my franchise belongs to me and whoever I choose to vote for is my decision.

“I do music for people and they could belong to the NDC or NPP – those are my people, those are my family. Ghanaians are my family and I love Ghana. I don’t care who takes it but I am not going to take money from any political party.”

According to him, the NPP still plays one of his songs and has even gone ahead to make a video of it but he said he would not sue them since music is made to be enjoyed and people are free to use music in whatever way it appeals to them.

Gasmilla has several hit songs to his credit including Telemo, Abooo Dan Toi, Three Points, and his latest single, China.