One Africa Music Festival: Organizers apologise to Sarkodie

Organisers of the ‘One Africa Music Festival” have issued a statement apologising to Ghana’s Sarkodie for the mix-up that led to his inability to perform at the recently-held Dubai leg of the concert.

Published on photo-sharing platform Instagram Wednesday, November 22, Paul O, owner of event outfit Upfront & Personal reiterated his team’s “regret” at the turn of events, citing “management miscommunication.”

Sarkodie was Ghana’s only rep at the concert, which also saw performances from 2face Idibia, Wizkid, Davido, Tekno, Diamond, Victoria Kimani, Casper Nyovest, Tiwa Savage, Flavour, Emma Nyra among others.

His pulling out inspired widespread criticism at organisers of the event for allegedly sidelining him for Nigerian colleagues Wizkid and Davido, though he had been announced by host Banky W to mount the stage.

Read Paul O’s full message below.

“On November 16, 2017, One Africa Global (OAG), held the fifth installment of the One Africa Music Fest (OAMF) in Dubai, thanks to Pepsi, the Dubai Tourism Board and our other sponsors it turned out to be a hugely successful event that was enjoyed by a sold out crowd at the Madinat Jumeriah, and was also live streamed to millions of fans around the world.

As we continue to build our brand, we hold ourselves accountable to the highest esteem of professionalism and integrity to both our fans and artists and will continue to reach across all cultures, boundaries and understandings that collectively form One Africa.

At the same time we call on all performing artists and fans alike to embrace that they appear as ambassadors of our culture and genre of music, and as such they must equally be held accountable for their behavior when attending one of our events, especially with regards to artists who are judged not only in their individual capacity but also on the actions and inactions of their entourage.

The irony being no matter how well behaved an artist is, if a member of your entourage acts up the law, the press and the media only know you (the artist). We full heartedly thank all the artists that performed at OAMF Dubai.

However we would like to offer our sincerest apologies to Sarkodie, his team and all his fans that came out to see him, due to management miscommunication, that led to him not performing and we regret that we missed out on his performance.

We at OAG are personally accountable on delivering on all our commitments, and as such take it to heart when commitments are not fulfilled to either the artist or the fans.

As we continue to improve our platform and the experience shared by the artist and fans our goals remain undeterred bringing Afrobeats enthusiasts under one roof, one shared love, one family, One Africa. Thank you.

Paul O

(O.A.G. CEO) @oneafrica_musicfest@oneafricaglobal @fuzeng

Background

Celebrated Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie (Michael Owusu Addo) pulled out of a November 16 performance in Dubai due to reported incidents of disrespect on his team.

The “Highest” was scheduled to perform alongside other African giants at the just-ended Dubai leg of the widely-patronised One Africa Music Festival, but refused to mount the stage despite a successful soundcheck session earlier.

Journalist Eugene Osafo Nkansah reports that the rapper was shoved aside because Davido was ready to perform, never mind that he had just been announced by host Banky W to perform:

“During the concert, host of the show Banky W announced Sarkodie as the next act on stage after Nigeria’s Teckno performance and Sarkodie’s DJ, DJ Mensah mounted the stage but Banky W came back to announce Davido’s name after someone whipped to him on stage that Davido was next.

“The show started at about 9:30 pm and ended at about 2:45 am and all the artistes numbering about 20 from different African countries(Kenya, Angola, South Africa, Ethiopia, Tanzanian, Nigeria etc) performed with the exception of Ghana’s Sarkodie.”

George Britton also reports of scuffles and arrests as a result of the unfortunate incident:

“When Sark was just about hitting the stage, Davido’s guy attacked Black Nana by pushing him to the floor to allow Davido perform. Ugly scenes. Slaps, blows, police arrest etc”, he posted on Facebook earlier this morning.

The rapper, his official turntablist DJ Mensah, and Dancehall singer Shatta Wale all tweeted their displeasure at how things turned out.

One Africa Music Fest is described by organisers as ‘ Africa’s leading platform in showcasing the best and brightest musical talents in the continent, with the sole aim of solidifying Africa’s position within the entertainment industry on a global level”.