Sarkodie was never king of Azonto – Gasmilla

Famous Ga rapper Gasmilla has dismissed claims that Sarkodie is the king of Azonto.

Azonto, a popular dance and music genre native to Ghana’s coastal Ga community, came to global attention some six years ago after it went viral on social media, becoming a favourite of Africans in the diaspora and being featured on international media organisations including the BBC.

Although a number of artistes including Gasmilla, Fuse ODG, and Bisa K Dei were associated with some of the earliest Azonto compositions, rapper Sarkodie has been widely regarded as its originator.

But speaking to DJ Premier, host of Entertainment Capital on Accra100.5FM on Saturday 22 October, 2016, Gasmilla was not fazed that the famous rapper stole his thunder, saying: “I was never bothered because I knew the kind of industry I was in.”

He explained that Ghanaian showbiz “doesn’t favour new artistes” as he was then when Azonto first became popular on the world entertainment stage.

According to him, Sarkodie had hit the limelight and he (Gasmilla) thought the two-time VGMA Artiste of the Year could propel Azonto to greater recognition globally, as his producers thought he (Gasmilla) was a new artiste and would find it more difficult promoting the genre.

“Artistes who are fresh and brand new in the industry don’t get the attention like the A-list artistes, but I felt it was something that we needed to push,” he expressed.

The Telemo singer: “BBC was a bit confused who was the King of Azonto in Ghana but they did their research for two weeks and realised I was the king of Azonto and I was the first person to upload a crazy stuff of Azonto online.”

Gasmilla is out with a new single, China, which is enjoying massive airplay.