Ghanaian musician, Ko-Jo Cue
Ghanaian musician Kojo Cue has shed light on the hurdles faced by artistes in his country to gain international recognition.
Speaking on 3Music TV on September 11, Kojo Cue pointed out that winning prestigious awards like the Grammys often requires substantial resources to promote music in markets like the United States.
He mentioned examples of artistes like Rocky Dawni, who gained Grammy nominations due to their label's support in the American market.
“If you have the resources, for example, the Grammys that have become the benchmark, the world standard, you cannot win a Grammy if you don't have the resources to release music in America.
“That is why even when we were not hearing about Rocky Dawuni, he was getting Grammy knobs because he was on a label that were releasing his music for that market. It has nothing to do with, oh, this is the best song in the world. No Americans have done their award for Americans” he stated.
Kojo Cue emphasized that international recognition wasn't solely based on music quality but also on resources and exposure.
He urged the industry to understand the divide between resource limitations and technical shortcomings, calling for improvements.
“You don't think there are incredible musicians in Tanzania that have never been nominated for African artists at VGMA before? Does that mean that the quality of music that they are doing is low?
“We should understand what is owing to a lack of resources and the part that is more where we are lacking a bit technically. And then we need to improve.
"Because we are going to be disappointed again when we spend all the time improving the mixing and mastering and whatever and you still don't get anywhere because you do not have the resources to just push it,” he added.
Kojo's remarks underline the challenges faced by many talented Ghanaian musicians in light of discussions over the state of the Ghana Music Industry.
Many calls have been sent out for more efforts from artistes in the industry. While many industry stakeholders have called for more support from fans.
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