We need a national effort to support our artistes - Sonnie Badu

Ghanaian gospel artiste and pastor, Sonnie Badu, is advocating for increased support for artistes in Ghana. He stressed the need for a unified effort to promote all genres of music from the country into the international space.

Speaking in an interview with Metro TV, Sonnie Badu stated that with the right platform and recognition, many talented artistes can achieve international success.

“You have the Kidis, you have the Kuami Eugenes. There are so many people that if we give them the right platform and the right hype, they're going to contend with some of these greats,” he said.

Sonnie Badu further pointed out the importance of fostering collaborations and helping boost the brands of new and emerging artistes. He highlighted the recent example of Burna Boy featuring Black Sheriff at his concert, emphasising the significance of established artistes supporting emerging talents.

“We saw Burna Boy feature Black Sheriff at his concert. That's excellent. Burna just took Black Sheriff to his platform. Who's making noise about it? Ghana has to talk. Talk about it. It's not about ‘pay me before I talk about you.’ No, we’ve got to have one agenda.

“We're promoting Ghana music. Gospel and circular. It's Ghana music. I can talk about it because I enjoy it, too. I listen to some of that. Right? Once we have one agenda, I kid you not, we've got the young men, and then we teach them a little bit of excellence," he stated.

He called on Ghanaians to collectively hype and promote the music industry rather than seeking personal gain.

“I speak with promoters as well. Some of them do stress promoters when they travel. And when you compare them to Nigerians, they'll say, ‘No, Nigerians wouldn't do this. Ghanaians would do this.’ So we just have to teach them. ‘This is what you have to do. Don't overspend; don't do this; don't do that.’ Understand this and they will be fine. We have the guys to do it. We do,” he said.

Sonnie Badu’s comments join the ever-increasing discussion on the state of the Ghana music industry and how it could be improved, especially amid comparisons between Ghana and other countries like Nigeria.

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