The Umbrella body in charge of musicians and their welfare in Ghana, MUSIGA, has asked Radio presenter, Kofi Okyere Darko and Veteran highlife musician, Gyedu-Blay Ambolley to put an end to their trade of words.
The duo have been at each other’s throats for the past two weeks following claims by the Ghanaian rap originator that the VGMA has a hand in the slow decline of highlife as a genre in Ghana.
But in a signed press release by the Acting President of the Union, Mr Bessa Simons, on Thursday, April 13, MUSIGA has asked both parties to cease fire.
The Union said it believed the feuding factions both had an interest in the genre hence the need to exert restraint as they debate the matter.
“As a Union, we believe that both parties are passionate about the growth, development, and preservation of highlife music,” a portion of the statement read, “MUSIGA also believes that schemes like the VGMA all have good intentions for the Ghanaian music industry in general, and highlife music in particular.”
The statement reiterated the need for calm and that we should all rather focus on how to develop the music industry instead of tearing each other apart.
Read the full statement below.
Background:
The music veteran, in an interview with Graphic Showbiz, disclosed the sharp decline of highlife music in Ghana was the fault of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMAs).
According to Ambolley, 76, awarding all the prestigious awards to artistes who dabbled in different genres had sidelined hi-life and questioned the criteria for selecting Hi-Life nominees.
“It is unfortunate that people think when you sing in Twi or Fante over a Dancehall or Reggae beats, it automatically makes it Highlife music. That is not true, but it has become the norm over the years because these are the kinds of music VGMA rewards,” he pointed out.
But in a sharp rebuttal on Facebook, On-Air-Personality, KOD, called the claims “nonsense”.
The multiple VGMA host took a swipe at Ambolley and rather applauded the scheme for projecting Ghana consistently.
“Which awards scheme has projected our music industry like VGMA since independence?” KOD quizzed in his epistle. “How many have projected our musicians beyond GH? How many have consistently done more than 10 years?”
Reacting to these comments, Ambolley referred to KOD as a “shallow-minded young boy,” which triggered the latter to hurl invectives at the former, a situation that has shocked many in the industry.