Is a Grammy in sight for Ghana anytime soon?
While Dawuni remains the only Ghanaian singer with the most Grammy nominations, others have represented the country well at the prestigious institution
The 64th Grammy awards night came to a riveting end with Ghana’s only nominee Rocky Dawuni returning home for a third time without the much-coveted gold-plated gramophone that has become every musician’s ultimate sign of recognition, a Grammy award.
He was a nominee in the Global Music Album category for his album “Voice of Bunbon Vol. 1”.
While Dawuni remains the only Ghanaian singer with the most Grammy nominations, others have represented the country well at the prestigious institution.
In 2018, Killbeatz and Fuse ODG won an award for their contribution to Ed Sheeran’s ” Divide” album. Killbeatz produced the song “Bebia bɛyɛ yie” while Fuse ODG co-wrote it with Ed Sheeran and Benny Blanco. The album won the “Best Vocal Album”.
But these awards may best be described as ‘parasitic’ since they’re won on the back of a main nominated artiste.
Many Ghanaians had their high hopes crushed when Dawuni’s third nomination did not win the award. This has left many doubting if Ghana will be winning a Grammy award anytime soon.
Some have resorted to celebrating the wins made by their “Jollof-war” opponents while taking jabs at A-list artistes like Sarkodie for not earning a nomination yet.
Could this be an indictment on Ghana’s quality of music? This writer thinks not. The past three years have proven that Ghana, indeed, has what it takes to entertain the globe. We have seen the likes of KiDi, Camidoh, Black Sherrif, Gyakie and Stonebwoy recording global hits.
Dawuni has not won a Grammy yet, but he has definitely set a standard for other Ghanaian musicians to emulate and subsequently improve. His nominations are proof that Ghanaian music still has a place in global sound entertainment.
The good news is, this is certainly not the last Grammy award ceremony. As long as songbirds like Gyakie don’t stop singing, then there is still hope.
About the writer
Solomon Terkimbi Akumun known professionally as Solomon Ter, is a Radio presenter and Producer for Asaase Radio in Accra. He is also a culture enthusiast, writer, researcher and Law scholar with over 7 years of experience in communications, justice advocacy, media and PR, academic research and brand consultancy. He’s currently the host of Accra-Lagos-Joburg on Asaase Radio 99.5mhz, a Pan-African radio show that connects Africa through music, people and culture. Twitter: @LordTer995 Instagram: @solomonter_
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