According to Wiyaala, a popular Afro-pop singer-songwriter from Ghana, she has expressed her worries about the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMAs), an annual event organized by Charterhouse. She believes that the event mainly recognizes and promotes musicians from Accra, Ghana’s capital city.
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During her appearance as a guest on The North Podcast with Prince Hamdan Banang, Wiyaala mentioned that the VGMAs have specific guidelines for selecting nominees that she thinks make her ineligible. As a result, she has decided to stop submitting nominations for the event.
Wiyaala, who is 36 years old, shared that one of the critical conditions for being nominated for the VGMAs is to have significant airplay on radio stations based in Accra. However, this condition is unachievable for her due to her language preferences.
Wiyaala sings in Sissala and Waala dialects, which are native languages of Ghana, as well as English. She frequently blends all three languages in her songs to create a unique and authentic sound that reflects her cultural background.
“In my heart, I believe VGMA is trying to get all of us involved. But let’s not tickle and make and make a fool of ourselves,” Wiyaala expressed candidly. “It’s very obvious and glaring what VGMA is all about. You have to be in Accra and your songs have to be popular in Accra. There are songs that were never popular in the North, but they made it, and the criteria keep changing. It’s their rules and regulations if you cannot follow them, you shouldn’t enter,”]
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Wiyaala, who lives in her hometown in the Upper West region of Ghana, highlighted the absence of intentional actions to promote artists from other regions whose music may not be popular due to language obstacles.
This oversight contradicts the VGMA’s proclaimed purpose of honouring musicians from across Ghana, as it heavily concentrates on specific groups in certain regions of the country.
“I can be as popular as any artist in the Northern region, but since the program is Accra-based and most of the radio stations are Accra-based, it’s only natural that they predominantly feature songs from Accra. Most DJs do not comprehend our songs, and many people are unwilling to understand them,” Wiyaala explained.
In the past, Wiyaala has been honored at the VGMAs with awards such as Songwriter of The Year and Best Female Vocal Performance, despite her concerns about the selection criteria.
At the time of this report, Charterhouse and the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards had not responded to Wiyaala’s grievances. It is uncertain whether they will take any measures to guarantee equitable representation for artists from all regions of Ghana.
