In a recent interview on Asaase Radio, Amakye Dede, a renowned highlife legend, has shed light on the circumstances that led to his crowning of Kuami Eugene as the ‘King of Highlife’ for the next generation during the 2019 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards.
He revealed that he was coerced into conferring the title on Kuami Eugene after the latter won the Highlife Artiste of the Year award.
Amakye Dede explained that although he went through with the crowning, it was not his personal intention to do so. He stated, “Although I did that [crowned him], it was not my will to do that but they forced me to crown the boy. That’s the reason I did that.” He further disclosed that he even entrusted the crown given to him to someone else, but it was eventually returned to him to adorn Kuami Eugene with it.
This revelation marks the first time Amakye Dede has publicly commented on the matter, although his manager, Kwasi Aboagye of Peace FM, had previously given a similar explanation back in 2019. According to Kwasi’s reports, it was Kiki Banson, a member of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards Board and the event’s coordinator at the time, who instructed Amakye Dede to carry out the crowning.
The incident sparked significant controversy within the music industry, with figures like Zapp Mallet and Bisa Kdei expressing their dissatisfaction with the act. Many believed that while Kuami Eugene was a hardworking and promising highlife artist, he was not yet ready to be crowned as the king of the genre. Critics viewed the act as premature and potentially detrimental to the future of the emerging highlife musician.
In response to the controversy, Kuami Eugene, in an interview with JoyNews, dismissed the rumors of the crowning being planned. He stated that, in his view, the act served as a blessing for him rather than a negative occurrence.
Amakye Dede’s recent revelation adds further context to the discussions surrounding Kuami Eugene’s appointment as the ‘King of Highlife’ and sheds light on the circumstances that influenced the decision. The controversy surrounding the crowning continues to be a topic of interest within the Ghanaian music industry.
Source – myjoyonline.com
