Dancehall artiste Charles Nii Armah Mensah popularly known as Shatta Wale has pleaded with Charter House, the organizers of Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) to reinstate him into the award scheme.

According to Citi Showbiz’s report, he made this humble request when he was hosted by George Quaye on GH One television’s ‘Pundit’ last night.

When asked if he wanted to be part of the award scheme again, he said his inclusion to the VGMA was time overdue.

“I have to be there. VGMA is like National Anthem. It is God bless our homeland Ghana erhh. I have apologised so many times and don’t know how people want this thing to be done but you know me I wish we take this case from court because it is entertainment,” he said.

When asked if he was ready to go through the processes to get the issue with Charter House resolved, he answered in the affirmative.

“I am ready to do that anytime soon my brother. My fans are always worried. ‘Oh Shatta this year you have to go to VGMA,’” he quipped.

He added that he had matured from certain things he did in the past and had learnt to work harder to make it on the international music market.

“Right now I’m mature enough to say sorry when I have to say sorry,” he added.

Shatta Wale was ‘banned’ from the VGMA in 2014 after making disparaging statements about the organisers of the award. Currently, the issue is still in court.

Listen to the interview in the audio below:

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By: Kwame Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Shatta Wale begs to be reinstated into VGMAs [Audio] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

In an exclusive interview with citifmonline.com the ‘Go Low’ hitmaker stated that the award “feels inspiring.”

Asked what the award meant to him, he noted that it taught him that with perseverance he could achieve anything he wanted in his music career.

“It means I can get to any target I want to in spite of any adversity. I have been underrated for four years but I get better every year. Thanks to God,” he disclosed to Citi Showbiz.

When asked what he would change about the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards if he had the power, the ‘Rapping Drums’ rapper said he would admonish the organizers to let transparency reign supreme in the organization process.

“Over the years, a lot of people I know have lost interest in the scheme due to a lot of repeated mistakes such as categorizations and nominations and ‘mis-awarding’,” Flowking Stated.

“Transparency and truth should be considered over politics, superiority and the quest to make more money other than prestige,” he further noted.

He thanked Charterhouse for organizing the event and recognizing his effort, to his fans and all those who voted for him.

Flowking King, young brother of ‘Best Rapper Alive’ Okyeame Kwame, came into the music industry in 2004 as a duo with his younger brother Kunta Kinte with the album ‘Efri Fie’ which had hit song ‘One Gallon.’ They were called Bradez.

Their second album ‘Breakthrough,’ released in 2008 also had great songs like the multiple award winning ‘Simple,’ ‘Flashe,’ ‘Runthings,’ ‘Dondoo,’ ‘Woso’ (Remix) and many others. They followed up with their third album ‘Conquer the World’ in 2011.

Shortly, his brother took ill and he had to go solo. After going solo from the Bradez, group Flowking Stone has released smash hit songs like ‘Ohene,’ ‘Go Low,’ ‘Machine Gun Flow,’ ‘Mekyeakyea,’ ‘Faya Bon Dem,’ and others.

His ‘Rapping Drums,’ a masterpiece of rhythmic African poetry that lives the sound of the African Talking Drums, is still gaining huge patronage among music lovers.

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By: Kwame Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to Nii, who made the revelation on the Starr FM’s ‘Morning Zoo,’ the general public that seemed to have shown support to Medikal prior to the awards, did not really vote for him.

“The people who made noise for these artistes on social media didn’t really go out to vote. Medikal had 13 votes from the general public for the New Artiste of the Year category,” he said.

Before the awards, Medikal was tipped as a potential winner of the New Artiste of the Year and the Artiste of the Year categories by most music pundits. Even though he had the highest nominations of 7, he did not win any of them.

Although the organisers have published results for the nominees from the votes by the Academy, Board and General Public, the breakdown for each of these three voting groups is unknown to the public.

In the wake of this, Nii’s statement comes as a serious revelation about the VGMA voting pattern and some have suggested that the breakdown of all the categories be published to allay people doubts and enable the artiste to know how they really fared in the awards.

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By: Kwame Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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On the night of the event, Paa Kwasi went on stage alone to pick the award without acknowledging his ex-member Ennwai.

He was prompted by Sammy Flex to go back to the microphone to make that acknowledgement.

However, information reaching citifmonline.com indicates that Ennwai has said that Paa Kwasi prevented him from going to the award ceremony by not giving him the tickets that were given him by Charter House, the organisers, to be given to his ex partner.

On 8th April, 2017, Ennwai took to Facebook to write: “Chew the tickets wai when u get there and they give you the award too put for plate top add stew and chop am.”

According to Paa Kwasi, Ennwai did not show interest in the award and never called to ask for any tickets.
“After so many years of hustling…..this was how a brother left me in the cold…..not even call….Now somebody tell me what the “F” did Paa Kwasi became the one who is at fault…….U told my Team point blank that u not interested in the awards….I filed for nominations….got it for the group…..did all the follow ups….everything by myself without a brother asking how it is going…..None asked me how I did it….Now that the award is here…..u guys are are now talking about Paa Kwasi is the reason why Enwai did not show up….Paa Kwasi kept his ticket…..Did a brother even picked up a phone to even call me to ask?….God will always be there for the clean heart…..#HIDDENtruth,” he revealed in a WhatsApp message to Citi Showbiz.

Ennwai however refuted claims by Paa Kwasi that he did not call him. According to him, he made his manager call Paa Kwasi several times but he did not answer his calls. He said they later sent text messages but they also proved abortive.

“I made my manager call him. Why should he take my tickets and ask me to chase him for it. Even if I decided not to come to the award, he had no right to keep my tickets,” he said.

“What he did wasn’t necessary because I wanted to dash him the award on stage in case we won. Keeping my tickets to prevent me from coming there wasn’t necessary,” Ennwai added.

Dobble separated last year after they had worked on the ‘Christy’ song. Currently, each of them is embarking on their individual music projects.

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By: Kwame Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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He beat competition from five (5) other contenders in that category including the reigning Artiste of the Year, EL to win the award.

Joe Mettle won two other awards; Male Vocalist of the year and Gospel artiste of the year.

Kofi Kinaata also took home three (3) different awards. Music producer and singer, Nacee also won two awards.

Manifest, Stonebwoy and VVIP also took home two awards each in various categories.

Hiplife sensation, Medikal, who earned the most nomination in this year’s award, failed to win any award at the event.

See the full list of winners below:

Artiste of the year – Joe Mettle

Gospel song of the year – Yewo Nyame a yewo adze (Nacee Ft. Ernest Opoku) 

Highlife song of the year – Sweetie Pie (Kofi Kinaata)

Reggae/Dancehall song – People Dey (Stonebwoy)

Highlife song of the year – Kofi Kinaata

Hiplife song of the year – Go Low (Flowking Stone)

Afro-pop song of the year – Kaabuame (EL)

Hip-hop song of the year – God MC (Manifest)

Gospel artiste of the year – Joe Mettle

Reggae/Dancehall artiste of the year – Stonebwoy

Hiplife/hip hop artiste of the year – Sarkodie

Songwriter of the year – Kofi Kinaata

Best collaboration of the year – Alhaji (VVIP)

Female vocalist of the year – Adina (Too Late)

Male vocalist of the year – Joe Mettle

Best group of the year – VVIP

Best music video of the year – Okyeame Kwame

Best rapper of the year – Manifest

African artiste of the year – Runtown

Best new artiste of the year – Fancy Gaddam

Record of the year – Adina

Most popular song of the year – Christie (Dobble)

Album of the year – Nacee

Traditional artiste – Sammy Ahmed

Best instrumentalist – Philip Acquah

Lifetime achievement award – Paapa Yankson

Vodafone Unsung category – Kwame Eugene

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post All award winners at 2017 VGMAs appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Manner Records singer took to social media to say that if she wins the Best Female Vocalist award, she will run home naked.

“The #VGMAs is all over my mind. If I should win the best female vocalist, I could tear my cloth and run home naked,” she had tweeted.

With her debut single ‘My Man,’ Petrah is locked in a duel with vocalists like Adina, Becca, MzVee, and Piesie Esther in that category.

Petrah recently released her latest tune ‘Odo’ which features Samini and Cynthia Morgan. It’s available on iTunes.

She also has a single ‘Baby’, featuring Reekado Banks of the Mavin Records.

The 17^th Vodafone Ghana Music, organised by Charterhouse, comes off Saturday, 8^th April, 2017 at the Accra International Conference Centre.

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By: Kwame Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post I’ll strip ‘naked’ if I win at VGMAs – Petrah appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The awards event is one of the country’s biggest, dedicated to recognize artistes who have made significant impact in their respective music genres.

This year’s list has among the top nominees Nacee, Sarkodie, Medikal and M.ainfest who are up for various awards in different categories.

Find the list of nominees below:

GOSPEL SONG OF THE YEAR
Yewo Nyame A Yewo Adze – Nacee ft. Ernest Opoku
Change Over – Mary Agyemang
Mewo Jesus – Mabel Okyere
Still You Reign – Sonnie Badu
Healing Stream – Jeshrun Okyere ft. Nathaniel Bassey
Agye Won Nsam – Piesie Esther

HIGHLIFE SONG OF THE YEAR
Jwe – Bisa K’dei
Confession – Kofi Kinaata
Beshiwo – Becca ft. Bisa K’dei
Mintse Bo – Wisa Greid
Christy – Dobble
Bokor Bokor – Kill Beatz ft. Mugeez & Fuse ODG

HIPLIFE SONG OF THE YEAR
Samba – Guru ft. Singlet
Club – Donzy ft. Piesie & Sarkodie
Go Low – Flowking Stone
RNS – Sarkodie
Bie Gya – Criss Waddle ft. Stonebwoy
Sweetie Pie – Kofi Kinaata
Alhaji – VVIP ft. Patoranking

HIP-HOP SONG OF THE YEAR
God MC – M.anifest
Trumpet – Sarkodie ft. Teephlow, Koo Ntakra, Strongman, Donzy, Medikal & Pappy Kojo
Lalafalama – EL
Confirm (remix) – Medikal ft. Sarkodie
Egboame (remix) – Edem ft. Cabum, Teephlow, Ayat, Gemini, Medikal, Mac M, Darko & Bebelino
Tension – Okyeame Kwame ft. Cabum, Medikal & Sister Debbie

BEST REGGAE/DANCEHALL SONG OF THE YEAR
People Dey – Stonebwoy
Nwansina – Ras Kuuku ft. Luther
Gborgborvor – Gallaxy ft. Stonebwoy
Kupe – Ebony
Yonnah – Samini ft. Luther
Pain Dem – Rudebwoy Ranking
Arostor – Kaakie ft. Yaa Pono

AFRO POP SONG OF THE YEAR
Kaabuame – EL
Dance For Me – Eugy ft. Mr. Eazi
Solo – Article Wan
U x Me – Joey B
Too Risky – Medikal ft. Sister Debbie
Too Late – Adina
Grind – Vision DJ ft. A.I

GOSPEL ARTISTE OF THE YEAR
Joe Mettle
Piesie Esther
Sonnnie Badu
Jeshrun Okyere
Nacee

HIGHLIFE ARTISTE OF THE YEAR
Bis K’dei
Becca
Kofi Kinaata

REGGAE/DANCEHALL ARTISTE OF THE YEAR
Stonebwoy
Ras Kuuku
Samini
Ebony
Rudebwoy
MzVee

HIPLIFE/HIP-HOP ARTISTE OF THE YEAR
Guru
EL
Flowking Stone
Medikal
Sarkodie
M.anifest
Joey B

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Joe Mettle – Onwanwani
Kill Beatz – Too Late
Kofi Kinaata – Confession
Nacee – Yewo Nyame A Yewo Adze

BEST MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Leno by Wiyaala – Charlotte Appleton
Small Small by Okyeame Kwame ft. MzVee – Phamous Philms
Yewo Nyame A Yewo Adze by Nacee ft. Ernest Opoku – Mcwillies
Rapping Drums by Flowking Stone – Xbills Ebenezer
W’ani Aba by M.anifest ft. Bisa K’dei – Solomon Director
Nyedzilo by Edem ft. Rekaado Banks – Phamous Philms

RECORD OF THE YEAR
Me Ne Wo Aa – Nacee
Hello – Akwaboah ft. Sarkodie
Too Late – Adina
U x Me – Joey B
Motromodwo – Trigmatic ft. A.I

BEST MALE VOCALIST
Ogya Mensah – Get Serious
Afriyie – Here To Stay
Joe Mettle – Onwanwani
Akwaboah – Hello
Sonnie badu – Still You Reign
Ernest Opoku – Yewo Nyame A Yewo Adze

BEST FEMALE VOCALIST
Adina – Too Late
Becca – Beshiwo
MzVee – Nobody Else
Piesie Esther – Agye Won Nsam
Petrah – My Man

BEST GROUP OF THE YEAR
VVIP
R2bees
Dunsin
Gallaxy

BEST RAPPER OF THE YEAR
Flowking Stone – Fire Bon Dem (remix)
EL – Love God
Medikal – Connect
Yaa Pono (Ponobiom) – Mind on Money
M.anifest – 100%
Sarkodie – Fire Born Dem (remix)

BEST COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR
Alhaji – VVIP ft. Patoranking
Yewo Nyame A Yewo Adze – Nacee ft. Ernest Opoku
Confirm (remix) – Medikal ft. Sarkodie
Bie Gya – Criss Waddle ft. Stonebwoy
Nwansina – Ras Kuuku ft. Luther
Samba – Guru ft. Singlet

BEST NEW ARTISTE OF THE YEAR
Medikal
Nii Funny
Fancy Gadam
Article Wan
Feli Nuna
Ebony
Rudebwoy Ranking
Eugy

OVERALL ARTISTE OF THE YEAR
EL
Sarkodie
Stonebwoy
Joe Mettle
MzVee
Medikal

AFRICAN ARTISTE OF THE YEAR
Patoranking
Mr. Eazi
Runtown
Tekno
Nathaniel Bassey

UNSUNG ARTISTE
AJ Lyricx
Afezi Perry
CJ Biggerman
Cina Soul
Deon Boakye
eShun
Kuami Eugene

The 2017 Ghana Music Awards, the 18th edition is organized in partnership with the Musicians the Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) and under the auspices of and the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts.

It has Vodafone Ghana as headline sponsor.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Nominees for 2017 VGMAs named [Full list] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, even though Bisa Kdei has great tunes he is a horrendous performer and he’s not ready for ‪#‎VGMA2016‬ Artiste of the Year.

It is no doubt that singer Bisa Kdei is one of the hottest musicians on the Ghanaian music scene now. After consistently churning out hits over the years, most fans believe this year should see him winning the biggest accolade in the industry, the VGMAs Artiste of the Year.

Bisa Kdei has five (5) main Vodafone Ghana Music Awards nominations – Artiste of the Year, Most Popular Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Highlife Song of the Year and Highlife Artiste of the Year, as well as other nominations on songs he collaborated with others.

Mansa, one of his major releases to date, and his other hits have kept him on top of the charts and billed for all the big shows in the year other review. However, one of the main setbacks for him is his stage performance, which has over the years been a talking point in the industry.

Video: Bisa Kdei – Mansa

In a interview with TotalShowbiz, Kwame Gyan explains that he has seen Bisa perform a few times….from when he had just a single hit and the last one at the VGMA 2016 nominees jam at Ho. Though he plays live, there is always a disconnect with his audience and he’s unable to carry his fans along. For an artiste who now boasts of as many songs as he has, I expect a lot more. I have sat through a Kojo Antwi concert and left after 5 hours when he was still delivering. He carries his audience, performs like a performer and brings it home to them. Bisa does not seem to know what it means to perform. He should watch Stonebwoy, Sarkodie, the old folk like Amakye Dede and Ebo Taylor and learn what it means to be a performer. Plus, he’s positioned himself as a highlife artist and that should be seen in his art and costume and interactions. He is a massive talent but it takes more to be a star than a studio album.”

Asked whether Bisa his verdict on Bisa is fair, considering the fact that some industry analysts believe that the artiste has improved over the years and deserves commendation, Kwame explained that there has been “an improvement, yes. But one too slow in coming.”

“I won’t be proud with a performer like this as our Artiste of the Year. To be honest the improvement is so minute it’s inconsequential. Think about the huge hits he dropped last year and pair that with the performance we have seen from him. No, they don’t measure up.”

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Source: TotalShowbiz.com/Ghana

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