A few months ago, the Chief Executive Officer of Scratch Studios Ghana,
Kofi Amoakohene advised Ghanaian DJs to focus more on Ghanaian music at
the first edition of the Ghana DJ Awards.
According to him, the practice of playing more foreign songs at the
expense of Ghanaian songs hindered the growth of our musical identity.
Since I share his sentiments, I also set out to advocate for DJs to
play and give more attention to Ghanaian music than they give to foreign
music, especially Nigerian songs. I therefore made myself an unofficial
ambassador of Ghana music.
What I intend doing was that, whenever I went out, I will encourage DJs
to help elevate the Ghana music industry by giving more play time to
Ghanaian songs. Unfortunately, I dropped idea before it started because
of a bad encounter I had with a DJ in Accra during a fashion show.
I had gone to ask him if he could play some Ghanaian songs after about
two hours of Nigeria songs he had played. He said he would do that, so
we smiled and I left to be with my colleagues.
After couple of songs, there were still no Ghanaian songs blazing from
the loud speakers. All I heard were songs from the Wizkids, P-Squares,
Davidos, 2Faces, Timayas, DBanjs, Tiwa Savages, Iyanyas and the likes.
I respectfully approached the DJ again and this time around, he shouted
at me and asked if I was invited to watch the show or asked to dictate
to the DJ on which songs he should play.
The way he went about it was very physical, so I said well, let me
leave this guy alone. And that was how I gave up that dream. This is
because I anticipated similar situations from other DJs should I dare
interfere in their job again.
Ghanaian DJs are playing Nigerian songs. Ghanaian bloggers are blogging
about Nigerian artistes and their songs. Event organisers in Ghana are
paying huge sums of money to Nigerian artistes to headline concerts in
Ghana. Ghanaian artistes are singing and rapping like Nigerians. Who
should be blamed?
I'm against banning of Nigerian or foreign songs in Ghana uprightly but
the fact that Ghana songs play second to those songs even in Ghana is
not right.
In a bid to give listeners what they want, radio station owners, DJs
and radio presenters just pay more attention to Nigerian songs. A DJ can
play 10 Nigerian songs and cut in with just a song from Ghana. This
should not be tolerated in Ghana. I'm against banning of Nigerian or
foreign songs in Ghana but the fact that Ghana songs play second fiddle
to these foreign songs right here in Ghana is not right.
Some of these radio station owners, DJs and radio presenters argue
that, local songs are substandard hence why they do not play them.
However, are we saying that all Ghanaian songs are of bad quality and
all Nigerian songs are good?
Also television stations play these Nigerian songs on air free of
charge, yet expect Ghanaian artistes to pay before theirs are played.
As if not enough, this trend does not stop at the radio and television
stations, even when one makes his way to pubs or nightclubs, they are
met with the same trend. Are Ghanaians not the owners of these
facilities that give more attention to foreign songs? Who should be
blamed?
There are several areas that, Ghana trail Nigeria. So far as music in
concerned, Ghana is trailing Nigeria by several miles in terms of
promotion, marketing and patronage but what accounted for all that?
The fact that Ghanaian songs play second fiddle to their Nigerian
counterparts even in Ghana means there is a problem. Until the
appropriate minds are able to first of all find the problem, Ghana will
continue to lag behind.
I understand that, there is a policy in Nigeria which requires that
about 70 percent of songs played on radio and television be of Nigeria
content. From the look of things, Ghana needs such a policy.
Such a policy can help to keep foreign songs at bay for the benefit of
Ghanaians songs. I do not see the reason why songs from both countries
should compete for the same slots in Ghana. For now, the question is who
is to be blamed?
