Afro-pop Artiste,Wiyaala, has disclosed that, she has ceased submitting works for nomination in the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMAs) because the awards only recognises Accra based musicians.
As a guest on The North Podcast, Wiyala disclosed that the VGMAs have established criteria for selecting nominees that she believes disqualify her.
She revealed that, one of the key criteria for nomination is massive airplay on radio stations in Accra, a requirement that proves unattainable for her due to her choice of language.
The ‘Rock my body’ singer sings in her native language Sissala and Waala dialects and English, often combining all three languages within her songs
“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,”
Wiyaala emphasized the lack of deliberate efforts to showcase Artistes from other regions whose songs may not be widely known due to language barriers.
“I can be as popular as any Artiste 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.
She has in the past won awards at the VGMA including ‘Songwriter of The Year’ and ‘Best Female Vocal Performance.’
