The cream of the crop in Ghana’s music and showbiz industry turned out in their numbers Saturday for the 18th edition of the Ghana Music Awards.
The awards are arguably one of the biggest nights on the Ghana music calendar as artists are rewarded for their work over the course of the year under review.
Saturday’s event, which was held at the Accra International Conference Centre in Accra featured performances from industry heavyweights, such as Stonebwoy, Sarkodie, and Manifest.
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The Ghana Music Awards features 25 categories of awards, including the “Best Group of the Year,” “Highlife Artist of the Year,” and the highly coveted “Artist of the Year” award. The nominees for the category this year are E.L., Sarkodie, Stonebwoy, Joe Mettle, MzVee, and Medikal.
According to organizers, the “Artist of the Year” is given to the artist adjudged by the Academy, Board, and the general public as having the highest audience appeal and popularity in a particular year. To qualify for the award, an artist must have released a hit single/album during the year under review.
In the end, gospel music sensation Joe Mettle won the award — a first of its kind for a gospel artiste. Joe Mettle also went home with the “Gospel Artist of the Year” and “Best Male Vocalist” categories, respectively. Nigerian Afro-hip artist Runtown also won big as he grabbed the award for “African Artist of the Year.”
Watch Joe Mettle win his award here:
Other multiple winners of the night included dancehall artiste Stonebwoy who scooped up the awards for “Reggae/Dancehall Artist” and “Hiplife Song of the Year.” Ghanaian rapper Manifest also took home two awards for “Hip-hop Song of the Year” and “Best Rapper of the Year.”
Paapa Yankson. Photo credit: EntertainmentGH
Also at the event was veteran Ghanaian musician Paapa Yankson who was honored with a “Lifetime Achievement Award” for his contributions to the Ghanaian music industry.
See below for a full list of winners:
Artiste of the Year
Joe Mettle
Vodafone Most Popular Song of the Year
Dobble – Christy
Reggae/Dancehall Artist of the Year
Stonebwoy
Highlife Artist of the Year
Kofi Kinaata
Gospel Artist of the Year
Joe Mettle
Hiplife Song of the Year
Stonebwoy – Go Low
Afro-pop Song of the Year
E.L. – Kaabu Ame
Hip-hop Song of the Year
Manifest – god MC
Best New Act
Fancy Gadam
Record of the Year
Adina – Too Late
Hip-hop Song of the Year
Manifest – god MC
Best New Act
Fancy Gadam
Record of the Year
Adina – Too Late
Best Female Vocalist
Adina
Best Male Vocalist
Joe Mettle
Best Group of the Year
VVIP
Best Music Video of the Year
Okyeame Kwame – “Small Small,” feat. MzVee
Songwriter of the Year
Kofi Kinaata – Confession
Hiplife/Hip pop Artiste of the Year
Sarkodie
Best Rapper of the Year
Manifest
Album of the Year
The Counsellor by Nacee
Unsung Artiste
Kuami Eugene
Highlife Song of the Year
Kofi Kinaata – Confession
Gospel Song of the Year
Nacee – Yewo Nyame A Yewo Adze
Reggae/Dancehall Song of the Year
Stonebwoy – People Dey
Lifetime Achievement Awards
Paapa Yankson
Best Collaboration of the Year
“Alhaji” by VVIP, feat. Patoranking
African Artist of the Year
Runtown
