Sarkodie, Manifest, Runtown & More Win Big at Ghana Music Awards

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.

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.”

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