Reggae/Dancehall musicians killed Bass Awards - King Lagazee

Award-winning radio presenter Isaac Ago Tetteh Monney, popularly known as King Lagazee, has accused Reggae/Dancehall musicians of killing the Bass Awards, the only awards scheme dedicated to the genre.

Bass Awards was established in 2013 and the last edition was held in 2017. Since then, the event has been on a hiatus.

“From day one when the awards scheme was established, Reggae/ Dancehall musicians were not in support of it. They would not even submit their works and left everything in the hands of the board members.

“We had to do our own research by gathering songs that stood tall in the year under review. On the awards night, the Reggae/Dancehall musicians would not even show up.

“I was a committee member so I know what I am talking about. The artistes made the awards look very bad in the eyes of everyone. The board received a lot of backlashes and we lost interest in being a part of it,” he said.

According to King Lagazee, Reggae/Dancehall musicians kicked against the board awarding Hiplife artistes who recorded Dancehall songs.

“When Edem won Popular Song of the Year with Ghetto Arise, the Reggae/ Dancehall musicians who were competing with him in the category got angry and said all sorts of things about the board.

“Ahuma Bosco Ocansey also known as Daddy Bosco, the Chairman for Bass Awards, has been disrespected several times by these same artistes,” he said.
He added that Reggae/ Dancehall musicians were not willing to listen to anything the board told them.

“We started talking to the artistes about branding. We told them to be neat always as Reggae/ Dancehall musicians were considered dirty, and they got so angry about it. Most of them stopped attending meetings and disassociated themselves from anything we did. In short, they just killed Bass Awards.

“Two slots at the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) were not enough, one of the reasons we set up the Bass Awards, but it’s unfortunate today it is no more,” he said.

King Lagazee, who won Best Reggae/Dancehall DJ of the Year at the Ghana DJ Awards in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020 respectively said he is too crazy about everything Reggae and wishes Bass Awards comes back.

A Reggae presenter at Hitz FM, King Lagazee said he loved the genre because its songs were deep and full of wisdom.

“Reggae music has gone international and it is full of wisdom. I can listen to Reggae from morning to evening,” he said.

He revealed that the secret to him remaining relevant on and off-air was constantly learning and keeping close contacts with artists and their management.

He has hosted a number of events, including Stonebwoy’s Ashaiman to the World Concert in 2017 and Saminifest.