Veteran Ghanaian musician Okyeame Kwame has called on universities and government ministries to introduce scholarship opportunities for artistes who excel in their respective fields.

He proposed that the University of Ghana’s School of Performing Arts, for instance, could offer the Ghana Music Awards Artiste of the Year an opportunity to study and enhance their craft.

He suggested while speaking at the African Humanities Association (AHA) 2026 Biennial Conference, held at the WAGMC Auditorium, the University of Ghana, on November 11, under the theme, “Engaging Humanities, Social Sciences, and Arts Scholarship in Africa: Milestones and Aspirations.”

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“I want to ask us here: if the School of Performing Arts decided to identify the Artiste of the Year based on the VGMA Artiste of the Year award, and called on the winner to come to the School of Performing Arts to study for six months and obtain a diploma, regardless of whether they have a high school certificate or not, do we know the number of young pop artistes who would rush here to benefit from the knowledge available? Rules are made to be broken, especially when we are talking about art,” he said.

Okyeame Kwame further suggested that artistes who promote indigenous Ghanaian traditions should be recognised and given opportunities to showcase their work internationally through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“If the Ghanaian missions through the Foreign Affairs Ministry decided that, during every Independence Day celebration, all the 100-plus missions we have across the world would take one artiste, one pop artiste who infuses traditional elements and appealing Ghanaian visuals into their videos, and send them to Peru, Nigeria, New York, India and Germany, every March 6, more than 100 musicians, along with their dancers and managers, would get the opportunity to sell Ghana to the world. So, if we have not done it, how then do we try to keep the gates?” he quizzed.

The songwriter also proposed that the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts support artistes through scholarships and sponsorships to encourage the incorporation of more traditional Ghanaian elements into their music.

He argued that without deliberate efforts to promote indigenous influences in popular music, Ghanaian artistes might have to seek international recognition before their work gains global attention.

“If the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Arts gave scholarships and sponsorship to said artistes, would more artistes not try to be a bit more traditional and Ghanaian? If we are not intentional about nudging our pop musicians to select from around us, the next Afrobeats hit will have to go to England and go to Atlanta before it becomes a global phenomenon,” Okyeame Kwame advised.

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