We don’t select VGMA winners based on 'BET’ - Mark Okraku

Winners at the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMAs) are not picked on the basis of their chances of winning an award at the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards, a board member of the VGMAs, Mark Okraku Mantey, has said.

Rapper EL picked up five awards at the just ended 2016 edition of the VGMAs including the coveted Artiste of the Year award.

He beat other musicians including Sarkodie, Stonebwoy, Bisa Kdei, SP Kofi Sarpong, and VVIP, who were all competing for the most sought-after award.

His closest contender was Bisa Kdei, who picked up four awards including the Album of the Year with ‘Breakthrough’ and Sarkodie, who won the Record of the Year for ‘Bra’, along with two other awards.

Shortly after the awards ceremony, social media has been rife with messages suggesting that Bisa Kdei was denied the Artiste of the Year award because of his slimmer chances of winning the Best International Act: Africa category at the BET awards subsequently.

The BET Awards were established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate African Americans and other minorities in music, acting, sports, and other fields of entertainment.

Ghana’s Sarkodie and Stonebwoy won Best International Act: Africa category in 2012 and 2015 respectively after they had won the VGMA Artiste of the Year award in those years. Some fans believe the versatility of EL as a rapper, singer, and producer with songs across the genres of hiplife, hiphop, and rap, gives him an upper hand as compared to Bisa Kdei, who only sings and records highlife.

But Mr Mantey has dispelled such accusations, indicating that the coveted award is given based on merit and an international award scheme organised outside the shores of Ghana does not influence the decision of judges.

He told Omanhene Kwabena Asante on Asempa FM’s ‘Ekosii Sen’ on Monday May 9, that: “BET does not even come to our mind and the VGMAs do not select winners based on BET.”

To buttress his point, he indicated that, “King Ayisoba has won the Most Popular Song of the Year in the past, did we consider BET? No.”

He said the edge EL had over Bisa Kdei “could be that even though Bisa had a big song, he could not get a chance to perform as much as he would want on the big platforms especially the relevant ones”.

“Secondly, we all know that he is a new brand and so his performance cannot be the best overnight. Even EL who I think beats Bisa on that level, four years ago did not have a good performance but he did his homework overtime,” Mr Mantey stated.

He further explained that: “EL has been on the scene for about six years but has done all the relevant things. He is a producer/sound engineer, he sings, he raps and all. Over the years he has released hit songs.”

EL was rewarded for his excellent work at the Saturday May 7 event for hit songs like ‘Mi Naa Bo Po’, ‘Koko’ and ‘Shelele’ which were released within the review year.