Leave Me Out Mzbel Tells Ghana Music Awards

Getting nominated and winning an award from the Ghana Music Awards (GMA) may be the dream of most musicians and those connected to the music business but not for hiplife sensation, Mzbel.Mzbel who has been nominated for a GMA award many times since she burst onto the Ghanaian music scene no longer wants to be part of the yearly process that recognises the good work of deserving artistes. “ I get nominated all the time and never win any award so they should please leave me out this time around. I just don’t want to know,” Mzbel, born Nana Akua , told Graphic Showbiz last Tuesday. According to her, anytime the GMA nominations are discussed on radio and TV, nothing good is said about her. “Aside not winning any award, I only get negative vibes from the panellists and the public when the phone lines are opened. People say all kinds of bad things about me and these affect my life and discourage my fans. “ If after all the insults I win an award that would make up for the negative vibes but I get nothing. I have no problem with Chaterhouse, the organisers, but all I am saying is that I have had enough and they should let me be. They should do their thing and leave me alone to do mine. I don’t want to be insulted anymore.”According to her, she has made known her protest to the organisers. “I conveyed the message to Charterhouse when they called me to inform me that my song E dey Be has been nominated but they wouldn’t budge saying the award is a public thing and once I have been nominated there is nothing they can do about it. “But I can’t agree with Chaterhouse when they tell me the nomination committee has decided that I be nominated. What I am saying is that the committee didn’t write my song or record it for me so it can’t make that decision for me”, she said. In a chat with Mrs Theresa Ayaode, Events Director of Chaterhouse, she confirmed that Mzbel had protested but since her work is out in the public domain and the whole nomination process is a public thing, she cannot say she doesnt want to be part of it. “ The public and connoisseurs of the music industry come up with the nominations. So even if the person nominated doesn’t want to be part of it, there is nothing Chaterhouse can do about it. The person will still get nominated and might even go on to win the award but it is up to the person to come receive it or not.” Touching on Mzbel’s other reason for kicking against her involvement in the up coming GMA because she never wins although she has been nominated several times, Mrs Ayaode said “ It seeems some musicians do not still realise that all cannot be winners every time. They are probably yet to understand that nominations do not automaticallly lead to winning, no matter how many times an artiste may be nominated. It will however take continual transparency on the part of the organisers to uphold its integtrity.”The GMA which is in its 8th year is an annual recognition event for the music industry. It was conceived with the sole aim of improving and projecting the image of the Ghanaian music industry to its rightful position in society. It appears most musicians, producers, music enthusiasts and other stakeholders endorse that aim, judging by the amount of interest in who wins what at the awards. There have been and there are still other music awards schemes but the GMA has managed to position itself as a well-organised, forward-looking event.