Ghanaian rapper Kojo Cue has revealed a significant shift in his attitude toward music awards, saying he now views them as one of the most important pillars holding the industry together, even as he acknowledged never having won at Ghana’s premier music awards event.
Speaking on Angel FM in Kumasi, the rapper was candid about his past indifference. “For a long time, awards were not something I cared about until recently. Even last year I was not nominated, but I still went there,” he said. His perspective, he explained, changed after observing how award schemes function as institutional anchors for the music industry.
“I have come to see that, in the music industry, awards are what hold the industry together, and if the movie industry had something like this, it would still be booming,” he noted, drawing a pointed contrast with Ghana’s film sector.
Kojo Cue urged fellow artists to share his renewed commitment. “It is good that all artistes invest themselves into it as one of the last standing institutions that is keeping the music industry,” he said.
Kojo Cue is among the nominees at the 27th edition of the Telecel Ghana Music Awards (TGMA), with his collaboration “Tontontin” featuring Arathejay and Ofori Amponsah listed in the Hiplife Song of the Year category. He disclosed, however, that his personal ambitions at the awards have always centred on two specific categories. “Songwriter of the Year and Album of the Year are the two major categories I have been aiming for over the years. These are the two things I really take my time doing,” he said.
Despite years of effort, the recognition in those categories has eluded him. “I am not worried that I have never gotten an award at the TGMA, even though people I started with have had some,” he admitted with characteristic composure. He also acknowledged that his own inaction had been partly to blame. “For the longest time, I was not submitting forms to be nominated because that was not my priority,” he said.
He did point to recognition elsewhere, noting that he has won a 4Syte Award through his collaboration with Shakers and one other collaboration award.
Kojo Cue had separately revealed on the same programme that winning Songwriter of the Year at the TGMA would be the most emotional moment of his entire career.
