Black Sherif has expressed his dissatisfaction with the misrepresentation of his statement regarding the promotion of Ghanaian music.
He emphasized that he never advocated for the complete ban on Nigerian and foreign music in Ghana. In response to the viral nature of the misunderstanding, Black Sherif promptly took to Twitter to clarify his stance.
According to him, his team, consisting mostly of foreigners, confirms that he could not have made such remarks as were falsely circulated. Tru News Report has obtained the Twitter post where Black Sherif addresses this issue.
I don’t know where in my speech that says ban foreign music. How crazy can you spin a message that says love your culture and try play local music to your visitors if you wanna see your country creatives break boundaries. How do I want foreign music ban in my country while I work with foreign producers and Artistes? But agenda set ah lie? Good luck to everybody.
Background
Ghanaian artistes including Samini, Black Sherif, Reggie Rockstone, and Smallgod were in attendance at the #PlayGhana initiative organized by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture in collaboration with the Creative Arts Agency.
During the event, they passionately discussed the theme of the day. The purpose of the initiative was to promote Ghanaian music throughout the country in preparation for the festive season known as ‘Detty December,’ when many diasporans visit the country for their holidays, to add aura to entertainment in Ghana
Each musician took the opportunity to express their views on making Ghanaian music the focal point of Ghana’s entertainment industry, following years of Nigerian music dominating the scene.
Samini emphasized the importance of giving Ghanaian music the recognition it deserves, highlighting how the constant preference for foreign music over local songs has negatively impacted the industry’s growth.
Samini additionally expressed that the presence of Ghanaian music on streaming platforms is inadequate. He clarified that the constant exposure to foreign music has diverted the public’s attention away from their own country’s artists.
“We’ve always been advocating the fact that we need to hear more of our music when we are in our own territory. Because that’s what we see when we go to other territories. If you go to Kenya, for instance, you hear strictly East African music. Yes, of course, we have the Nigerian invasion, which is inevitable, which is not the competition here,” Samini said.
“That’s not the complaint here. That’s not the target here. What we’re talking about is that, especially for the fact that we have beyond the return, which has become like an asset to Ghana, should anybody travel here and listen to 70% foreign music and 30% Ghanaian music, then what music have we sold to those who returned. It has to be a deliberate approach. It has to be strategic and deliberate, without malice to any other force or any other group. Let’s make sure ours is ours, and let’s make it appealing to the masses,” he added.
Black Sherif, upon his turn, expressed his intention to refrain from excessive talking and placing blame on others for Ghana’s current predicament. Instead, he emphasized the importance of a unified effort to propel Ghanaian music forward.
“You know, this is not a blame game. We are not blaming DJs. We are not blaming artists. We are not blaming consumers. It’s a step in the right direction for us all, our music, and our culture. So play Ghana. Blessings.”
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