Sista Afia has raised concerns about her repeated snubbing by the Telecel Ghana Music Awards (TGMA) ahead of the official nominations announcement.
Expressing her disappointment and hurt over the situation, the Jeje hitmaker mentioned that she has worked very hard over the years, only to receive such poor treatment from a scheme that is supposed to reward and recognize hard work.
In an interview with Graphic Showbiz on Monday, February 3, Sista Afia revealed that her poor treatment began when she failed to secure a nomination for her hit song “Jeje” featuring Shatta Wale in 2017. The “curse” seemed to persist until 2021, when she was finally nominated for her songs “Corner Corner” featuring Kelvyn Boy and “Weather” featuring Medikal.
Interestingly, her song “Asuoden,” released a year later, didn’t receive any nominations, and the situation hasn’t changed since then. This led to Sista Afia calling out the organisers last year.
“I haven’t been satisfied with the few TGMA nominations I receive. When I released ‘Jeje,’ I didn’t get any nomination even though the song was huge. Then I dropped ‘Corner Corner’ featuring Kelvyn Boy and ‘Weather’ featuring Medikal in 2021, and that was the only time I got recognised. Since then, I haven’t received any nominations, and that has been of great concern to me,” she stated.
However, the singer, who released “2 Things” in the year under review, is hopeful that things will change this year. She disclosed that she is targeting three nominations: Highlife Song of the Year, Highlife Artiste of the Year, and Collaboration of the Year.
Sista Afia also believes artistes have a moral obligation to give back to their communities and contribute to the greater good. She stresses the value of collective action, whether it’s donating resources to schools, supporting vulnerable individuals, or driving social initiatives.
“I think as musicians, we can contribute when we all come together as a group and help society in so many ways. We can print books for students who don’t have them, especially schools that lack study materials. We can also come together to support disabled kids or anyone who needs help. As musicians, we shouldn’t just stay at home writing songs. We need to actively create positive change in society. Even the little we can do makes a big difference,” she said.