The 24th edition of the Ghana Music Awards, which comes off on Saturday, May 6, has eight musicians, including two gospel artistes- Piesie Esther and Joe Mettle, battling it out for the ultimate 'Artiste of the Year' title.

The nominees in the keenly contested category are Black Sherif, Piesie Esther, Sarkodie, Stonebwoy, KiDi, Joe Mettle, Camidoh and King Promise.

Reggae and Dancehall musician, Ras Kuuku, in a Facebook post, openly declared his support for the young rapper, Black Sherif, who, he argued, is the most deserving among the eight.

His campaign for Black came with a jab at the gospel fraternity. He wrote: "Truth is one... My younger brother deserves the Artist of the Year... It’s not a churchical business."

On May 3, Sherif, with seven nominations, urged music lovers to vote for him to increase his chance of winning big.

"You’ve seen the ups and downs of my journey. I’ve had my lips shut and my eyes open ever since I stepped in this game. Not changing today, not changing tomorrow. Let’s go VGMA!," he charged.

In the run-up to the 2023 VGMA, social media users have pitched either Piesie Esther or Black Sherif to win "Artist of the Year''.

The two have dominated social media conversation and received massive fanbase support.

Piesie Esther, on the other hand, has had the backing of members of the gospel fraternity who say the time has come for the 'Waye Me Yie' hitmaker to be crowned the winner.

Also, The Church of Pentecost Ghana, where Piesie serves as a deaconess, is rallying behind her and has called on its members to vote massively for her.

"It is time to show our support for the talented Deaconess Piesie Esther! She's been nominated for awards...Let us rally behind our sister and daughter and help her bring these awards home! #MaximumImpact | #PossessingtheNations," the official Facebook page of the church shared and attached the link that directs them to cast their votes.

Check out the posts below:

You’ve seen the ups and downs of my journey. I’ve had my lips shut and my eyes open ever since I stepped in this game. Not changing today, not changing tomorrow.

Let’s go VGMA!! pic.twitter.com/AEJFit6O8Z

— BLACKO (@blacksherif_) May 3, 2023

It is time to show our support for the talented Deaconess Piesie Esther!

She's been nominated for 7️⃣ awards:

✅ Best Artiste of the Year
✅ Best Gospel Artiste of the Year
✅ Best Gospel Song of the Year
✅ Most Popular Song of the Year
✅ Best Songwriter of the Year
.
.
. pic.twitter.com/8HKfw20t1q

— The Church of Pentecost (@thecophq) May 2, 2023