Ghanaian rapper Edem has shared the importance of fan armies to artistes, noting that fan armies became prominent as artistes sought effective ways to promote their work and usually counter the harsh critiques by pundits on radio and television.

In an interview with Hitz FM, Edem mentioned that these fan armies stand up for them regularly, preventing pundits from dominating the narrative.

“It was a point when people like Edem were looking for solutions to be able to get their works out there, because these fan armies face off the pundits who sit on radio and TV and talk trash about Edem. And so if Edem doesn't have a bunch of people who can speak for them every day, then the pundits will have their way,” he explained.

Edem recalled an incident involving a pundit who questioned his eligibility to attend the Grammys. In response, fans and admirers who had followed his career came to his defence.

“I remember there was one foolish pundit when I went for the Grammys, and this loose cannon came on TV to say that he doesn't think I deserve to be at the Grammys, right? He didn't even think about the fact that he couldn't afford a flight ticket, and specifically a business class, which is nothing less than five G dollar.

“And then when he said it, my fans came out for him. They were like, Yo, you don't know his repertoire. Because the truth is that that guy didn't actually know my repertoire. He's only speaking from where he started from, okay? He didn't do his research, and so he was speaking from a blind side,” he said.

Edem also acknowledged that artistes, especially prominent ones, feel the need to have control over their narratives and missions. However, he recognized that this dynamic sometimes leads to divisions and conflicts among different fan armies.

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