Entertainment of Wednesday, 2 November 2011

Source: News one

Let’s Celebrate Our Own - Ghana Hip Hop and R&B Awards

Shades And Powder, organizers of the upcoming Ghana Hip Hop and R&B Awards slated for December 9, has called on Ghanaians to celebrate the country’s achievers.

“We cannot continue to live like this where we hail stars from other cultures and countries while we continue to treat our stars like leapers.

“When Forbes recently released its Top 40 Celebrities in Africa, there was an uproar that no Ghanaian made it to the top 40 but we should have ourselves to blame. In Ghana, not many people know that DJ Black is the second best DJ in the whole of Africa.

If Reggie Rockstone, the originator of Hiplife was a Nigerian or a South African, he would have become an idol by now but in Ghana, we treat them as if they are non achievers and until we start celebrating our own, the rest of the world would continue to look down on us,” Jerry, a management member of Shades And Powder, told NEWS-ONE

He said it was for this and several other reasons that his outfit planned the December 9 awards to celebrate Ghanaian achievers who had contributed to the development and sustenance of the Hip hop and R&B Industry in Ghana.

“I have said that the Hip Hop and R&B industry and culture in Ghana has employed more youth than most industries.

In a country where we have a National Association of Unemployed Graduates, it is certainly worth celebrating innovation and creativity in an industry that employs thousands of young persons, because in the absence of this hip hop culture, many of these young guys would not have become entrepreneurs,” Jerry explained.

He said aside the voting category, there was a non-voting category that would award achievers like DJ Black, C’Reel, Gyedu Blay Ambolley, D-Black, Mike Cook, and several others.