Rex Omar: Grammy Awards Not for Ghanaians; Let’s Elevate Our Own Music Awards

Veteran Ghanaian musician and Presidential Staffer for the Black Star Experience, Rex Omar, has called on Ghanaian musicians to prioritize and have faith in the country’s own music award programs.

Rex Omar asserted that the Grammy Awards were primarily established for American artists and not for those in Ghana. Consequently, he urged Ghanaian musicians to have confidence in and respect the award schemes within their own nation.

“Sometimes when I hear Ghanaians talk, Grammy is for America. So, if you disrespect the Ghana Music Awards and you think you want to go to the Grammy, I don’t understand it because Grammy was not created for you,” he stated.

Rex Omar also drew a parallel with the BET Awards, noting that it originated from an American television station that later developed its own award ceremony. He emphasized the importance of self-belief and valuing initiatives within Ghana. “BET is an American TV station that ended up also doing their own awards. You get what I mean? So the whole situation is we have to believe in ourselves and things that we do in Ghana,” he explained.

The “Abiba” hitmaker further suggested that stakeholders in the Ghanaian music industry should collaborate to develop an award program that can rival the prestige and recognition of the Grammy Awards. He believes that a well-established and respected local award scheme would eventually attract participation from musicians in other countries.

“We can also develop our own award if we speak well about it, if we do it well. Other countries will also want to be part of it. So, the whole thing is, it goes beyond just receiving an award,” Rex Omar concluded, advocating for a focus on building a strong and internationally recognized Ghanaian music awards platform.