Talent manager Emmanuel Barnes, known in showbiz as Mr. Logic, did not take kindly to a description of his comments on TV3 by gospel artiste MOG as “emotionally driven”.
It all began on Simply with MzGee on Saturday, July 3 when the Chief Executive Officer of Red Panther International ruled out gospel music as a genre deserving of a category for the Vodafone Ghana Awards (VGMAs).
For him, gospel tunes follow similar rhythms as reggae, Afrobeats, and, at some levels, highlife and should be categorized as such instead of getting its own category at the VGMAs.
Mr. Logic was making an allusion to the crowning of gospel sensation Diana Antwi Hamilton as the Artiste of the Year at the 2021 VGMAs held at the Grand Arena of the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC).
But MOG , who was named the Male Vocalist of the Year, the second in a row for him, described Mr. Logic’s conception as “emotionally driven”.
All smiles. Congratulations @MOGmusic_ for winning the Male Vocalist of the Year Award at the #VGMA22 #VGMAonTV3 pic.twitter.com/1N0INQfytZ
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) June 25, 2021
The Oguamma composer said the artiste manager may have been “misled” by one or two encounters he may have had with other gospel artistes in the past.
MOG , real named Nana Yaw Boakye, who was nominated alongside KiDi, Akwaboah Jnr, and Kyei Mensah in the just-ended awards, welcomed Mr. Logic’s suggestion that gospel artists should be spread around the other genres.
Joined the show via Zoom from home, MOG said gospel artistes can match their secular counterparts “boot for boot”.
Mr. Logic, however, came back and said: “I want him, at home where he is, to retract that statement that he made. He should retract at home. My statement wasn’t emotionally driven.
“I am happy he agreed that they need to take them off the gospel and place them in all the categories so that they can compete.”