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The board of the 2023 Vodafone Ghana Awards (VGMAs) has disqualified rapper Jay Bahd from the New Artiste of the Year category.
After journalist Austin Woode contested Jay Bahd’s nomination in the category—which also had other contenders such as Malcum Nuna, DJay, Lasmid, Ewurabena, DJ Azonto, and Chief One—this new development became essential.
Austine Woode demonstrated in the petition that Jay Bhad was not a new artist under the scheme because he was nominated for the 2021 Vodafone Ghana Awards.
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Jay Bhad and Yaw Tog received a nomination for Best Collaboration of the Year in 2021 for their work on “Sore.”
To this end, the board informed the public of its choice via a press release explaining why Jay Bahd is not qualified for the New Artiste of the Year category.
See the full statement below;
THE 24TH GMA NOMINATIONS REVIEW
On the night of the Nominees Announcement Show for the 24th Vodafone Ghana Awards, a one-week provisional window for addressing errors and omissions was announced.
Following this announcement, a number of well-meaning stakeholders made several submissions to the Board. These concerns have been reviewed and responses have been sent to the various petitioners.
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One of the submissions made, which has generated high public interest, is Jay Bahd’s inclusion in the Best New Artiste category. After deliberations, the Board agrees that Jay Bahd is not new to the scheme, because of his shared nomination on Yaw Tog’ ‘Sore’ for Collaboration of the Year in 2021.
This means he’s not eligible as a nominee for the Best New Artiste category of the 24th Vodafone Ghana Awards. The error has been corrected, and Jay Bad and his team have been informed accordingly. The inconvenience is deeply regretted.
The Board would like to express its sincere gratitude to Academy Member Austin Woode, for taking advantage of this Errors and Omissions window to help correct this oversight.
To the general public, we are extremely grateful for the level of engagement, submissions, and contributions during this one-week provisional window. We trust that this will lead to a more robust scheme for the industry.
To this end, we would like to notify the general public and stakeholders of the VGMA Review scheduled within 90 days after this year’s edition. Thus, anyone with ideas or concerns about the scheme should kindly send an email to [email protected].
Finally, do note that grand finale of the 24th Vodafone Ghana Awards is now slated for the 6th of May, 2023. The event will come off at the Grand Arena of the Accra International Conference Centre, and will show live on TV3, and worldwide via the Ghana Awards socials.
Thank you.
