Ghana: 3Music Awards announce new categories and changes

Organised by 3Media Networks, the awards platform is among the country’s most notable celebrations of musicians and entertainers across Ghana and Africa.

The changes were made during a recent board and stakeholders’ retreat. The Artist of the Year Award, formerly known as the Music Man of the Year Award, will now be the platform’s most prestigious accolade. Additionally, the Rapper of the Year category, which previously rewarded performances on a song, will now recognise artists’ activities in the year under review.

In addition, the Woman of the Year category and the newly introduced Emerging Woman of the Year Award will be the showpieces at the Women’s Brunch, which is slated for 7 March in commemoration of International Women’s Day a day later. The Emerging Woman of the Year Award is in line with the awards’ policy for equal representation of female artists.

Other new categories approved by the 3Media Networks board are EP of the Year and Best Alternative Song.

“The fourth edition affords us the opportunity to not only honour popular music and the innovation we experienced last year following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic but also to curate an experience that speaks to the now and future of music while celebrating our music history,” 3Media Networks CEO Sadiq Abdulai Abu said. “Most importantly, it should be reflective of 3Music’s commitment to better representation and inclusion of female talents.”

Rapper Sarkodie was the biggest winner at the 2020 edition with five awards out of 12 nominations. Other winners on the night included Shatta Wale, Kofi Kinaata, Efya and Diana Hamilton.

The 2021 3Music Awards are expected to be held virtually due to restrictions on public gatherings. This after Ghana saw a recent spike in COVID-19 infections.

An announcement of this year’s nominees is scheduled for 12 February at 8pm GMT. It will be broadcast on Joy Prime TV, as well as 3Music Awards’ Facebook page.