Black Sherif may have won the biggest award of the night at the 24th Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA24), but he was not happy about missing out on another coveted prize.
The rapper and singer, who took home the Artiste of the Year trophy, was hoping to also bag the Album of the Year award for his debut LP, The Villain I Never Was. However, he was beaten by King Promise, who won with his sophomore album, 5 Star.
Black Sherif opened up about his disappointment in an interview with Berla Mundi on TV3’s New Day programme. He said he was expecting to hear his name when the winner was announced at the Grand Arena of the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) on Saturday, May 6, 2023.
“When they didn’t mention my name, I said: ‘Yawa!’” he revealed, making a sour face and then laughing it off.
‘Yawa’ is a Pidgin word that can mean various things, such as ‘trouble’, ‘oh my goodness!’, ‘f**k!’, ’embarrassment’ and ‘big disappointment’.
Despite his frustration, Black Sherif was gracious enough to admit that King Promise deserved the award. He also praised the other nominees in the category: Sarkodie (Jamz), Gyakie (My Diary), Kwesi Arthur (Son of Jacob) and Joe Mettle (The Kadosh).
“If I felt like the one receiving the award didn’t deserve it, then I would feel some way,” he said. “But everyone in that category deserved to win else, they wouldn’t have put their name up in the first place.”
He added that all the nominated albums were worthy contenders because “they put work in”.
Black Sherif rose to fame in 2021 with his viral songs “First Sermon” and “Second Sermon” . He is known for his unique blend of rap and singing, and his lyrics that reflect the struggles of the youth.