I Got Snubbed at The VGMAs In 2015 Despite My Chart-topping Anthem, “Enemies” – Jupitar

Reggae/Dancehall musician, Jupitar, has disclosed that he failed to push his brand locally  because his biggest song, ‘Enemies’ was not nominated for the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) Back in 2015 even though he filed for it.

In an exclusive interview on TV3 New Day, the artiste, who is privately known as Michael Okine shared his experiences in the music industry and the crucial moment that left a mark on his career.

“I remember my biggest song wasn’t nominated so I realised I didn’t… It was the VGMAs back then in 2015 even though I filed for all the categories. Because ‘Enemies’ was the biggest song in that era,” he averred.

According to Jupitar, the ommission came to him as a surprise, especially considering the song’s immense popularity during the period he released it.  He further noted that the situation alerted  him to reflect on the dynamics of recognition within the space in which he finds himself. In the words of Jupitar, “I went to France, I’ve been doing stuff. My only problem is when I do the stuff I don’t bring it out there for people to see.”

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Touching  on the significance of awards and accolades like the VGMA, the crooner, expressed a particular  sentiment shared by many artists ie the desire for a fair and comprehensive acknowledgement of their contributions. He stated that artistes like him have achieved comparable success, participated in major platforms, and even secured international awards, yet the local recognition sometimes falls short of their efforts.

“I am not just saying that to undermine them because hopefully we all need VGMA to survive as Ghanaian artiste but somehow it felt like some of us also Ghanaians and we equally deserve every push other artiste are getting here. On the field of achievements, we all have similar success in terms of A-list artiste, we all have big platforms that we’ve graced and international awards like the UMA where I won over Wizkid, they were all there,” he said.