Acclaimed 'grandfather' of Ghana's Hip life, Reggie Rockstone, insists that BET has disrespected African acts for a long time and it is high time Nigerian and Ghanaian music stars lead the boycott of the prestigious awards.
Reggie Rockstone
Ghana's acclaimed King of Hip Life, Reggie Rockstone, has resurrected the controversy that we thought was already buried regarding the 2015 BET Awards.
The veteran rapper revealed recently that he wanted Sarkodie, who was then a nominee as well as Stonebwoy, eventual winner of the Best International Act (Africa) category of the 2015 BET Awards, to boycott the event, held at the Microsoft Theatre, Los Angeles, USA.
"My whole idea before they (Sarkodie and Stonebwoy) left was to boycott the ceremony. I said it over and over again, Stephen Appiah is my witness. When we were on the plane to Kumasi for the Charity game, I wanted to tell Stone but people said I should stop", he opened up.
The Ghanaian rap maestro expressed the belief that "When the nominees boycott the ceremony, they would get bigger publicity than how they are treated now", adding that "A lot of African-Americans are not aware what is going on because a lot of the African-Americans are Pan-African. If they get to know this is how the Africans are treated, you will see the kind of support we will get. Nigerians will definitely support us too, because they don't need award for anything, they are already rich".
Reggie argued that if African acts had boycotted the awards ceremony, "it would have empowered us and brought us more publicity. What I'm trying to say is, BET over the years has not shown respect in every single way. Do you know what BET stands for? It stands for 'Black Entertainment'".
Not done yet, Reggie, who is apparently displeased with BET Awards organizers, pondered how Justin Bieber, "a pure white and other whites, who use the 'nigga nigga' words" could receive their awards on stage while the Africans receive theirs backstage.
"We are kings and queens", he stressed and "I'm so happy somebody stood up to speak up. If you live on your knees, you will never get anything to stand for. So this is the case, and look, I'm Pan-African to the bone, and I've always said, if we boycott them, they will change".
Insisting that Nigerian music stars would have shown solidarity had their Ghanaian counterparts boycotted the showpiece event, Reggie recalled that immediately another nominee, UK-based Ghanaian act, Fuse ODG spoke out against the award organizers for the way and manner they treat African acts, Wizkid and Yemi Alade spoke out as well in support.
"We would have had the biggest publicity if we had boycotted it. Even when they perform, those who sit at the main event don't witness it, although it is [a] big award, it is fulfilling that we have won but we have to think for the future kids and the ones who are coming. You can’t continuously disrespect our Acts", he maintained.