Filling O2 Arena not yardstick for artistes' success —Rocky Dawuni

GHANAIAN international Reggae, Afrobeat, Highlife and Soul musician Rocky Dawuni has come to the defense of his colleagues saying he doesn’t see cramming the O2 Arena in the UK as a yardstick for an artiste’s success.

His comments come after the filling of the 20,000 capacity O2 Arena has triggered conversations lately where even some Ghanaian musicians believe their Nigerian counterparts are much better because they are able to pack the place with revellers.

Nigerian acts including Burna Boy, Davido, Wizkid and recently Asake have hosted sold-out concerts at the venue. Ghanaian Dancehall act, Shatta Wale, showered praises on Asake for his feat at his gig which came off late August 2023 and asked how they were able to do it.

Speaking to Graphic Showbiz, Rocky Dawuni said no one should think that Ghanaian artistes are not doing well just because they are not filling the O2 Arena.

“We are doing so well as musicians in other areas and I don’t think it is right to use O2 Arena which is in just one country to judge how good our musicians are.

“It is not even proper to compare our musicians to our Nigerians brothers because we are unique in our own way. Nigerians have the support and the investment and if we get same, filling that place will not be a big deal”, he said.

According to Rocky Dawuni, Ghanaian musicians have mounted some of the biggest stages across the world and doing so well out there.

“I can tell you for a fact that our music is the best. It is rich. We should build on our strength. We should focus on building our music industry and make sure our artistes who play on such big platforms project the positive image of our country. I don’t think filling the O2 is something we should worry our head about”, he added.

He goes on to explain that a Ghanaian musician can fill the O2 “because we have the quality of musicians who can do that so I don’t want us to spend time on this. We have so much to talk about with our music than filling a place which is a venue in one country,” he said.

Rocky Dawuni who has been in the music industry for more than two decades is a three-time Grammy Award nominee. His ‘Branches of The Same Tree’ album was nominated for Best Reggae Album in December 2015 at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, making him the first nominee from Ghana.