RENOWNED music producer Zapp Mallet has urged Ghanaian musicians to shift their focus from chasing Grammy Awards to satisfying their market audience, both local and international.
He expressed his disappointment at the obsession among Ghanaian artistes with winning or earning Grammy nominations, which has grown excessive over the past decade and often at the expense of building a formidable audience.
He believes authenticity also begins at home, and so Ghanaian artistes must first earn not only the love and loyalty of their local audience but also build a strong following outside before seeking global applause.
In an interview with Graphic Showbiz on Tuesday, November 10, Zapp Mallet revealed that some artistes visit his studio solely with the ambition of producing “Grammy-worthy” songs.
“My advice to every artiste, especially the young ones, is that your first point of call should be your audience, not the Grammys,” he stressed.
“The Grammy is a body with its own criteria, definitions and interests. It’s not bad to win one, but your real worth should not depend on it.”
While acknowledging the prestige that comes with winning a Grammy, the celebrated producer believes that when local foundations are strong, international recognition becomes only a matter of time.
“Of course, I would also be pleased to win a Grammy, but I don’t want our musicians depending on it as if without Grammys, they are not worthy,” he said.
He also questioned the inclusivity of the Grammy Awards scheme, noting that African artistes rarely feature in mainstream categories.
“Nothing has changed with how African artistes are treated. Which African artiste has ever been nominated for the major categories?” he asked.
“They always box Africans into collaborations or the Global Music categories. The only change over the years has been renaming ‘World Music Album’ to ‘Global Music Album.’ And that’s what African artistes keep celebrating,” he stressed.
Mallet emphasised that although the Grammys are influential, they represent only a segment of a musician’s potential audience. (Read EDITOR’S LENS: Waking up from the Grammy Awards dream)
“A member of the Recording Academy could be part of your listening market, and may even recommend your work. But as the Bible says, ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all other things shall be added.’ In the same way, seek ye first your audience and all other things, including Grammys, shall be added,” he advised.
His comments follow the Recording Academy’s release of the 2026 Grammy nominations list on Friday, November 7, which featured no Ghanaian artiste. The outcome has reignited debate about why Ghana continues to miss out while neighbouring Nigeria celebrates multiple nominees.
This year, Nigerian stars Burna Boy, Davido and Omah Lay earned nods in categories such as Best African Music Performance and Best Global Music Album. The result, Zapp Mallet believes, should encourage Ghanaian artistes to refocus on strengthening local awards schemes such as the Telecel Ghana Music Awards (TGMA).
He also expressed concern about Africa’s inability to sustain its own continental awards.
“We once had the biggest music awards scheme, the KORA Awards,” he recalled. “Where is it now? What happened to it? What is wrong with us as a continent? Why do we always abandon what is ours? What is wrong with us Black people?” he lamented.
For Mallet, the way forward lies in rebuilding strong African award systems that celebrate homegrown excellence, instead of seeking outside approval.
“If you come to me to record a supposed Grammy-winning song, I’ll tell you this—Grammy didn’t put me in business,” he stated.
“Besides, if we had built ours well, people would also come from the US to fight for it because they want to enter our market," he added.
