VGMA brawl: Edem’s ‘prophecy’ comes true

HE may not have anticipated what happened at the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) last Saturday when he warned the media to be careful about promoting ‘beefs’ in the country last year, but the rapper, Edem, knew there was danger. 

Like a prophet, the Koene artiste had urged the media to give attention to projects that promoted a positive image of the music industry since ‘beefs’ were creating unnecessary tension in the industry.

It’s been almost six months since he made those comments and Edem says he feels vindicated by what happened.

“As an artiste, I was privy to what was happening on the ground and I knew what the tension these ‘beefs’ were creating in the industry. It was not safe and that was why at the time, I encouraged the media not to give attention to them,” he said.

Though he didn’t comment about last Saturday’s brouhaha when he was asked, Edem confirmed that most artistes owned guns for personal security.

“Every adult has a right to own a gun irrespective of their professional background so there is nothing wrong with artistes having them for their personal security. Besides, it is not out of place if it is licensed,” he stated.

In an industry that has had Twi as the dominant language used by artistes, many thought that Edem, whose real name is Denning Edem Hotor, would not survive when he released his debut single, Bougez, in Ewe in 2009.

Even though majority of those who sang and danced to the song at the time might not have understood it, according to Edem, the song’s success encouraged him to go more.

After nine years of holding the mantle as the artiste who championed and made Ewe music attractive on the Hiplife scene, Edem told Showbiz he deserved all the accolades for being a trailblazer.

“Until my arrival on the scene, little attention was given to songs in the minority languages. Today, the likes of Fancy Gadam and Maccasio are all making hits because I set the pace,” he said.