By Simon Asare
Accra, June 2, GNA – Ghanaian musician Livingstone Etse Satekla, popularly known as Stonebwoy, won the coveted Artiste of the Year award at the 25th anniversary of the Telecel Ghana Music Awards (TGMA) held at the Accra International Conference Centre.
With the highest honour of the 25th TGMA going to Stonebwoy, he equaled the records of Sarkodie (2010, 2012), VVIP (2004, 2011), and Okyeame Kwame (1999, 2009) as the fourth musician to win the Artiste of the Year award twice.
The “Manudzi” hitmaker who won his first Artiste of the Year in 2015 beat off competition from Kuami Eugene, King Promise, Sarkodie, Nacee, and Black Sherif to secure this year’s Artist of the Year prize.
It was a big night for Stonebwoy, who also won five other awards, including Best Reggae/Dancehall Artiste of the Year, International Collaboration of the Year, Best Songwriter of the Year, Album/EP of the Year, and Record of the Year.
After winning the Artiste of the Year award, Stonebwoy expressed gratitude to his fans for their support over the past years, as well as thanking his wife, Mrs. Louisa Satekla.
“I just want to say thanks to the Most High God. Thank you, Mama, wherever you are. Thank you for showering your blessing on your son. I wrote a long speech, but I am short on words,” he said.
Stonebwoy also urged TGMA’s organisers, Charterhouse, to declare the recipient of the 2019 Artiste of the Year award, which he believes he earned despite the fight that broke out that fateful night.
King Promise was also a huge winner on the night, taking home the Most Popular Song of the Year, Best Afropop Song of the Year, and Best Afrobeats/Afropop Artist of the Year.
King Paluta also took up the coveted New Artiste of the Year award, while Nacee was named Best Gospel Artiste of the Year.
Strongman was the most unexpected award winner of the night, defeating Sarkodie, Eno Barony, Lyrical Joe, Amerado, and Fimfim to win Best Rap Performance.
The awards night witnessed an array of top-class musical performances from Efya, King Promise, King Paluta, Kuami Eugene, Nacee, and Stonebwoy, as well as some Hiplife veterans including MzBel, Reggie Rockstone, and T Blaze, among others.
GNA