The ceremony, which is set to take place at the Accra International Conference Centre, will see the two legends receive the Grand Medal for their faithful and loyal service to the nation.

Joining them in the Creative Arts category is actress and filmmaker Juliet Yaa Asantewaa Asante. Renowned filmmaker Kwaw Paintsil Ansah will also be honoured with the prestigious Order of the Volta (Member).

About the National Honours and Awards 

The National Honours and Awards ceremony was established in 1960 to recognise individuals and institutions who have made distinguished contributions to Ghana’s development. The initiative, first introduced under the leadership of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, continues to celebrate creativity, excellence, and hard work in various fields of endeavour.

This year’s event also highlights the recently introduced Presidential Honours and Awards for Distinguished Service, created by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2023. This new category acknowledges extraordinary contributions made during the COVID-19 pandemic. President Akufo-Addo has praised the resilience and collaboration displayed by citizens, institutions, and international partners in safeguarding lives and mobilising resources during the crisis.

The honours, spanning several categories, include the Grand Medal, the Order of the Volta (Member and Companion), and the Order of the Star of Ghana (Member and Officer), among others.

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Before gaining fame in the entertainment industry, Joyce claimed she was a backup singer for some of Ghana’s top musicians.

She reminisced about her time as a member of the Amanzeba band, and working at the Hush Hush Studios, a prominent music hub in Ghana during that era.

While she was just a teenager, Joyce revealed that she worked alongside notable artistes such as Gyedu Blay Ambolley, whom she provided backing vocals for all 11 songs on his 2008 album.

Additionally, she collaborated with Sherifa Gunu before the latter departed from the record label they shared.

Joyce also shared insights into her personal music journey, revealing that she recorded a gospel album titled “Bye Bye” at the age of 18.

But, due to a lack of sponsorship and support, she eventually transitioned from music into acting.

Now, Joyce has returned to her musical roots as a full-time musician and her latest release is a collaboration with Ivorian singer, Freddie Mayway on the track “Tatata.”

She expressed admiration for Mayway’s music, which she opined has spiritual healing.

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Three years ago, Ambolley alleged that Ben Brako and Okyeame Kwame were gifted GH₵ 50,000 each from the 2 million cedis that government gave to the music industry in 2012. 

According to Ben Brako, after he issued an ultimatum to Ambolley to retract his statement, he rather sent people to beg him.

“He didn’t [retract the statement]. But he started sending people to beg. You see the typical thing of asking people to come and intervene. I mean, just do the honourable thing. It is very sad that [you are] a fellow musician. At least, we are friendly, you could ask me that ‘this is what I’ve heard’. You didn’t do that. You went on air to accuse and tried to soil people’s reputation,” he noted.

He later filed a suit but due the fact that he did not usually live in Ghana, he couldn’t pursue the case to to end.

“I threatened him with court, actually went to court but I left him with Okyeame because I was in and out [of the country] all the time.

Asked if the matter had been laid to rest, he answered in the affirmative.

Okyeame Kwame, who was also mentioned in the allegation sued Ambolley. In May, 2023 Ambolley retracted the statement and apologised.

In an apology on LinkedIn, Ambolley noted that he was ‘mistaken’, explaining that MUSIGA’s former President Bice Osei Kuffour, aka Obour did not personally hand over any government fund as a loan to Okyeame Kwame.

He admitted that his claims that the ‘Made In Ghana’ hitmaker did not repay the money he received were also untrue.

“Obour did not give Okyeame Kwame a personal loan from MUSIGHA funds. To support artistes and enable them access loans, MUSIGHA entered an arrangement with Midland Bank and provided security/collateral for the arrangement,” he wrote.

Mr Ambolley added that “Okyeame Kwame only took advantage of the initiative and applied for a loan from Midland bank which he was given.”

He noted that, the hiplife artiste has also paid back the loan in full.

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His words carry the weight of decades of experience, as Ambolley, a true trailblazer, continues to be a musical force to reckon with.

Gyedu Blay Ambolley, often referred to as the “Simigwa Do Man” for his iconic track, has carved a unique path in the music world.

Unlike many musicians who chase after one-hit wonders, Ambolley’s career has been marked by a commitment to creating timeless music that transcends generations and he believes up and coming acts can take a cue from his journey.

Speaking in a recent interview with Graphic Showbiz, the music maestro held that contrary to the widely held perception that a musician needs to release hits consistently to stay relevant, he believes that carefully making music that resonates with people is the way to go.

“I don’t subscribe to the idea that a musician has to constantly release hits upon hits to make a mark. In fact, if you ever dream of making a name for yourself in this industry, go harder, make timeless music. Focus on the quality of your music and the issues you want to tackle so that your audience can best relate with your craft even when you go silent for a while.

“The idea that a musician has to release hit songs every day is funny. If you are only looking at getting gigs to play, then you can focus on making hits because that is what event organisers want. They only look at exploiting your currency to make money for themselves and not help you build your craft. But if you have future plans, then make quality and timeless music,” he said.

This is because he has built a good reputation and until such musicians appreciate and uphold the standard of preserving Ghana’s rich music legacy, Ambolley will continue to turn down their requests for collaborations.

“I am not looking at the money. I am not going to say because they have money, I am going to charge them and do it. It has to be what I believe in and the substance of the music must have a positive impact on listeners.

“In our time, we learnt what music really was and the rudiments of music composition, arrangement and all other elements that make good music. That is not available to the young ones lately. All they do is to depend on the computer and after that give themselves all kinds of titles,” he stated.

In a conversation with Graphic Showbiz on Tuesday, September 12, Ambolley, whose music career spans over four decades, said most of the new crop of artistes prioritised trends and instant satisfaction over creative integrity and cultural preservation.

The ‘Simigwado’ hitmaker indicated it would do the young acts a lot of good if they placed importance on honing their skills rather than seeking shortcuts to stardom.

“Many of them want to do music with me but they are not at par with what I expect. And if you are not up to that, I am sorry, I won’t team up with you.

“I have been approached several times by some of the young ones, they want me to endorse their stuff, but I decline because whatever work I put my mark on has to be real music. Most of them are doing what I call ‘sharp sharp’ music which has a very short shelf life.

Ambolley, however, acknowledged that there were very talented young musicians making waves in the industry and would not hesitate to groom and open his doors to them for collaborations and endorsements.

“There are a few exceptional ones who have the potential to make a significant impact on our music scene and we know them, and these are the ones I will not hesitate to work with,” he added.

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According to Ambolley, Amakye Dede popularly known as “Iron Man’s musical style aligns more closely with the essence of highlife music compared to Daddy Lumba.

Owing to his status as an icon in the highlife genre, Ambolley who claims to better understand the craft, expressed his views that Amakye Dede’s musical background and distinctive lyrical signature makes him a more fitting representative of the genre.

He made the submission in an interview on Kingdom FM.

According to him, Amakye Dede began his music from solely Highlife background due to his association with guitar-led bands.

He continued that Amakye found a way of harmonizing melodies using Highlife tunes which sounds pleasing to the ears.

On the other hand, Ambolley argued that Daddy Lumba’s music leans more towards the funky genre while incorporating the Twi language.

This, he said does not dispute the fact that Daddy Lumba is a fantastic artiste who has since entertained Ghanaians with countless hits.

Same as Kojo Antwi who he opined has more command on Reggae than the Highlife category he has been characterized with.

Both Amakye Dede and Daddy Lumba are celebrated highlife artistes who have left an indelible mark on the Ghanaian music scene.

In his view, VGMA, one of the biggest and much-anticipated events on the Ghanaian entertainment calendar, gives outsiders a false impression of music representation in Ghana.

He said the scheme gave the topmost awards to artistes pursuing other music genres, which further affect the dwindling fortunes of Highlife music.

He explained to Graphic Showbiz that his observation is confirmed by the number as well as quality of artistes nominated in the Best Highlife Artiste of the Year category.

“It is unfortunate that people think when you sing in Twi or Fante over a Dancehall or Reggae beats it automatically makes it Highlife music. That is not true but it has become the norm over the years because these are the kinds of music VGMA rewards.”

“Today, if anyone wants to have an idea of what Ghana represents in terms of music, I bet the person will not count any Highlife artiste since all the perceived big acts currently are not doing Highlife.”

“We have buried our own and pursuing Dancehall music and the likes and interestingly, the VGMA has been promoting the agenda by rewarding such artistes with the topmost prizes,” he said.

Apart from VGMA, the prominent musician who is loved for his songs such as Akoko Ba, Adwoa Amissah, Let’s Be Happy, Simigua among others, blamed the media for fuelling the present narrative.

He mentioned the media has not been serious about righting the wrongs by failing to criticise the happenings and that is equally not helping matters.

“The media cannot be absolved from what is happening to Highlife music now. They don’t do their own research to ask critical questions.”

“For instance, if an artiste plays Reggae beats and sings Twi or Fante, we call it Highlife music which is totally wrong because Highlife has its own beats.”

“Also, the members on the Selection Committee of VGMA are also guilty because they don’t make the right selection. So if critics say Highlife music is dying, it means some people are not doing their homework well,” he added.

On Saturday, March 18, Charterhouse announced nominees for the various categories. While some categories were competitive, generating solid conversations, the Highlife Artiste of the Year category which has Kofi Kinaata, Akwaboah, Adina and Kuami Eugene as contenders, is missing in the hierarchy of discussion of this year’s VGMA event scheduled for May 13, 2023.

“I’m not surprised the Highlife category has only four artistes because the young ones believe that doing other music genres will win them more recognition and awards. Thus our artistes are switching to other music styles but that is not helping the positive cause of Highlife music,” he stated.

Speaking in an interview with Daniel Dadzie on Prime Morning on Joy Prime TV Monday, he said that the loss of identity can be attributed to some of the genres of music artistes are currently doing.

“When you look consider Nigerians, their identity is close to them, see for instance the way they dress. But the young ones coming from Ghana have sold out their identity,” he said.

The veteran performer advised musicians interested in genres like Dancehall, Reggae and also singing in patois, to learn to portray their identity all the same.

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“If you want to do dancehall and other things, you can do it in our own way because they all synchronise,” the veteran singer added.

Mr Ambolley said the younger musicians need assistance from the older ones in the industry since they have the strength to continue.

In a phone in interview on Accra based Happy FM, the veteran musician stated categorically, “Okyeame Kwame should go to court. If he wants to take the issue to court, he should.”

Ambolley is on record to have stated categorically on an Accra based radio station that he has evidence former president of Musician Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) Bice Osei Kuffuor (Obour) gave Okyeame Kwame, Tic and other friends of his GHS 50,000 each from the GHS 2m fiscal budget money which was given to the union by the government in 2012.

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Few hours after the claim, Okyeame Kwame, through his lawyer Bobby Banson ESQ FCIArb of Smith & Adelaide legal firm, asked Ambolley to retract the statement. He threatened to sue if the veteran failed to do the needful within 72 hours.

The 72-hour ultimatum Okyeame Kwame gave Gyedu-Blay Ambolley on February 26, 2020 to either retract a ‘defamatory comment’ he made about him and apologise in that same fashion, or face him in court is past due.

But the veteran musician who pleaded for an extension to do his checks has refused to render an apology to the rapper and dared him to take the issue to court.

Many Ghanaians are in suspense as to whether the claims of Ambolley are truly so and he now has the necessary documents to prove that or his pride has gotten the best out of him.

Ambolley, in an interview, alleged Okyeame was given a loan of GHS 50,000 by the President of Music Union of Ghana of which he failed to pay back.

Describing the allegation as false, the “Made in Ghana” advocate explained the comments have “lowered his image in the minds of right meaning Ghanaians” thus his decision to seek legal redress.

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He is demanding a retraction and apology of the said comments via the same platform on which he made the comments within a 72-hour ultimatum.

Ambolley stands to face legal charges if he fails to oblige to the directives in a bid to avert local and international damages for his actions.

Gyedu Blay Ambolley alleged that the former MUSIGA president, Obour distributed GHS 2 million funds allocated to the outfit to some selected musicians of which Okyeame Kwame made the list.

Below is the letter demanding the retraction and apology: