Ghanaian highlife legend, Amakye Dede, has publicly revealed that he was compelled to crown young highlife and Afro-beat sensation, Kuami Eugene, as the future king of highlife in Ghana.
The incident which happened at the 20th Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMAs) sparked outrage from industry insiders who criticised the ‘Mawerekyekyere’ hitmaker for his ‘unprofessional gesture’
Amakye Dede who rarely appears to the media during an interview on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Wednesday, June 14, stated that the decision to crown Kuami Eugene was not of his own volition.
He indicated that he was coerced into bestowing such a title upon the young artist by certain unnamed persons.
Elaborating on the incident, Amakye Dede stated, “Though I did that, it was not my will to do so, They forced me to crown Kuami Eugene.”
He further revealed that he initially handed over the crown he was given to someone else however, he was persuaded by others involved in the event to go ahead and crown Kuami Eugene.
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“I even gave the crown they handed over to me to someone to put it down, but they later said, no I have to crown him, and I did it,” he shared.
Amakye Dede’s commentary on the matter follows the same tangent his manager Akwesi Aboagye, stated in an interview on Anigye Mmre on Onua FM when the incident occurred in 2019.
According to Aboagye, Kiki Banson, who was responsible for the artist repertoire at the VGMAs, contacted him to inform him of their plan to have Amakye Dede crown Kuami Eugene during his performance.
“KiKi Banson, who was in charge of artiste repertoire for the 2019 VGMAs, called to inform me that as part of Amakye Dede’s performance, they want him to crown Kuami Eugene and I told him I have to speak to my artiste about it,” he revealed
However, when Aboagye discussed the idea with Amakye Dede, the artist expressed his disapproval of the plan.
“Amakye Dede was not in support of it when [I] informed him, so I was surprised to see him act against his will,” Mr. Aboagye explained.
He said when he questioned Amakye Dede, the artiste said he was persuaded by Kiki Banson to crown the young artiste.
Mr. Aboagye noted that Amakye Dede still declined the offer despite the persuasion, but he was ‘ambushed’ on stage when a crown was given to him unexpectedly to be put on Kuami Eugene’s head.
“So those who watched that act will know that something was not right. According to Amakye Dede, he was surprised to see a lady walk on stage to hand over a crown to him,” Mr Aboagye narrated.