Ghanaian artist, Keeny Ice, has expressed his disappointment in Ghana’s music industry for not giving him the necessary attention he deserves.
He said he believes the hard work he puts into his music business has not been reflected in the results he gets.
“The industry has not been fair to Keeny Ice. I am speaking for myself. Over the years, the industry has not been fair to me. And I am saying this not as someone lazy sitting somewhere and trying to nag. Over the years, you’ve seen my work. You’ve seen the impact I have had.”
Keeny Ice
He said around 2017, he was already getting huge visibility on media platforms in Nigeria, touring Lagos and putting his craft out there.
According to Keeny Ice, even Nigerian artiste Victor AD’s first international stint was a song he (Keeny) did and put him on. He added that he is one of the top artists in the Volta Region who has a cult following and an annual concert.
“I started putting up my own show in 2015. That was even when I hadn’t gone professional with the music. I was just in my formative years. In 2015, I was still filling up venues and all that.”
Keeny Ice
He also complained about how after topping charts in Ghana, it had to take him about 8 years before getting Unsung Artiste nomination in the Ghana Music Awards.
According to him, he even qualified to have made it to the Afrobeats Song of the Year at the 2025 Telecel Ghana Music Awards, but that slot also eluded him.
Keeny Ice has songs such as ‘Deja Vu’, ‘Sound Check’, ‘My Way’, ‘Hedze’, ‘Steeze’, ‘Aya’, among others. His new EP ‘Ice Cold’ is due for release on May 30, 2025.
Keeny Ice on Challenges in Ghana’s Music Industry
One of the Volta Region’s topmost artists cited language barrier as one of the major challenges of the music industry in Ghana.
He noted that he once took his song to a radio station and they told him they wouldn’t play it because the lyrics were in Ewe. “I don’t understand what you say in the song,” he recounted.
He further explained that songs in languages that are not so popular usually have challenges in breaking through because of people’s misconceptions about the universality of music. “When the Twi or Fante or Akan is 70%, and they dominate the industry, how can a Dagbani or Ewe person fight his way into it?” he asked.
Keeny Ice noted that the type of songs he does determines the language he uses. Although an Ewe, he does not always sing songs in his native language. He said he has songs that have no Ewe words.
The ‘Steeze’ hit maker also touched on the reason most rappers in Ghana have drifted to singing in recent times.
“Headless YouTuber (Kula) started doing music because when he was rapping, he only got compliments for his rap skills, but when there are deals that involve money, it is the afrobeat artists and those that do danceable music that get them.”
Keeny Ice
Keeny Ice said that if King Paluta had continued to do his songs in rap, he would not have chalked up the success he is enjoying.
He rather noted that he has adopted the strategy where he drops commercial songs and chips in the hardcore rap once in a while. “I have even done electronic dance music before,” he added.
According to Keeny, when event organisers are putting together shows, they put more premium on the singers. “Even if they put you on a show, and if they give the singers 100,000 cedis, maybe you will take 15,000 cedis,” he said.
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