International award-winning Ghanaian Reggae musician, Rocky Dawuni has said most reggae musicians in the country are not making it international because they are not original in their craft.
According to him, he has been able to win international awards with three times nominations at the Grammys because he stayed original and never copied directly what other people do.
“When making music, you don’t have to do it like someone else or copy what somebody is doing. Musicians who do that can’t make it international.
“My style is not pure reggae music, it is called afro root. It is a style I mix with highlife, Afrobeat, and different mixed together. So if you are making music, you don’t have to do it as someone else or copy what somebody is doing. When you do that, you won’t make it”.
Dawuni
Speaking on who inspired his music career, Rocky Dawuni revealed that some Highlife legends greatly influenced his craft.
“When I began, I was inspired by people like Nana Kwame Ampadu, and Ampofo Agyei and all these people inspired me before Jamaican music came. So when you listen to me critically, it is a fusion of all these styles”.
Dawuni
He explained that what he is saying is that one cannot copy somebody’s style and make it his or hers.
He added that the musician cannot make it better than the originator of the style so the musician has to create his and that will make people know that you the musician have something unique to offer.
Rocky Dawuni counsels rising artists to stay humble in order to be relevant
The three-time Grammy Award Nominee, Rocky Dawuni, appealed to rising musicians in Ghana to exercise a spirit of humility and open-mindedness if they intend to succeed in the music industry.
According to him, the success of one’s musical career is due to investments made in hard work and humility.
“Be hardworking all the time. When you open yourself and you also approach everything with a sense of humility, knowledge will abound for your advancement”.
Dawuni
Speaking in an interview in Kumasi, he stated that most youngsters are controlled by their talent, hence, portray a lot of pride.
“You have to know that your talent is a gift from God, so you do not have to let your ego and pride control you. Learn to be humble so that God would bless you more.
“You must be humble and hardworking to stay relevant and be able to achieve greatness in your career. Just keep believing it will happen”.
Dawuni
The singer also opened up about why Ghanaian event organizers won’t book him for shows despite his international fame.
According to him, he still doesn’t understand why promoters don’t book him.
“It has nothing to do with money. Someone asked the same question, and I told them I have no control over whether or not the event organizer will book me”.
Dawuni
He claims that because he does not influence the event organizers’ actions, he can do nothing to encourage them to hire him to perform.
“I don’t have any power over that. But we should ask any event planner why Rocky Dawuni isn’t booked for events even though he’s been nominated for Grammys three times”.
Dawuni
Rocky Dawuni is one of the eight Africans nominated for the (65th) 2023 Grammys — alongside; Burnaboy, Tems, Eddykenz, Angelique Kidjo, Zakes Bantwini, Wouter Kellerman, and Nomcebo Zikodi.
Dawuni was nominated for the Best Global Music Performance award which will take place on February 5, 2023, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, USA.
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