Is reggae dead in Ghana? Twelve years, three winners

On UTV's The Group Chat podcast with Nana Aba Anamoah, uploaded on 29 October, a panel of reggae voices argued over one question: is reggae dead in Ghana? One side said that a decade on, people still name the same artists. The other said reggae does not chase trends: "Reggae is not old school. Reggae is root school."

The argument is not new. In August 2022, Ras Kuuku told Joy FM that reggae was "not dead", and that it should not be judged by TikTok trends.

The artiste award

Reggae/Dancehall Artiste of the Year was introduced at the Ghana Music Awards in 2015. In the twelve editions since, only three people have won it. Ras Kuuku won in August 2020 and Epixode in June 2021. Stonebwoy has won the rest. His win at the 27th edition on 9 May 2026 was reported as his tenth. That count includes the 2019 award the organisers nullified after that year's stage incident, when Stonebwoy was banned from the next two editions. Those two editions are the only ones since 2015 he did not win.

The 2026 shortlist had three names: Stonebwoy, Samini and Ras Kuuku. All three were nominated in the category's first year, 2015.

The song award

Reggae/Dancehall Song of the Year tells a different story. In the last ten editions it went to nine different acts. J. Derobie won in 2020 with "Poverty". In 2026 it went to the remix of "Shake It To The Max (Fly)" by MOLIY with Shenseea, Skillibeng and Silent Addy. The song reached No. 1 on Billboard's U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart in May 2025 and debuted on the Billboard Hot 100. Neither J. Derobie nor MOLIY was on the 2026 artiste shortlist.

The chart

On Apple Music's Top Songs chart for Ghana, read on 30 October, neither Samini nor Ras Kuuku had a song in the top 200. The highest reggae or dancehall entry was Shatta Wale's "We Deh Inside" at No. 52. Stonebwoy's "Activate", featuring Davido, was at No. 186. Kweku Smoke held eight of the top ten.