3Music Awards '22 serves entertainment masterclass

In the end they served what they promised. It was KiDi who won Artiste of the Year. But the name on every lip was 3Music Awards. What a night. What a show. What a wow.

They said it will be more than music and they delivered. No, they over-delivered. From the moment that novelty pre-show began till KiDi edged Black Sherif as Artiste of the Year, there was no shortage of entertainment- and drama.

It was 8pm when it all started. First came the groundbreaking pre-show, as if we had not been warned. It was the perfect fusion of creative arts- a blend of music, fashion and design.  The Grand Arena, where the event was held, was unidentifiable.

Dignitaries and patrons were treated to a spectacular setup matched only by the artistic impressions littered across the showground. Atop the drip carpet three chic celebrities stood, introducing guests and holding interviews.

In typical 3Music fashion, the moment was looking out to support unsung talents deserving of greater spotlight. Here, Herman Suede, Ria Boss and Young Demz showed up to turn the party up a notch. In between performances, hundreds of event patrons interacted with their fans, lived the experience and benefited from the camera-worthy moments.

And so main night started, albeit two hours late due to a technical challenge.  Maybe it was heaven’s way of building up capacity in the patrons for what they were about to witness. It was worth the wait.

It was almost midnight now. Then Black Sherif showed up like a ware wolf. He was bloodthirsty, and the stage did bleed from his pulsating opening act. Performing his latest song Kweku the Traveller, the star put up a performance fit for the music gods.

In between the act, the stage heavens opened and rained down showers upon him. Nothing like this had ever been seen this side of Africa, and by the time his first and second sermons came, the whole auditorium had become converts.

There were other grand performances too from the Leaders of the New School and the Gospel bloc. The noisiest newcomers this year, Kweku Darlington, Kwame Yogot, and the curvy Mona 4Reall in particular were all outstanding. As was former Ghana Artiste of the Year, Joe Mettle, and the night’s Gospel Song of the Year, Ohemaa Mercy, who took us to church.

Kuami Eugene too paid a numbing tribute performance to the late Highlife Legend Nana Ampadu, while a ten-minute comedy cameo from the Flava Room by OB Amponsah and Lekzy de Comic added to the night’s colour.

And then a beautiful montage of chart-topping hits performed as a love medley by Cina Soul, Akwaboah, Camidoh, Kelvyn Boy and KiDi climaxed the night’s grand performances.

3Music Awards chief, Sadiq Abdullai Abu, presented the night’s highest honour to KiDi. It was he who had won the girl in the battle for Cina Soul during the Love Medley. Fittingly, he it would be to win the night’s highest honour too, after a brief battle for supremacy with Sherif.

Together they won ten awards between them, with Black Sherif winning four. Sherif’s first was the first-ever music award in his fledgling career that had already scored a collaboration with a Grammy winner. KiDi’s win was his second Artiste of the Year win in as many years, becoming the first artiste to achieve the feat in consecutive years.

Other winners on the night included Sarkodie, Stonebwoy, Fameye, Kofi Kinaata, Amerado, Okese 1, Amaarae, Celestine Donkor, R2Beez, Episode, and Chief One. Nigeria’s WizkId also won African Song of the Year for Essence.

But in the end, the fans were the night’s biggest winners. It was quite the experience. They had come for music, and here she served them well. 

The night of March 26, 2022 was truly magical. It was more than music. It was a master class.