Iona Reine
Fast-rising musician Iona Reine has joined people who have expressed their dissatisfaction with the performance of some female musicians in Ghana.
According to her, most of her female colleagues are not pushing harder enough in the music industry as compared with their male counterparts.
The ‘Obra’ singer explained that the music industry is dominated by men because the female artistes aren’t pushing hard enough—and she has, therefore, vowed to break the barriers.
“My main target is to fly the flag of Ghana internationally because I have realised that our female musicians relax when they gain popularity in the country. I cannot tell what they are doing in the background but I think they are not doing enough. Apart from Efya, Wiyala and Becca having some collaboration with some Nigerian artistes, I have not seen others getting international collaboration or something like that and so, my target is to move out of here,” she disclosed.
“To me, female musicians here have not done enough but it may be that my expectations of them are too high. Talking about the men, we have seen the likes of Shatta Wale, Stonebwoy and others featuring musicians from other countries and this tells you that the male artistes are pulling their weight,” she added.
Ebony
Iona Reine admitted that although she has heard people likening her to the late Ebony Reigns in terms of looks, she believes everyone was born with his or her own unique abilities, so people should focus on her talents.
Asked why she ventured into music, she said, “… Choosing music wasn’t an easy decision. I was married for five years with two children and my expectations and teachings I got concerning marriage was different when entered into it. So the breakdown of my marriage and everything really had a toll on me. I was very depressed but in the midst of that, I was singing at church but I didn’t know I could write music. So it was during that period when I discovered that talent.”
“… I started music, got a couple of people and decided to ask questions in the quest to attain a greater height, and God being so good, I have reached a certain level,” she indicated.
The musician has eight songs, including ‘Obra’ after venturing into the industry over a year now—and she has promised to do more.
Iona Reine has been nominated for this year’s Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) new artiste of the year which has been derailed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
BY Daniel Bampoe