Shatta Wale. INSET: Sarkodie
Award-winning Ghanaian artistes, Shatta Wale and Sarkodie, won awards at the 39th edition of the virtual International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA) 2021.
Shatta Wale, who won the Best Virtual Entertainer award, beat competition from other African artistes such as Agent Sasco, Beenie Man & Bouty Killer-Verzuz, and Capleton.
Sarkodie also took home the Best Virtual Showcase/Concert of the Year with his Black Love Concert.
Two other Ghanaian acts, young disc jockey (DJ), DJ Switch, was named the Best Young Entertainer of the Year while Kwame Yeboah, a renowned keyboardist and producer, grabbed the ‘Instrumentalist of the Year’ award.
Other winners include Buju Banton as Emperor of Reggae & World Music, Tarrus Riley as Best Male Vocalist, Koffee as Best Female Vocalist, PopCaan featuring Drake ‘Party Next Door’ as Best Crossover song.
Gramps Morgan ‘People Like You’ as Best Group Song, Drake and Popcaan’s ‘Twist’ as Best R&B/Hip Hop Collaboration Song, Gentleman as Best Raggae Rock Entertainer and Master G featuring Nomcebo ‘Jerusalema’ as Best Music Video.
Shatta Wale also gave a spectacular performance on the night along with other artistes including Ziggy Marley, Beenie Man, Pa Pa Michigan, Flourgan, Master KG, and Nomcebo and Dynamq Int’l.
The International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA) was established in 1982 to acknowledge and honour the accomplishments and contributions of reggae and world music artistes including songwriters, performers, promoters and musicians.
Produced by Martin’s International, the IRAWMA has been staged in many major cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, New Orleans, New York as well as Port of Spain, Trinidad and  both Montego Bay and Ocho Rios in Jamaica.
The impetus behind the IRAWMA is its commitment to promoting greater participation and acceptance of Reggae, Caribbean and World Music, internationally.
 BY Prince Fiifi Yorke