DopeNation is a Ghanaian music duo
Ghanaian music duo, DopeNation, has revealed that their innovative “Ghanapiano” sound is causing them to be overlooked by local award schemes.
The twin brothers assert that their unique musical style doesn’t fit into traditional categories, leading to their songs being excluded from nominations.
In an interview on 3Music TV on July 22, 2025, DopeNation explained that their music doesn’t align with established genres such as Hiplife, Highlife, or Afrobeats.
“The main reason DopeNation is being sidelined from awards is just because of the fact that our songs don’t sync into the categories after the Ghanapiano idea. Zormizor could have taken Hiplife Song of the Year, but then Zormizor is not Hiplife,” they stated.
Despite the lack of award recognition, DopeNation believes being sidelined isn’t entirely negative.
They emphasised that artistes can still achieve financial success and grow their fanbase by staying focused and making the right moves, even without awards or extensive media attention.
“The thing about sidelining that is nice is the fact that you won’t be getting awards and nobody would be talking about you, but you won’t look broke, that’s if you are doing the right thing. You will make money,” they noted.
The duo reiterated that their primary focus remains on creating quality music for their fans, rather than seeking validation from award shows.
They also stressed on what they perceive as political influence behind some award shows, arguing that this negatively impacts creativity within the industry.
“Some politics dey that thing ein back wey it dey spoil the craft to the extent that when we represent as a country, you no get sound,” they said in pidgin, suggesting that artistes might restrict their creative output to fit existing award categories.
“Because someone is trying to make a song that fits the Highlife, Hiplife, Hiphop, so they align their music in a year based on the categories available. So, you are restricting yourself.”
Meanwhile, you can watch GhanaWeb TV’s exclusive interview with Arathejay below:
AK/VPO
