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Tamale-based musician Fancy Gadam has revealed that it took him four years of preparation to be the first artiste to fill the Tamale Sports Stadium in 2016.
Speaking in an interview with Roselyn Felli on Joy Prime’s Prime Morning show, the musician narrated that even though he is from the North, it was difficult to break through the five northern regions due to language barrier.
So, he needed to change the narrative and break the barrier through vigorous preparations since his dialect varied from the others until he finally did it.
Responding to the question of how he solely filled the stadium, he said, “I started this music journey, not today. Before I was able to fill the Tamale sports stadium, it took me 4 years to be able to even break through my comfort zone because you know, the North is very big. We have five northern regions now, and these various places do not speak my dialect. They speak different languages. Speaking ‘Dagbani’ and being able to break through these places took me 4 years,” he recounted.
Upon the release of his first album in 2010, Fancy Gadam said he assessed himself to identify how he could win the hearts of all people in the North, although he was vastly accepted in his region, Northern region.
He made it a priority to be first recognised by his people, believing that it could be a better way to penetrate the Ghanaian music market across the whole country.
He recounted how his first show in the Upper West Regional Capital, Wa, flopped with only seventeen attendees, despite his popularity in Tamale.
“I was thinking I was very big in the North due to my fame in Tamale, so I can venture into these places, not knowing that when you’re big in some places, it doesn’t mean you’re big everywhere. So, my first show in the Upper West, that is the UDS in Wa, I had about 17 people who came to the show,” the Total Cheat hitmaker reminisced.
He said it was heartbreaking, but he persisted and endured everything, knowing that such situations were bound to happen to him as an artiste, which he had to confront. He grabbed the opportunity to prove his worth to the few who attended and proved his dexterity.
Based on the intriguing performance, the seventeen attendees helped promote his work to their fellow indigenes, enabling his publicity within the Upper West.
But how has Fancy Gadam been able to invade the Greater Accra territory?
The Customer singer said his filling the sports stadium captured Reggie Rockstone’s attention, who posted on his page cautioning the Accra “Gurus” to beware of Fancy Gadam.
According to him, Reggie Rockstone’s post drew the media into reporting and writing about his effort.
Born Mujahid Ahmed Bello, the Tamale-based award-winning musician, filled the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium in Tamale during his maiden album launch on the 21st of May 21, 2016.
He later filled the National Theatre in the same year. This contributed to his win as the New Artiste of the Year at the 2017 Vodafone Ghana Music Award, which the majority of Ghanaians claimed he did not deserve.
However, Fancy Gadam never bothered because he believed his efforts won him the award.
He said, “After I won, there was controversy that I bought the award, claiming that nobody knew my songs. I won because of my effort.”
He said that winning an award does not solely depend on the number of songs one produces and that the personality behind the songs also matters.
