Skip to main content

More Than an Award: The Liberian Entertainment Awards and its Entertainers

                                                                                 


Love or hate it, transparency or the lack of, with all their flaws, the Liberian Entertainment Awards is a light in the dark for many Liberian artists.  During a conference call with over 30 Liberian entertainers, their opinions and expectation of the Liberian Entertainment Awards (LEA), was discussed.

The meeting was a bitter sweet moment for me. Listening to each individual, echo of frustrations and gentle whispers of hope, came from their voices. Even though, the incident led to this meeting was disheartening, it helped shine light on the bigger picture.

Liberian Afro Pop artist Robert Blackdiamond organized the meeting. He is part of a movement that is calling for Liberian entertainers to boycott the LEA until there is evidence of some level of transparency. This movement was started by movie director, Alvin Nyemah.  In thin air, entertainers heard that Liberian social media blogger/writer Berenice Mulubah is on the committee of the LEA and her partner Artist Jon Bricks was nominated; also a movie which she is affiliated with, was nominated.  That raised the eyebrows of some entertainers, sensing a possibility of corruption based on conflict of interest. 

Majority of the entertainers concluded that there will always be some level of conflict of interest, for the mere fact that committee members are experts from within the entertainment industry.   Therefore, the committee members need to have integrity and the LEA needs to establish a code of conduct for its committee members.  Even though, there were conflict of interest, all those were nominated, deserves the nomination.

The discussion wasn’t only about the LEA and its flaws but also UNITY.  All the participants agreed that there has to be unity among the entertainers if they wish to be heard. There were many suggestions made, to be presented to the LEA, with hope they be used.  

Some of the voices that stood out during the call was, Charles Dunbar, Chris Deshield, Prince Whyee, Lincoln Ward and an artist in disguise, called Dark Vodka.  Some entertainer’s comments helped to lighten the mood and one of those was Hot Cherry.

When it comes down to it, all the entertainers want is respect and fairness.  The LEA is more than just an award show.  It is a sign of hope and worthy.  Being the step child to Liberia’s growth and development process, the LEA is the first organization to give the entertainers some love and they want it to be right.  How could you blame them? You can’t.

The discussion was fruitful.

 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

President George Weah's One Day National Forum Successfully Attended by 26 Political Parties

On Thursday, August 8, 2018, President George Weah had a sit down with 26 political parties of Liberia.  The meeting aimed at advancing ideals that promote the spirit of national unity and political tolerance between opposition political parties and the government.  ANC, LP and UP attended the meeting as a team. According to Deputy Minister Eugene L. Fahngon, Deputy Minister for Press and Public Affairs at Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs & Tourism, all 26 political parties attended and participated from start to finish.  Even though, social media was buzzing about AB Dillion walking out of the meeting, he walked out as an individual and not a political party, "the invitation was extended to political parties and not to individuals," Minister Fahngon stated in his live video.  Each political party gave ideals and recommendations, which made the meeting a great success.  According to  Deputy Minister Fahngon, "there will be future engagement...
Post a Comment
Read more

What President Trump and Kim Jong Un Ate

The historic summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continued midday Tuesday, as the leaders satisfied their appetites while holding negotiations with a contingent of advisers over a working lunch. The lunch, which followed a 45-minute one-on-one meeting between the leaders earlier in the morning and bilateral discussion with senior aides, was held at the Capella Hotel on Singapore’s Sentosa Island. It was far from an intimate affair, with each leader accompanied by a bevy of senior staff, according to the White House. Joining Trump were Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Chief of Staff John Kelly, National Security Advisor John Bolton, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Deputy Assistant to the President for Asian Affairs Matthew Pottinger. Kim was accompanied by Kim Yong Chol , the former spy chief and one of North Korea’s chief negotiators, as well as Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, former...
Post a Comment
Read more

Liberian Superstar Quincy B Dead

2 March 2017 / Berenice Mulubah  Quincy B On March 3, 2017, Liberian superstar, Quincy L. Borrow aka Quincy B, died from a car accident, on his way from KARAOKE NITE, in Monrovia, Liberia.  The artist was pulled out of the damaged vehicle and rush to the JFK hospital. Quincy B did not survived.   Few hours before his death, the artist was spotted live on snap chat, singing Karaoke. Quincy B who was the driver of the car, died immediately.  Artists CIC , Margas Bimba and Feouls Kaba in the vehicle, as well, they are at the hospital, being treated.  CIC broken his legs in the accident. CIC and Quincy B are nominated for the Liberian Entertainment Awards 2017.
58 comments
Read more