Gospel musician MOG has advised up-and-coming and new artistes to focus on building a strong and solid brand rather than winning awards.

The musician said in an interview on GBC's Breakfast show that artistes need to improve their craft, work towards their growth and prove their worth as they 

This, he, believes will inevitably qualify them to stand on award stages in the future without having to 

“What is an up-and-coming artiste doing on an award scheme? You are an up-and-coming artiste, you have to build your brand.

"You have to build it to a relevant stage where you qualify for these schemes,” MOG explained when he was asked if it was a valid assertion that the VGMA neglects budding artistes.

He added that “So if you are an up-and-coming artiste, your focus should be how you can work hard to have an opportunity to be on the schemes,” he added.

The gospel musician made this statement at the back of the criticisms that the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) neglects up-and-coming artistes.

However, MOG, born Nana Yaw Boakye-Yiadom, noted that an artiste rushing to win awards among others while their career is still in the early development stage can have a negative impact on their future.

“Sometimes when you are not ready for the platform, the platform can just sink you. They shouldn’t be in a hurry to quickly jump on awards schemes. Trust me these are some of the things that kill talents real quick”, he cautioned.

According to him, when artistes build their brands, awards schemes will chase them.