Singer and songwriter Francisca Gawugah, known by the stage name Sista Afia says that she feels sidelined by the Ghanaian music industry.

According to her, she is not often rewarded for her hard work during award shows, irrespective of the hits she has churned out over the years.

When asked by Andy Dosty why her song, ‘Asuoden’, couldn’t pick any award at the VGMAs despite its popularity, she replied: “I don’t know if I am blacklisted by this industry. I have never picked up anything, but I feel like I am putting in so much work.”

The ‘Jeje’ singer believes that her silence about the feeling of being blacklisted creates the perception from fans that she is nonchalant about it, but that is just an assumption.

“I can sometimes sit on my bed and cry my eyes out. I get into my feelings sometimes. They [fans] don’t know what I am going through. I am suffering just like you,” she said on Daybreak Hitz on Hitz FM.

Aside from feeling blacklisted by award shows, the ‘Corner Corner’ singer spoke on how she got booked by event organizers, at lower performance fees, only to be replaced later by other female artistes who were paid more than her initial charge.

“Somebody will call me for a show and be like ‘Afia, I want you for a show. I will give you an amount of money (a small amount)’ but the same person will call another female artiste, give her double of what they were giving me, and push me to the side – take me off the show. It’s happened to me countless times. And I don’t know what I have done to these event organizers,” she revealed.

That, according to the singer, is just one of the many incidents that brewed the feeling of neglect by the industry in her.

Despite that, she wouldn’t want to be further blacklisted, therefore, she will rather keep most of the challenges she faces in the music scene to herself.

“There are a lot of things I could say but do I want to be blacklisted more? No. I will just keep my mouth shut and do what I have to do,” said the ‘Weather’ singer.

She concluded by saying that her fans are the only people who motivate her to keep doing music.

Sista Afia is currently on a media tour for the promotion of her latest single, Makwɛ, which means, 'I will see' in the Ga language.