Dr. Prince Emmanuel Markey, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of RTP Awards Africa, has accused musician and radio host Blalk Rasta of deliberately spreading falsehoods about the awards scheme, following events surrounding past nominations and inductions.
Speaking on Starr Showbiz on January 24, 2026, with Feeling Daddy, Dr. Markey said the organisation has, over the years, suffered reputational and sponsorship setbacks due to what he described as persistent misinformation.
“There are hawks around who want to feed on the good things happening, and I’ve been a victim of such lies, so many lies,” Dr. Markey said. “One of such people has been Black Rasta.”
According to Dr. Markey, tensions between the RTP Awards and Black Rasta date back to the 2017 awards ceremony, when Blakk Rasta and another nominee, Black Kobby, were shortlisted in the same category.
He recounted that during the announcement, the prolonged emphasis on the word “Black” caused Blakk Rasta to prematurely assume he had won, only for the award to be presented to Black Kobby.
“The announcer stretched the ‘Blakk’ and Black Rasta got up and went to the stage, and then the announcer said Black Kobby,” he explained.
“From that year, Blakk Rasta said, ‘I will be your enemy,’ claiming we intentionally embarrassed him.”
Dr. Markey rejected claims that the awards scheme deliberately targeted the broadcaster, stating that the incident was neither scripted nor malicious.
He further disclosed that Blakk Rasta later requested induction into the RTP Awards Hall of Fame, a request which was declined based on established criteria.
“We told him clearly that he did not qualify, so we couldn’t induct him,” he said. “Induction is not emotional. It’s based on merit and achievement.”
Dr. Markey described the most damaging claim as the allegation that veteran broadcaster Kwame Sefa Kayi had publicly stated he no longer wanted to win awards—a narrative he called completely false and harmful to the credibility of the RTP Awards.
“The lie that really disturbed us was the claim that Kwame Sefa Kayi said he didn’t want to win again,” he said. “That was never true, and it created serious problems for us with sponsors.”
He explained that Kwame Sefa Kayi had earned his recognition through merit and consistency, having won the RTP Personality of the Year award for four consecutive years, without ever requesting to be removed from nominations.
“Kwame Sefa Kayi never said he didn’t want to win again, and he never asked not to be nominated,” Dr. Markey added. “But when that lie spread, it affected how sponsors perceived the awards, and that had real consequences for us.”
Source: Starrfm.com.gh/Barbara Yeboah
