Music producer and sound engineer Roro Buddy has refuted a claim by Gospel musician, Lady Prempeh that she was deliberately prevented from performing at Esther Smith‘s concert in Accra, Ghana despite being billed for the event.
In a video shared on Facebook, Roro Buddy, a member of the management team for Esther Smith narrated the events that unfolded on the night stating that Lady Prempeh was three (3) hours late for the event and arrived at a time when the main artist (Esther Smith) was about mounting the stage.
He said;
“Initially, I didn’t want to speak to these unfounded allegations but it’s getting out of hand. I’m certain this is exactly what Lady Prempeh; a trend, as established in a conversation with her manager, Dave Joy.
We made a deliberate effort to work within time in Accra since time management was a major challenge for us in Kumasi considering the number of artists on the bill. These performance times were communicated to each artist. However, Lady Prempeh who was billed to perform earlier on the show came in about 3 hours late with an excuse and since we couldn’t wait, we just had to skip her performance. She was so okay and enjoyed the concert like everyone else.
It is important to add that she was not the only individual who could not perform. Kweku Teye, who was also late for the event apologized and sat back to enjoy the concert. That’s exactly what we were expecting from Lady Prempeh but that didn’t happen. They (Lady Prempeh and her manager) rather asked us to apologize.
Speaking to concerns of possible bad blood between the teams, Roro Buddy said;
“We don’t have any problem with Lady Prempeh but, surprisingly, her manager is asking that we solve this on the radio. I understand she has a project coming out after a long hiatus and may want to grab some attention with this but Esther Smith’s brand is not one you want to soil negative publicity.”
Watch Roro Buddy speak to the issue below.
On Sunday, September 1, 2024, Lady Prempeh in a statement shared on her Facebook alleged there was “a deliberate attempt to exclude” her performance on the night.
She wrote;
“I want to take a moment to address and clarify the situation surrounding my absence from the Esther Smith Live Concert. There has been a lot of misinformation circulating, and I feel it is important to set the record straight.
Unfortunately, due to some miscommunication between my team and the event organizers, I was unable to perform as planned. It is deeply regrettable that I couldn’t take the stage and fulfil the expectations of those who came out to see me.
I had indeed agreed to perform at the Accra event, and it was quite disheartening for both my team and I to experience what seemed like a deliberate attempt to exclude my performance that night. Contrary to what has been said, I never refused to perform; instead, I was met with an unexpected and humiliating request to merely stand on stage, which did not align with the original agreement or my role as a performer.
My intention in sharing this is not to take away from the success of the event, but to ensure that the truth is known.”
