TGMA 2026: Black Sherif Stuns, Daddy Lumba Gets His Flowers & Everything That Happened at the 27th Telecel Ghana Music Awards
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| Telecel Ghana Music Awards |
Ghana's biggest night in music did not disappoint.
On Saturday, May 9, 2026, the Grand Arena of the Accra International Conference Centre transformed into a sea of glitter, music, and celebration as the 27th Telecel Ghana Music Awards (TGMA) crowned the best of Ghanaian music for the year under review. Stars turned up in full force. Fans screamed from the stands. Winners cried, gave speeches, and in at least one unforgettable case — gave away their prize money.
If you missed the night, don't worry. Extra Time Updates has every winner, every highlight, and every moment worth talking about right here.
The Night in a Nutshell
Themed "A Touch of Glitter," the 27th TGMA was a celebration of Ghanaian music's growing global footprint. The red carpet alone set the tone — celebrities arrived draped in sequins, metallics, and bold fashion choices that had social media talking long before the first award was announced.
Performances lit up the night from some of Ghana's heaviest hitters — Sarkodie, Stonebwoy, Black Sherif, Gyakie, Wendy Shay, Medikal, Diana Hamilton, and Kweku Smoke all took the stage at various points throughout the evening. The show opened with a performance from Enam, setting the musical energy early.
But the story of the night? It belonged to two men — and one legendary veteran who received the recognition he has always deserved.
Black Sherif: Five Awards. One Statement.
If there was any doubt about where Black Sherif stands in Ghanaian music right now, the 27th TGMA answered it loudly and clearly.
The Konongo-born singer and rapper — born Mohammed Ismail Sherif — walked away with five awards on the night, the most of any artiste, and the crown jewel was the Artiste of the Year award. It is the second time he has claimed the title, having first won it at the 24th edition in 2023. Between those two wins, he has built one of the most remarkable international profiles any Ghanaian artiste has ever had, with his album Iron Boy racking up massive streaming numbers both locally and across Africa and beyond.
"Iron Boy" was the driving force behind his dominant night. The album won Album/EP of the Year, and from it, "Sacrifice" claimed both Best Afropop Song and Songwriter of the Year, while "Where Dem Boys" took Best HipHop Song of the Year. His consistency, emotional depth, and undeniable global appeal made him the clear choice for the night's biggest honour.
But perhaps the moment that will be talked about most had nothing to do with an award acceptance speech.
In an act of remarkable generosity, Black Sherif gifted his entire GHC100,000 Album of the Year cash prize to his collaborator Arathejay — and also handed over a listening session to Gonaboy. For a young artiste who has reached the summit of Ghanaian music twice before the age of 25, the gesture showed a side of him that went far beyond the trophies. It was the kind of moment that turns a winner into a legend.
Medikal: The Redemption Arc is Complete
If Black Sherif had the biggest night, Medikal had the most satisfying one.
For years, Medikal was seen as one of Ghana's most talented rappers — technically gifted, commercially savvy, but somehow always falling just short at the TGMA. Not this time. The Accra rapper rewrote his TGMA narrative in style, picking up four awards on the night and becoming one of the evening's standout stories.
His hit "Shoulder" featuring Shatta Wale and Beeztrap KOTM was simply unstoppable in the awards room, winning Most Popular Song of the Year, Best Hiplife Song, and Best Collaboration. The song had been one of the biggest tracks in Ghana over the past year — one of those songs that plays at every event, comes on at every party, and gets the whole room moving regardless of who you support. On this night, it got TGMA's seal of approval in multiple categories.
Medikal also took home Best Hiplife/HipHop Artiste of the Year, capping a remarkable night that many fans on social media have celebrated as long overdue. Four awards. Four statements. The redemption arc is well and truly complete.
The Lifetime Achievement Moment That Stopped the Room
Every TGMA has a moment that cuts through the noise and reminds you why music matters. In 2026, that moment belonged to Daddy Lumba.
The veteran Highlife legend — one of the architects of modern Ghanaian popular music — was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his decades-long contribution to Ghanaian music. When his name was called and he walked to the stage, the Grand Arena responded with the kind of reception reserved for true icons — because that is exactly what he is.
Daddy Lumba's music has soundtracked the lives of multiple generations of Ghanaians. From his groundbreaking collaborations with Nana Acheampong in the late 1980s to his solo career that produced some of the most beloved Highlife songs ever recorded, his influence on Ghanaian music is immeasurable. Getting his flowers at the 27th TGMA felt not just deserved, but necessary.
Full List of Winners — 27th Telecel Ghana Music Awards 2026
Here is every winner from the night across all categories:
🏆 Artiste of the Year Black Sherif
🎵 Album/EP of the Year Iron Boy — Black Sherif
🎤 Most Popular Song of the Year (Telecel Award) "Shoulder" — Medikal ft. Shatta Wale & Beeztrap KOTM
✍️ Songwriter of the Year Black Sherif — "Sacrifice"
🎶 Best HipHop Song of the Year "Where Dem Boys" — Black Sherif
🎶 Best Afropop Song of the Year "Sacrifice" — Black Sherif
🎶 Best Hiplife Song of the Year "Shoulder" — Medikal ft. Shatta Wale & Beeztrap KOTM
🎶 Best Highlife Song of the Year "It Is Finished" — Kofi Kinaata
🎶 Best Collaboration of the Year "Shoulder" — Medikal ft. Shatta Wale & Beeztrap KOTM
🎤 Best Hiplife/HipHop Artiste of the Year Medikal
🎤 Best Highlife Artiste of the Year Kofi Kinaata
🎤 Best Reggae/Dancehall Artiste of the Year Stonebwoy
🎤 Gospel Artiste of the Year Diana Hamilton
🌍 International Collaboration of the Year "Shake It To The Max" Remix — Moliy, Shenseea & Skillibeng
🌍 Best African Song of the Year "With You" — Davido ft. Omah Lay
🏅 Lifetime Achievement Award Daddy Lumba
Other Notable Winners
Kofi Kinaata had a solid night, picking up two awards — Best Highlife Artiste and Best Highlife Song for "It Is Finished" — continuing his reign as the undisputed king of contemporary Highlife in Ghana.
Moliy grabbed two awards, both connected to the massive international success of the "Shake It To The Max" remix alongside Shenseea and Skillibeng — a song that put the Ghanaian-American artiste firmly on the global radar and showed the world that Ghanaian voices can lead international conversations in music.
Stonebwoy maintained his grip on the Reggae/Dancehall category, while Diana Hamilton continued her dominance in Gospel — two artistes whose consistency at the TGMA has made them fixtures of the awards' most competitive categories.
Wendy Shay and Kojo Blak were also among the night's winners, further reinforcing the range of talent that the 27th TGMA put on display.
Moments You Had to Be There For
Beyond the awards themselves, a few moments from the night stood out and are already making the rounds on social media:
The Diana Hamilton interview moment — Asked ahead of the show whether she would win Artiste of the Year, Diana Hamilton's response was so perfectly deadpan and self-aware that it went viral on TikTok and X before the ceremony had even concluded. Ghana's internet had a field day with it.
Black Sherif's GHC100K giveaway — As already mentioned, handing over the entire Album of the Year cash prize to Arathejay was the most talked-about moment of the night. It was spontaneous, generous, and completely in character for an artiste who has always carried himself with a sense of purpose beyond the music industry.
The red carpet fashion — The "A Touch of Glitter" theme was taken seriously. Ghana's entertainment elite arrived looking genuinely stunning, and the fashion content from the night flooded social media in the hours before the show even began.
Daddy Lumba's standing ovation — When the Highlife legend received his Lifetime Achievement Award, the Grand Arena gave him a reception that said everything words could not. Moments like that are why the TGMA matters.
What the 27th TGMA Said About Ghanaian Music
Step back and look at the full picture of the night and one thing becomes very clear: Ghanaian music is in a remarkable moment.
Black Sherif winning Artiste of the Year for the second time while still in his mid-twenties reflects an artist at the peak of his powers, using his platform to push emotional storytelling and genre-blending in ways that are resonating far beyond Ghana's borders. Medikal's four-award night shows a veteran rapper who refused to be defined by near misses. Moliy's international collaboration win confirms that Ghanaian artistes are not just making noise at home — they are leading conversations globally.
And then there is Daddy Lumba receiving his Lifetime Achievement Award — a reminder of where all of this came from, and a thread that connects Ghana's rich musical past to the vibrant, globally connected present that the 27th TGMA put on full display.
Ghana's music industry is thriving. And nights like this remind you exactly why.
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