Mzbel, born Belinda Nana Akua Amoah has urged her fans not to judge her based on what they read in newspapers and the various online portals. The Awosome hitmaker is one of the most controversial artistes Ghana has ever seen and at the early stage of her career, she portrayed a raunchy image which ultimately became her brand.
However with the passage of time, the mother of one has grown to be more responsible and cautious with her appearance and lyrics. Setting the record straight as to why she chose the bad girl brand when she burst into the industry, she told Prince Benjamin of Class FM thus:
“From the beginning I was launched into the industry wrongly. It was these people I was working with. They had no idea how it worked. They owned a studio, they had all the equipment, they had money, I was pushed into the studio to do a freestyle and by the time I realised I had an album, so they just put me out there. We were just trying with Awoso Me and it was a hit instantly and everybody wanted to see who was behind the song, so they (the handlers) convinced me to do it because people loved me and before I realised I was performing everywhere, granting interviews. So we didn’t plan it.
“I can just get up and wear anything and act anyhow on stage. I was young, I was having fun, I loved it, people loved it, so I didn’t really care abo ut my makeups, costumes, I just wanted to be free… And then there were other girls in the industry who would go on stage in their baggy jeans and big chains and they didn’t reveal so much [skin]. They were very careful about the words they used, but the people behind me, that is Hush Hush Studios, didn’t care either. They had just come from America where everybody is allowed to do what they want to. It was just like that.
“So people started criticising me, calling me bad names and we didn’t care because anytime there was a show and I was on, it was hot and I was making money travelling the world, so nobody cared. …There was no social media where people would go and insult you and post bad pictures of you and all that. It was just radio and TV and how often will they have time to go and sit down and talk about one person, so it wasn’t a big deal. So my name started going on and on and by the time social media became popular, I had a bad name and no matter how hard I try to rebrand, it’s not working”.
Mzbel used the opportunity to advised her fans not to judge her based on what they read about her in the media. According to her, she is a nice person who just wants to live a normal life
“Don’t judge me based on what you read in newspapers or what you read on websites and blogs. If you don’t hear it from me, then it’s not true. They should understand that celebrities are also human beings. We like to do silly stuffs like they like to do. We like to take our phones and pull our tongues out and take pictures and be carefree, so sometimes they shouldn’t take these things too seriously otherwise it would not be fun anymore – we would be like robots, always faking.
Action speaks louder than words so we hope Mzbel will back her words with action to convince her fans.
