Black Sherif Reigns Supreme Again — Full Winners List at the 27th Telecel Ghana Music Awards 2026
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Black Sherif Reigns Supreme Again — Full Winners List at the 27th Telecel Ghana Music Awards 2026
Five trophies. A tearful posthumous tribute. And a rivalry with Medikal that had the Grand Arena on its feet all night. Here is everything that went down at TGMA 2026.
When the lights went up on Saturday night at the Grand Arena of the Accra International Conference Centre, Ghana’s music industry assembled for its biggest annual reckoning. By the time they went back down, one name sat above all others — Black Sherif, the 24-year-old from Konongo who had, for the second time in his career, been crowned Ghana’s Artiste of the Year.
The 27th Telecel Ghana Music Awards (TGMA 2026), held on the evening of May 9, 2026, brought together the crème de la crème of the Ghanaian music industry for a night that will be talked about for years. At the centre of it all stood Black Sherif — born Mohammed Ismail Sherif — sweeping five awards on the back of his critically acclaimed sophomore album, Iron Boy.
It was, in many respects, a coronation. Black Sherif’s run through 2025 and into 2026 was driven by record-breaking streaming numbers on international platforms and sold-out performances that stretched well beyond Ghana’s borders. The Iron Boy album gave the awards panel little choice. He walked away with Artiste of the Year, Album of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Best HipHop Song (Where Dem Boys), and Best Afropop Song (Sacrifice).
This win makes him only the second artiste in TGMA history to win Artiste of the Year twice, joining an elite group that includes Sarkodie and Stonebwoy — and he received a GH¢100,000 investment package from Guinness Ghana to support his next project.
“He joins a select group of multiple-time Artiste of the Year winners — including Sarkodie, Stonebwoy, and VIP. The Iron Boy era is real.”
TGMA 2026If Black Sherif was the story, Medikal was the co-headline act. The AMG rapper came in with enormous momentum following the viral explosion of Shoulder, his collaboration with Shatta Wale and Beeztrap KOTM. The song claimed Most Popular Song, Best Hiplife Song, and Collaboration of the Year. Medikal added a fourth trophy by reclaiming Best Hiplife/HipHop Artiste — a statement win that silenced any talk of him slipping from the top tier of Ghanaian rap.
The Grand Arena fell into a rare, reverent hush when the Lifetime Achievement Award was announced for the late Daddy Lumba, Ghana’s beloved highlife legend, honoured posthumously. The tribute reduced several artists in the audience to tears and drew a standing ovation that stretched for minutes — a reminder of the living history that pulses through Ghanaian music.
Stonebwoy quietly did something historic: his win as Best Reggae/Dancehall Artiste was his tenth in that category — a record that may stand for a very long time. Kojo Blak arrived as a name and left as a certified star, winning Best New Artiste while also featuring on the winning Best Afrobeats Song (Excellent, with Kelvyn Boy).
Wendy Shay claimed Best Afrobeats/Afropop Artiste, Diana Hamilton retained her crown as Best Gospel Artiste, and Moliy’s Shake It To The Max Remix pulled double honours in the dancehall and international categories. Nigerian duo Davido and Omah Lay won Best African Song for With You, giving the night an international flavour.
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Artiste of the Year | ★Black Sherif |
| Album / EP of the Year | ★Black SherifIron Boy |
| Songwriter of the Year | ★Black SherifSacrifice |
| Best HipHop Song | ★Black SherifWhere Dem Boys |
| Best Afropop Song | ★Black SherifSacrifice |
| Most Popular Song | ★Medikal ft Shatta Wale & Beeztrap KOTMShoulder |
| Best Hiplife Song | ★Medikal ft Shatta Wale & Beeztrap KOTMShoulder |
| Collaboration of the Year | ★Medikal ft Shatta Wale & Beeztrap KOTMShoulder |
| Best Hiplife/HipHop Artiste | ★Medikal |
| Best Reggae/Dancehall Song | ★Moliy, Shenseea, Skillibeng & Silent AddyShake It To The Max Remix |
| Intl. Collaboration of the Year | ★Moliy, Shenseea, Skillibeng & Silent AddyShake It To The Max Remix |
| Best New Artiste | ★Kojo Blak |
| Best Afrobeats Song | ★Kojo Blak ft Kelvyn BoyExcellent |
| Best Afrobeats/Afropop Artiste | ★Wendy Shay |
| Best Gospel Artiste | ★Diana Hamilton |
| Best Traditional Gospel Song | ★Piesie EstherNyame Ye |
| Best Urban/Contemporary Gospel | ★Kofi Owusu PeprahBig God Afro |
| Best Highlife Artiste | ★Kofi Kinaata |
| Best Highlife Song | ★Kofi KinaataIt Is Finished |
| Best Reggae/Dancehall Artiste | ★StonebwoyHistoric 10th title in this category |
| Best Rap Performance | ★StrongmanMensei Da |
| Record of the Year | ★Kwabena KwabenaEnso Nyame Y3 |
| Best Male Vocal Performance | ★AsiamaAkoma |
| Best Female Vocal Performance | ★EnamAmin |
| Best Music Video | ★AratheJayPut Am on God — Dir. David Duncan |
| Audio Engineer of the Year | ★Daniel GrüllFor Enso Nyame Y3 by Kwabena Kwabena |
| Best African Song | ★Davido ft Omah LayWith You |
| Best Group | ★Keche |
| Music for Good | ★Lali x LolaCrox It Out (Breast Cancer awareness) |
| Lifetime Achievement Award | Daddy LumbaPosthumous |
As the curtain fell on the 27th TGMA, the talking points were rich. Black Sherif’s dominance confirms the Iron Boy era is not a moment — it is a movement. Medikal’s four-award haul was a career-reaffirming night. And Stonebwoy’s quiet tenth Reggae/Dancehall title may be the stat historians remember longest. Ghana’s music industry showed on May 9 that it remains vibrant, competitive, and full of genuine world-class talent. The 28th edition cannot come soon enough.





