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Following the concert, Sonnie Badu expressed frustration with the lack of corporate support for gospel events in Ghana, highlighting the challenges faced in organizing the Rhythms of Africa concert.
He mentioned that despite sending sponsorship proposals to various companies over the past five months, he received minimal support, leading him to sell his Rolex watch to contribute to the event's funding.
However, speaking in an interview with Accra-based Okay FM on December 12, Sonnie Badu expressed his outrage at news reports that he had sold his watch to fund the event.
He argued that his words were taken out of context and that such reports were an insult to the full amount he had invested in the concert.
“The problem with many people is that they refuse to listen before running with a topic. It’s not the Rolex watch I sold that sponsored my concert. That's an insult to the almost $180,000 that I spent on that concert,” he said.
Sonnie Badu explained that he had sold the watch to fund some emergency expenses, to the dismay of his wife and not to fund the concert as reported.
“This is what happened—last minute, I needed to make some payments, and I just had to let the watch go. My wife was not happy about it because I had bought that watch for my first son. But I told my wife I had to do it, and I sold it; it wasn’t for the whole concert. That wouldn’t make sense.
“The lady who asked me during the interview asked me “What were the up and downs I experienced during the planning of the concert? and I said I even had to sell my Rolex watch. But the media took that part and ran with it,” he explained.
Sonnie Badu’s 'Rhythms of Africa' concert, which took place at the Grand Arena, Accra International Conference Centre on December 9, 2023.