Entertainment journalist and analyst Arnold Asamoah-Baidoo questioned Shatta Wale about the musician's recent narrative in which he criticized his colleague Stonebwoy for being a curtain-raiser.
On the back of the comparison between Ghanaian and Nigerian musicians, Stonebwoy in a conversation with media personality Berla Mundi talked about the state of the Ghana music industry in light of the successful O2 Arena concert by Nigerian artiste Asake.
In his narrative, Stonebwoy, along with others, asserted that the imposition of such pressures would yield no solutions unless the proper systems were established. He emphasized the necessity for increased industry awareness to foster its growth.
However, in a video circulating on social media, Shatta Wale strongly rebuked Stonebwoy's remarks. He argued that Stonebwoy was diminishing his own worth and predicted that he would never attain the same level of respect and attention as top Nigerian artists.
“Stonebwoy was asked if he was facing pressure, and he said no pressure, but awareness. You dress and do your Instagram photos like Burna Boy. Hasn’t anyone told you? You are facing pressure, which is why you want to go on stage later, you want to be on stage at the same time as Wizkid? Look at what you did at AfroNation Detroit. You were given time to come on stage, you wanted to go at the time you wanted.
"You allow yourself to be paid $10,000 while Burna Boy gets paid $300,000. Did you expect to be treated like an important person? You are just a curtain raiser!! You will never get the same platform as Wizkid, Davido, or Burna Boy!” Shatta Wale fumed.
In response to Shatta Wale's outburst, Arnold in a submission on UTV’s United Showbiz monitored by GhanaWeb asserted that serving as an opening act or curtain raiser is not in any way belittling to an artist.
“What is wrong with being a curtain raiser?” Arnold asked. “Stonebwoy was the curtain raiser at Global Citizen. Did he die? Was he not paid?”
“He said Stonebwoy can never get to the level of Wizkid and Burna Boy. Is he God? Does he know what would happen in the next five years? He said Wizkid is the eye; Davido is the eye, so, what are you [Shatta]? The arm or the leg? Or the buttocks?”
Arnold continued: “You say Stonebwoy took $10,000. How much are you paid? Were you even contacted for a performance? If yes, how much did you charge and how did negotiations go for you to have rejected the offer? It’s not like you’re telling us you were contacted but rejected the offer; you’re mocking a colleague who supposedly took $10,000 for a performance.”
Arnold further challenged Shatta Wale's comments, highlighting the apparent contradiction between his call for unity in the industry and his divisive statements, asking, 'Let's assume that in Ghana, you're our topmost artiste. What is your position?'
“He’s the same person who will cry about unity in the industry, yet, you turn around and spew such comments and cause rift. And when we talk about your double standard, we are rather tagged as the problem.”
Ghana’s leading digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in conjunction with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is embarking on an aggressive campaign which is geared towards ensuring that parliament passes comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation, and organ transplantation in the country.
