In expressing his fury over the decision by the National Sports Authority to allow Stonebwoy to host a show at the Accra Sports Stadium on a date he (Shatta Wale) is also scheduled to hold an event at the same venue, the Dancehall musician indicated that the action was taken without a critical analysis of the possible consequence which includes violence.
A 40-minute Facebook live video on Tuesday which captured his fury as he narrated his side of the story saw the Shatta Movement boss chastising the authorities for acting inappropriately.
Shatta Wale and Medikal had previously announced plans for their annual Freedom Wave Festival, scheduled to run from December 20 to 25.
The festival's activities, as outlined in a flyer released on September 7, 2023, included the arrival of regional fan bases on December 20, an exhibition of SM merchandise on the 21st, a pre-concert featuring new artists on the 22nd, industry prayers on the 23rd, artist dress rehearsals on the 24th, and the climax of the festival on the 25th.
However, Stonebwoy on September 16 also released the flyer for his Bhim Concert to be held at the Accra Sports Stadium on 22nd December.
This stoked conversation with many people wondering how both artistes would have their respective events at the same venue on the same day.
Addressing the issue as monitored by GhanaWeb, Wale said his team was prepared to pay the amount for booking but authorities were not forthcoming only to find out Stonebwoy had booked the venue although he (Shatta Wale) was the first to have contacted the authorities and released his program outline.
An infuriated Shatta Wale, speaking in Pidgin English, expressed his concerns that the decision regarding the stadium booking could lead to disorder. He emphasized that the decision-makers had failed to use common sense and highlighted the potential risks, citing an incident in the past where Stonebwoy brandished a gun at the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards.
“You were here when Stonebwoy pulled a gun at an awards event. You still want a gun incident to happen at the stadium? You don’t think. You don’t think about the fact that what you’re doing would cause chaotic movement in the country?” he asked.
“I called Lord Comey about our intention to host a show and the delay in getting the contract. They said Stonebwoy will do his show so we should hold on. Why does Stonebwoy want to do his show within the period we’ve scheduled ours and communicated to the public? He said they would address that. At the time, we were ready to pay. They said they would bring the contract, not knowing this was what they were going to do,” Shatta Wale added.
2019 VGMA gun incident
The never-ending turf war between Shatta Wale and Stonebwoy escalated at the 20th edition of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards after Stonebwoy pulled a gun on stage while receiving the Reggae/Dancehall Artiste of the Year Award.
The confusion started when Shatta Wale and his militants rushed onto the stage when Stonebwoy was about to receive his award. Afraid of what could happen, Stonebwoy quickly pulled out a gun.
The show was temporarily put on hold amidst the pandemonium in the Dome and some of the patrons started leaving the auditorium when the chaos started.
Watch Shatta Wale’s Facebook live below:
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