Shatta Wale and Mark Okraku Mantey
Popular reggae/dancehall artiste, Charles Nii Armah Mensah Jnr, popularly known as Shatta Wale, has come out to dispel rumours that he harboured an imminent hatred against the Creative Arts Council president, Mark Okraku Mantey.
The dancehall artiste, who recently launched an attack on Mark Okraku Mantey said, “I don’t hate Okraku Mantey, I just want the best for the creative arts industry.”
According to him, he has developed some respect for Okraku Mantey because of his track record in the music industry.
This new statement from Shatta Wale comes after he had earlier threatened the government against the possible nomination of Mark Okraku Mantey as the Deputy Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture.
The ‘My Level’ hitmaker a week ago, through a Facebook live broadcast, stated that Mark Okraku Mantey, who is also the CEO of Slip Entertainment, lacks the requisite knowledge about the industry to assist in its growth.
He indicated that he cannot pinpoint the benefit the industry has received from him and as such he believes he does not deserve the position of a Deputy Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture.
The dancehall act noted that if Okraku Mantey was to be given a position as a Deputy Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, there would be chaos in the creative arts industry.
His comment attracted reactions from the creative arts industry stakeholders who claimed Shatta Wale developed hatred for Okraku Mantey the very day he was appointed president of the Creative Arts Council.
But in an interview with Prince Tsegah (Da Don) on ‘You say Wetin’ on Hitz FM, Shatta Wale said he respects Okraku Mantey and knows that he means well for the creative arts industry.
“I was not trying to be rude to Mark Okraku Mantey. He is a nice man, he likes me, he knows my character, he knows who I am, and he knows I like to free my mind. I respect Mark a lot and I know how he wants to help the industry,” he said.
The award-winning artiste, with a number of hit songs and awards to his credit, suggested that some A-list industry persons must hold meetings with Mark Okraku Mantey to make suggestions they feel can help him fight for the betterment of the creative industry in Ghana.
Having achieved street credibility in a fairly undeveloped Ghanaian dancehall genre at the time, Shatta Wale achieved popularity with his 2004 single, ‘Moko Hoo’, which featured hiplife artiste Tinny.
Then known in the industry as Bandana, the song earned him a Ghana Music Awards nomination.
There afterward, Bandana went on a music break for nearly a decade until rebranding himself in 2013. He began releasing music under a new name, Shatta Wale, under his record label (SM Records).
In 2014, he peaked at number 38 on ETV’s ‘Top 100 Most Influential Ghanaians’ chart.
He won eight awards at the 3Music Awards in 2019 and also the most awarded dancehall artiste in Africa.
In 2017, he toured the US to promote ‘After the Storm’, and then traveled to Jamaica to shoot videos for projects he had collaborated with some producers.
He released his third album, ‘Reign’, on October 13, 2018 on Zylofon Music label.
In June 2020, Shatta Wale parted ways with the Militants because they lacked understanding of showbiz.
By George Clifford Owusu