Dancehall artist, Shatta Wale, has stated that some utterances by entertainment pundits impede the progress of artistes “a lot.”
The 38-year-old singer and record producer also shared that he sees Beyonce’s collaboration with him as a divine intervention to sanitise his brand and name which have suffered at the hands of pundits and public criticism.
The Reggae/Dancehall superstar said this reacting to Koskolee, a pundit on CTV’s Class Showbiz hosted by Sammy Flex, wondering if that was the case, on Tuesday, December 13, 2022.
“I’ve met companies that have told me, ‘Oh we wanted to sign you but you had this problem and your media people [said this and that] so they said we should forget it’,” he illustrated. “Big, big companies.”
The Ghanaian artiste born Charles Nii Armah Mensah Jr asserted that when pundits speak ill of him, they may intend to hurt his brand in particular but actually they are tampering with the brands of Ghanaian artistes in general.
“I keep telling people that don’t think you’re hurting me but you are hurting all of us,” he said.
“When I make money, I bring it on the table and we all enjoy. So I think those things [uncontrolled negative criticism] have to stop,” the ‘On God’ hitmaker added.
He bemoaned how an internet user opined that his Shaxi online taxi initiative would not last beyond a week. “Don’t speak like this,” Shatta showed signs of frustration. “This is somebody’s business. If you don’t have anything [productive] to say, just keep quiet.”
The Shatta Movement (SM) leader also expressed worry concerning how the above and other unhinged utterances, especially on the internet, could hamper his being signed to an international label.
“I keep saying, God bless Beyonce everytime because for Beyonce’s team to sit down with her and say they want to work with me, it wasn’t just a mere and meaningless happening. God’s intervention came there. I think maybe God spoke to her that, ‘Come and help my son because [contrary to] the way they are seeing him, I want you to [paint] a beautiful picture [about] him.”
Beyonce, in an unpredictable move, featured Shatta Wale on her ‘Already’ Afrobeats record as part of her 2019 Grammy-recognised ‘The Lion King: The Gift’ album.
The self-acclaimed African Dancehall King also addressed why he is abrasive sometimes in reaction to criticism.
“People should just get it, the way they speak about us – like me I’m so real that [naturally] when you speak about me in a certain way, I’ll come and speak in a certain way but I’ve grown,” he stated.
Despite his growth and exercise of patience and restraint, however, he said it should come as no surprise when he responds in equal measure when someone delibrately and persistently steps on his toes.
“If you don’t stop [stepping one the toes], I will slap you hard,” he said matter-of-factly and quickly added that: “I’m trying to be humble. I’m trying to be respectful.”
To the musician, “the 10-year interval” between being Bandana and resurfacing successfully as Shatta Wale is proof of his patience.
“So when you are stepping on my toe – I’m like that [patient for a while],” he said and demonstrated in his unruly but witty demeanour that after several unheeded warnings, he strikes: “You’ll take a hot slap.”
Calming down, he reflected: “But I’ve grown to understand that all those people [naysayers] were distracting me from getting what I have to get.”
Since he came to that realisation, he has not engaged in any industry talk for about two months and his social media engagements are proof, he argued.
“When I check my worth and the people talking about me, [I notice that] no, they are going to drag me back,” he said and reasoned: “Those people have not made what I’ve made and I want to make more so why don’t I go and make it and come and show them?” when they are 90-years-old and unaccomplished because they were fighting what they did not understand.
