Shatta Wale’s comments over Nigerian artiste Asake’s O2 Arena accomplishment in which the Ghanaian artiste bemoaned what he termed as a lack of support from Ghanaians after successfully filling the Accra Sports Stadium drew sharp criticism from Arnold Asamoah-Baidoo, who labeled the statement as “preposterous.”
In the wake of Asake’s O2 Arena success, there has been a comparison between Ghanaian artistes and their Nigerian counterparts as concerns about why Nigerian musicians keep chalking such successes ahead of Ghanaians.
In one of his responses, Shatta Wale who congratulated Asake said in a Twitter Space that he cannot be bothered, indicating his priorities had shifted.
“I am okay, I wanted to buy house, lands and investments, I am okay, so filling the O2 is not my priority,” said Shatta Wale. “My priority is to keep a billion dollars in my account, that is where I am at right now. Nobody should disturb me about filling the 02 or my music.”
Arnold, an entertainment journalist and analyst disagreed with Shatta Wale as he remarked that it is possible for a musician to make such an amount from performances.
Without mincing words, Arnold in his submission on United Showbiz hosted by MzGee said: “This guy is delusional here.”
He explained: “Because if you’re a musician or an artiste, your ability to generate $1 million, could be through performances. So maybe he is a real estate developer or a plumber; the biggest revenue for artistes aside from endorsement deals is touring… If Shatta Wale agrees he’s an artiste, he cannot tell me he won’t make money from touring. He’s lying to himself.”
Shatta Wale‘s narrative that after he filled the Accra Sports Stadium, Ghanaians should have given him “a helping hand to fill the O2” because he is “not from London to be able to fill up the O2”, also elicited a rebuttal from the critic.
“This is preposterous,” said Arnold in his fervent response, pointing out the achievements of other international artists who have made waves without being natives of the UK.
“Because you’re not from London, you cannot fill the O2? Is Asake from Jamaica? Is Wizkid from Bangladesh?”
The journalist further questioned: “What effort has Shatta Wale put in place after filling the Accra Sports Stadium to go and fill O2? Per what he said, he wishes he filled O2.”
Arnold concluded his submission by condemning Shatta Wale’s mockery of Sarkodie and Stonebwoy who are performing outside the country. According to him, these artistes are making efforts to position their brands well enough, a move that can propel them to fill the O2 Arena soon.
“You see what Sarkodie, Stonebwoy and the rest are doing? Filling the O2 is a gradual process,” said Arnold on the show monitored by GhanaWeb.
“You actually need to test these domains to know it will succeed. You are here in Ghana; after filling the Accra Sports Stadium, you’ve not even gone out to do a few shows to test your popularity level. Sarkodie and Stonebwoy are doing so and you’re mocking them. What is the sense in this?”
Source: ghanaweb.com
