Entertainment of Wednesday, 9 June 2021
Source: etvghana.com
2021-06-09
Ghanaian Dancehall artiste, Shatta Wale
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Awards USA, Don Dee has challenged celebrated artiste Shatta Wale to set the pace for the change he desires in the country’s music industry.
According to him, Shatta Wale’s proposal for music stakeholders to come together and settle on a unique music genre that can sell Ghana globally “is in the right direction.”
He argues the unique musical genre of Ghana is High-life and that is what “we need to push. What genre does Shatta Wale himself pursue? Is it not dancehall? They say charity begins at home and if he wants us to promote the High-Life genre and make it recognized internationally, then he should start himself.”
The entertainment pundit indicated that Ghana is recognized as a hub for High-Life and every music genre in the country is sourced from High-Life. “I know the entire world regards Ghana as a High-Life hub and I am saying this as a Ghanaian who has lived in America for long,” he told Doctar Cann on Happy98.9FM’s Xtra show.
Don Dee stated that the only way to make the High-Life genre even more popular is through intense promotion.
He however added that music is dynamic and advised musicians be allowed to explore other genres. “Even Nigerians are not only pushing a single genre but they are also pushing other things. Americans are also pushing a blend of Hip-Hop. They are not pursuing indigenous Hip-Hop only and that is the new culture.”
Shatta Wale addressed his fans and the nation through his YouTube channel as he discussed the way forward as a musician and as a stakeholder in the Ghanaian music industry.
He shared his concern about the lack of a unique genre that attributes solely to the Ghanaian brand. His concerns deepened when business associates questioned the absence of a Ghanaian branded genre. He said, “I was in business meetings with different foreign stakeholders and investors. And one question they all seemed to ask was what kind of music do Ghanaians do?”
He said as a dancehall artist, his business partners still wanted to know if there was a single binding identity for Ghanaian musicians. He urged all music stakeholders to come together to create a unique genre for global attention.