The question as to who is the best Ghanaian reggae dancehall artiste, for Shatta Wale and his corps of ardent fans, must be a foregone conclusion, an absolute certainty. That crown he has long claimed for himself, and so displayed in a track on his 2016 studio album, After The Storm. In the track, Shatta Wale ─Dancehall King, the artiste asserts his kingship in the reggae dancehall genre─or he tried to.
For Stonebwoy, the sheer multitude of fans for whom he is president of Bhim nation and a growing trove of awards speak for his position in reggae dancehall in Africa. He believes he has taken over the topmost position, and he’s not going to care what his adversaries may say, but he prays that he goes higher and higher. The words of his 2015 song Go Higher may have drawn a response from Shatta Wale to declare himself king.
So what happened on the night of the 2019 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards, VGMA between Shatta Wale and Stonebwoy was a display of alpha male rivalry, a battle for superiority between the two artistes (and their respective close teams of managers and personal gangs of fanatics).
Shatta Wale and his gang of supporters rushed on stage just when the winner for the reggae dancehall category was announced, where he, Stonebwoy were nominees, and Stonebwoy had won. A brawl ensued between supporters of the two rival artistes there and then: a clash between Shatta Movement and Bhim Nation. In the fracas, Stonebwoy is reported to have pulled a gun. The fight caused the awards to end abruptly.
Later Stonebwoy explained why he drew the gun, that a recollection of previous attacks on him, and on his wife during during the 2017 Ashaiman to The World concert, gave him a feeling of insecurity right there in the brawl.
Shatta Wale also explained that he was going to congratulate the new winner of dancehall, and announced his withdrawal from the music award scheme.
Both artistes were arrested and arraigned before court, and they have been granted bail.
Charterhouse, organisers of the VGMA, have announced that they have stripped both artistes of their awards and also have banned them indefinitely from the VGMA for breaching the code of conduct of the annual music awards scheme.
