Influential Dancehall artistes, Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale, are to hold a
unity concert dubbed: “Ghana First” after smoking the peace pipe.
The news was announced at a press conference organised by the Kofi Abban Foundation held at the Marriott Hotel in Accra today.
The two artistes’ fierce rivalry, which has been ongoing for years,
finally erupted on stage at the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) held
on May 18 with their respective camps coming to blows on the stage.
They were arrested after the incident and put before court where they have each been granted bail of GHS50,000.
They have also been banned indefinitely by the VGMA Board and stripped of the awards they won on the night.
Last week, the two artistes shared pictures of them together on their
social media handles with posts indicating that they had resolved their
differences sending their fans into a frenzy.
Speaking at the press conference, the two artistes apologised for their
brawl while indicating they were ready to move forward.
Stonebwoy confirmed that the feud between himself and Shatta Wale had
been resolved and they stood for peace in the music industry.
“We all do the same genre of music and I can basically say we are
brothers. Over the years there have been rivalries between the two of us
in the music industry especially the current one that happened at the
Vodafone Ghana Music Awards.
“We are sorry to the general public and want them to know that all
issues between us have been buried. We have jumped all unnecessary stuff
to move forward.
“By the turn out of events, we have realised the importance of peace and
unity and decided to come together as a force in our individual ways to
put Ghana music on the map both locally and globally.
“The youth of Ghana actually love us and they look up to us. I am a man
of Peace and Shatta Wale is also a man of peace and we stand here for
peace for Ghana and we hope the word of peace will be propagated to the
world to grow Ghana’s music industry,” he stated.
Shatta Wale also reinforced the need for peace saying, “Peace is a very
important factor in the industry and that is why my brother Stonebwoy
and I are organising a “Ghana First” concert to entertain our fans and,
make them realise the importance of peace in the world.
“We are going to perform our hit songs together to make our Shatta
Movement and Bhim Nation fans feel what Ghana music really means to us,”
he said.
The press conference was hosted by media personality Nana Aba Anamoah
and was attended by the likes of Chief Executive Officer of EIB Network
Group and Empire Entertainment, Bola Ray, Artiste Manager and Chief
Executive Officer of Rufftown Records, Bullet, Black Cedi and Bulldog,
Wendy Shay, Kelvynvboy and members of the press who were given the
opportunity to ask questions.
