In a wide-ranging and often frank interview recently, Ghanaian dancehall star Shatta Wale reflected on more than two decades in the music industry, the strategic decision to step away from his Bandana identity, persistent fraud allegations, his growing portfolio of businesses, a controversial UK concert cancellation, and even the possibility of a future in politics.
Wale described his career as both rewarding and demanding. “Well, I think I would say it’s been great. It’s been learning point for me,” he said.
“You know, the experience is beautiful and I think the journey hasn’t been easy. You know, people watch me today and you feel oh, Bandana came out five years ago, six years ago, but I would say I’ve been able to find my way out through this difficult, you know, music industry that we find ourselves in”
Shatta Wale, Musician
He stressed that success in Ghana requires more than talent. “Being a musician in Ghana is not just, you know, you singing, but it’s also about, you know, brain cracking, you know, it’s also about being disciplined. It’s also about, you know, you respecting your fans.”
The artist explained that he deliberately paused the Bandana chapter after feeling he was fighting excessively for recognition as a Ghanaian artiste.
“It got to a point where I felt I was fighting, you know, too much for what we were worth for, you know, if I would put it that way in terms of Ghanaian artists. So, I believe the fight made me, you know, pause, you know, because during those fights, you know, I had to be alone, you know, going to a whole, you know, exile movement to learn much about what music entails.”
Shatta Wale , Musician
During that period he immersed himself in online learning and formal courses in sound engineering and software from a school in London. A film also shaped his thinking. “One movie I watched that I love so much, Count of Monte Cristo… taught me the comeback… So, I had a structure and that is what has brought me here today.”
Controversy, he acknowledged, formed part of the strategy. “And being controversial was part of the structure. Yes, very part of the structure. But that’s not how you are. That’s not, I’m not, I’m not a controversial person. It’s just that, you know, it’s business.” He compared the perception to a gold miner in Wellington boots being wrongly judged as dirty, or a rich man being misunderstood by appearance alone. “I’ve proven to people… what comes out from the debt is what, you know, I’ve proven to people.”
On mentoring the next generation, Wale said he admires the paths of Black Sherif, King Promise, Medikal and Lasmid. “I think I love not one… A couple of them, you know, talk about maybe the Black Sheriffs, you know, the King Promises… and, you know, my Bonafide as well, Medikal.” He tries to offer advice whenever their paths cross at parties or clubs, though busy schedules limit formal meetings.
He once attempted to form a Dancehall Artists Welfare Association with artists including Iwan, Ras Kuuku, Stonebwoy, Epixode and Jupiter, but found limited understanding of his vision for elevating the genre. “They didn’t understand what I was trying to say, you know, because I was preaching about the future… So I had to move on.” Medikal, he noted, is one of the few who consistently seeks his guidance on contracts.
Wale was sharply critical of parts of the Ghanaian media, he accused other houses of painting him negatively.
Ghanaian musical artist
“Some other media houses that I don’t really like up to now, you know, because they’ve really brainwashed a lot of people in Ghana… with the news, the information to spread out, you know, like how, you know, they paint Bandana or Shatta Wale out there… black, you know, like black sheep, black sheep in the black dark night.”
Shatta Wale, Musician
He argued that creatives think differently and that excessive negativity has silenced many artists. “I believe they don’t understand who creatives are. So the negativity becomes more than the positive side of what they have to criticize. And that is the problem that we have in Ghana.” He insisted he never initiates criticism but only responds when attacked, teaching his fans to “be in your corner, don’t worry anybody. When they come, just, you know, throw your bombs.”
The Cancellation of Shattafest UK
The conversation turned to the cancelled Shattafest UK event. Wale clarified it was his show in partnership with Akwaaba UK, intended as a special edition of the annual Party in the Park. “It was my show that we partnered with Makola UK, you know, to have it annually in the UK.” He said he warned his team that police would intervene, yet organizers failed to brand it clearly as an 18-plus Shattafest. When the cancellation came minutes from the venue, he remained calm and returned home.
Revenue from ticket sales was meant to be shared, but he has received nothing and claims organizers have ignored calls from his team.
“None of the organizers called me and that is why, you know, I always say that I love Ghana more than performing outside Ghana, you know, because I believe the promoters in Ghana respect me much, but the promoters outside there are like, you know, people who are, you know, seeking greener pastures.”
Shatta Wale, Musician
He rejected one organizer’s claim that the show was never sold out, calling the statement pain-driven, and urged overseas promoters to stop using Ghanaian artists merely for visa purposes while underpaying them.
Addressing persistent “fraud boy” labels, Wale detailed multiple legitimate income sources. “Aside music, I do business, you know, I own like a ride-hailing company, you know… Shaxxi… I deal in the little real estate business, you know, buy, sell houses and stuff like that… like eight.”
He also mentioned a partnership dealing in polythene bags and substantial earnings from music streaming. On the fraud stereotype, he was direct: “I dress like a fraud boy, but I’m not a fraud boy.” He blamed systemic failures for youth involvement in crime.
“The system doesn’t help the youth. So that’s where the youth find their channel… If the government doesn’t find anything to do for the youth, you see the snatching of phones and robbery is going to be on the rise next year.”
Shatta Wale, Musician
He stressed he has never engaged in fraud himself. “It’s not even my plan… Because what music is doing for me, fraud can’t do it for me.”
Wale also addressed the EOCO investigation linked to a Lamborghini, money laundering and alleged stolen vehicle claims. Officers came to his house without documents or chassis numbers, he said, and he surrendered the car to avoid conflict. “I’ve left the car for them, you know, whatever they want to do with the car, they should do with it because like I said, you know, I’m not here for, you know, the money thing… money comes and go.”
He denied knowing the politician allegedly connected to the vehicle and later purchased another luxury car with music earnings to demonstrate his financial independence. He dismissed colleagues who mocked the episode as “myopic people.”
On personal habits, Wale admitted he occasionally smokes weed but has reduced it significantly. “I don’t smoke it too much like the way I used to… But it’s not even my lifestyle now.”
He spoke enthusiastically about his tech ventures. Shaxi operates on a commission-free model where drivers pay 20 Ghana cedis for 12 hours of work and keep all earnings. WAYA , a calling app launched recently, already has about 35,000 users and aims to function even in poor network conditions or emergencies, functioning almost like a walkie-talkie in crowded or disaster situations. “WAYA is just that for the people… the calls are clean.”
Looking ahead, Wale did not rule out politics. “If God wants me to, why not?” He said he would prefer the presidency as an independent rather than a parliamentary seat, citing the need for greater discipline and foundational infrastructure such as underground trains.
He praised aspects of the current government’s 24-hour economy initiative while noting that ministers and officials often undermine leaders’ good intentions. “I call him my dad,” he said of President John Dramani Mahama, while also expressing respect for former President Nana Akufo-Addo.
Throughout the interview, Shatta Wale portrayed himself as a self-made figure who has combined talent, strategic controversy, business acumen and faith to build a life beyond the stage. Time, he repeatedly insisted, will ultimately prove the substance behind the image.
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