Ghanaian self-acclaimed dancehall king, Shatta Wale has entreated Ghanaian musicians to come together and come up with one music genre that will be used to identify Ghanaian musicians as well as their work.
Shatta Wale in a ‘State of the industry address’ revealed one of the thought-provoking questions;he was asked in one of his meetings with top international investors and stakeholders amid his trip to Miami, USA. Shatta Wale revealed that he was asked in one of his meetings the kind of music Ghanaians do just as Jamaica;is well known for Dancehall, Nigeria well known for Afrobeat, and America known for Hippop.
According to him, he only presented himself as a Dancehall artiste;from Ghana but was asked again the kind of music Ghanaians are well known for. In view of this, Shatta Wale has proposed that Ghanaian musicians must identify;one genre that can be attributed to all music works from our part of the world.
“One of the things I find to be a major setback in the music industry is a unique genre;that can be solely attributed to us as a people… One question I was constantly asked was ‘what kind of music do Ghanaians do?’. I want to propose that we as music makers and stakeholders come together;to identify one genre that can be attributed to all music works for our part of the world. Let’s do this for our industry to give it the global attention we have long desired”
Shatta Wale advises industry players
That notwithstanding, Shatta Wale advised his colleagues in the music industry to invest in their craft. He advised Ghanaian musicians to also focus on the business aspects of their craft and invest more;into their talent in order to yield profitable gains for themselves.
Shatta Wale who seems to have learned a lot from his visit and;meetings with international bodies during his trip to Miami also said that this will enable entertainers; to make money from their talent even when they are no longer relevant.
He noted that this will not only help the musician enjoy the benefits;of their investments but will also aid to keep the Ghana music industry alive.
Events organization in Ghana
Touching on the organization of events in the country, Shatta Wale;urged event organizers to explore other regions in the country aside from Accra;when searching for places to hold music shows.
According to him, it is high time other communities and cities in the country;be considered when planning for shows and awards in the country. Speaking in his State of the Industry Address, Shatta Wale emphasized that this will give the opportunity; for other musicians in other regions apart from Accra to be recognized for their talents.
“It must not continue to happen that all music shows are held in Accra. We must be able to hold big and popular events that happen annually in other parts of the country. This will help promote new artists coming from those minority regions. This is also a move for the government and investors to open and establish more event centers across the country”.
It can be recalled that the award-winning dancehall musician left the country for Miami;for a vacation but also to work on a few things pertaining to the release of his GOG Album. He was spotted in a viral video performing on different platforms;as well as shooting some music videos as part of his GOG Album.
Speaking about the album he disclosed that he featured a Grammy award-winning;artist on one of the songs on the album. However, he didn’t disclose who the person was as he asked his fans to anticipate it.
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