Artiste of the Year for the 25th TGMA, Stonebwoy has denied any involvement in the cancellation of Shatta Wale’s performance at the Wave Africa Artiste Night on Legon campus over the weekend.
Both artistes were billed to perform at the University of Ghana Campus on June 8, Stonebwoy was scheduled for the Limann Hall karaoke night while Shatta Wale was billed to perform at the JT Nelson Yankah Hall artiste night.
However, hours to the JT Nelson Yankah Hall concert, organisers of the show received an ‘order from above’ refraining Shatta Wale from performing at the artiste night.
On the other hand, Stonebwoy was able to proceed with his performance without any interruption.
Due to the rivalry between the two artistes, speculations and rumuors were rife that Stonebwoy had ‘use his connections to prominent personalities and authorities’ to prevent Shatta Wale from performing at the artiste night.
However, speaking on the matter since it emerged, Stonebwoy in an interview on Asaase Radio refuted the speculations concerning his involvement in the matter.
He said “it’s ridiculous” for some persons to think he orchestrated what had happened.
The eight-time Reggae Dancehall Artiste of the Year emphasised that “even if he had such powers, he cannot abuse it like that.”
“I had nothing at all to do with it. So, I am surprised where the accusations is coming from,” Stonebwoy said during his interview on June 12.
The University of Ghana has also addressed the matter allaying perceptions that the university detests Shatta Wale, hence the cancellation of his performance.
Dean of the University of Ghana, Prof. Rosina Kyeremanten clarified that the school has no issues with Shatta Wale.
According to her, the organisers of the programme had only indicated they were going to have a karaoke night and not an artiste night.
She explained that when it later emerged that artiste night was rather the concert, much security was needed which the organisers failed to assure her of.
She added that she does not also give the final approval for such concerts to be held on campus except the Pro-Vice-Chancellor.
“The university has no issues with Shatta Wale. The University is not involved with Shatta Wale. Normally, what happens is that if any event is going to be organized in any hall, a request for approval is sent to my office with an outline of the program they intend to organize.
“When you are having an artiste night, it comes with a lot of implications; security and others. So we need to ensure there is enough security, and that is why you need approval from the University Authority,” she said in an interview on Radio Universe.
