No Winner Was Declared For Asaase Soundclash – organisers explain why

On Saturday 12 September 2020, the world was treated to an incredible performance by Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale at the Asaase Sound Clash. The event, which was produced at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel, was streamed live worldwide.

The two multitalented dancehall acts absolutely electrified the stage with a first-ever historical performance as they went head-to-head in a musical battle with over forty of their hit songs. By the end of the night, it was clear to see that both Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale were unquestionably deserving of the iconic status that they have, and that it is totally impossible to place one over the other.

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Commenting on the event, Naomi Nelson-Barnes, Head of Marketing, Communications Event and Promotions at Asaase Radio stated “The artists’ performance was way beyond what I ever imagined and I am so happy that we were able to put this event together. We can not determine who the king of dancehall is. At this point we have left it completely in the hand of the general public to decide for themselves”.

Leading to the event, Asaase Radio had engaged in several activities including making a donation of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) at the Ashaiman Polyclinic in Ashaiman, the home base of the BHIM Nation, and at the Korlebu Polyclinic in Korlegono where the Shatta Movement hails from.

There was also a text-and-win on air promotion in which the general public was asked to text to a dedicated short code and say who they think the King of Dancehall is, after which the person with the highest number of texts at the end of the polls would win a brand-new car. Over the weeks that preceded the event, thousands of people texted in, with the results fluctuating from more texts swaying towards one artist and the swaying back to the other. Indeed, on the day of the event, the results of the text ins swayed almost on an hourly basis, until 8:30pm when the polls were closed. Once the system had concluded collating all the results within the five-minute processing period which is given to every text-in process, including those that had been initiated as late at 8:29pm – right before the closing time, Mr. Patrick Mensah Nartey emerged the winner of the promotion with 48, 775 individual text messages in support of his favourite artist.

On Thursday 17 September, after vetting, authentication and approval by National Lottery Authority (NLA), Mr. Nartey was presented with the brand-new Mahindra KUV 100 in a short ceremony at the premises of Asaase Radio in Cantonments. Nana Opoku Agyeman, Chief Executive Officer of Asaase Broadcasting Company Limited, speaking to the press afterwards, noted that “It is amazing to see such dedication as has been displayed by Mr. Patrick Nartey… He truly deserves to win this car”.

Nana Opoku Agyeman added “Mr Nartey has told us that he is definitely a staunch supporter of the Shatta Movement, and therefore texted accordingly. This does not mean in any way that the SM camp has won anything over the BHIM nation, irrelative of whose supporter he is.”

The Asaase Sound Clash was produced in partnership with Digicraft Brand Solution Limited and Purp Star Consult Limited, and supported by The Ministry of Health, the Ghana Tourism Authority, Visit Ghana, the National Lottery Authority. The event was also sponsored by Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), Svani Group Limited, Betway Limited, National Petroleum Authority, Serene Insurance, McDan Shipping and First Sky Limited.