What’s wrong with Stonebwoy being a curtain raiser? – Arnold quizzes Shatta Wale

Renowned Ghanaian entertainment journalist and analyst, Arnold Asamoah-Baidoo, has quizzed Reggae/Dancehall artiste, Shatta Wale, about his recent comment in which he described his colleague Stonebwoy as a curtain raiser.
It will be recalled that the ‘Sobolo’ hitmaker in a conversation with Berla Mundi spoke about the state of the country’s music space in light of the successful O2 Arena concert by Nigerian’s Asake. According to Stonebwoy, the imposition of pressures on Ghanaian artistes to be like Nigerian singers would yield no solutions unless the proper systems were established. He emphasized the necessity for increased industry awareness to foster its growth.

However, this did not sit well with Shatta Wale, as he strongly rebuked Stonebwoy’s statement in a video that went viral earlier last week. The ‘Taking Over’ crooner argued that Stonebwoy was diminishing his own worth and further opined that his colleague would never attain the same level of respect and attention as some top Nigerian artists like Asake and Burna Boy.
Responding to Shatta Wale’s comment on UTV’s United Showbiz on Saturday, September 2, 2023, Arnold divulged that serving as an opening act or curtain raiser is not in any way belittling to an artist.

In the words of the entertainment pundit, “What is wrong with being a curtain raiser?” Arnold asked. “Stonebwoy was the curtain raiser at Global Citizen. Did he die? Was he not paid? He said Stonebwoy can never get to the level of Wizkid and Burna Boy. Is he God? Does he know what would happen in the next five years? He said Wizkid is the eye; Davido is the eye, so, what are you [Shatta]? The arm or the leg? Or the buttocks?”

He continued: “You say Stonebwoy took $10,000. How much are you paid? Were you even contacted for a performance? If yes, how much did you charge and how did negotiations go for you to reject the offer? It’s not like you’re telling us you were contacted but rejected the offer; you’re mocking a colleague who supposedly took $10,000 for a performance.”
The journalist to a greater extent challenged Shatta Wale’s comments, throwing more light to the apparent contradiction between his call for unity in the industry and his divisive statements, asking, ‘Let’s assume that in Ghana, you’re our topmost artiste. What is your position?’

“He’s the same person who will cry about unity in the industry, yet, you turn around and spew such comments and cause rift. And when we talk about your double standard, we are rather tagged as the problem,” he indicated.