Ghana’s reggae and dancehall history deserves to be documented truthfully. It should not be rewritten according to present-day popularity, personal alliances or convenient recollections.
During my recent comeback interviews, I spoke about the importance of establishing a proper historical lineage for Ghanaian reggae and dancehall. I mentioned many of the artistes, promoters and platforms that contributed to the growth of the movement.
One of the important platforms I discussed was Fun World.
At the time, I explained that performing at Fun World was considered a significant test for young entertainers. It was one of the places where emerging performers could demonstrate their ability before a live audience. Anyone attempting to document that period must therefore speak carefully and distinguish between people who were present, people who performed and people who only heard stories about it later.
About a month after I made those comments, Shatta Wale was reportedly heard during a TikTok Live conversation claiming that he used to perform at Fun World.
I strongly dispute that claim.
Active participant
My position is not based on social-media speculation. I was active during that era and personally encountered many of the performers and personalities associated with Fun World.
If Shatta Wale—then known as Bandana—regularly performed on that platform, it is reasonable to expect those of us who were deeply involved at the time to remember it. There should also be people, programmes, photographs, recordings or other credible witnesses capable of confirming it.
I do not remember him performing there.
That does not mean one person’s memory should automatically become the final historical record. However, extraordinary claims about an important cultural platform must be supported by something more substantial than a statement made many years later.
If evidence exists, let it be produced.
Why was Sugar Ranking omitted?
What made the narration particularly disappointing was not merely the claim that he performed at Fun World. It was the selection of names presented as representatives of that period.
Several people were mentioned, yet Sugar Ranking was omitted.
I find that omission difficult to understand because I was highly active. I was not watching the movement from a distance. I was performing, recording, competing and contributing to the development of the culture.
My journey did not begin after Ghanaian dancehall became commercially fashionable. I was part of the foundation and experienced the difficult years when reggae and dancehall performers had to fight for stages, recognition and media attention.
Therefore, if Shatta Wale genuinely remembers that era and the people who shaped it, how could he discuss the active Fun World generation without mentioning Sugar Ranking?
Was it an innocent oversight? Was it selective memory? Or was it another example of the politics of isolation that sometimes causes important contributors to be deliberately excluded from Ghana’s music history?
I cannot determine his motive without hearing from him directly. Nevertheless, I have every right to question the omission.
Popularity must not be allowed to rewrite history
Shatta Wale has achieved undeniable commercial success and built a powerful following. Challenging one historical claim does not require anyone to dismiss those achievements.
However, present-day fame does not give any artiste ownership over the past.
The history of Ghanaian reggae and dancehall is longer than one performer, fanbase or movement. Long before today’s streaming numbers, stadium concerts and social-media trends, artistes were working with limited resources to build the foundation.
Some performed at community events. Some appeared at Fun World and other youth programmes. Others worked through sound systems, talent competitions, school shows, nightclubs and recording studios.
Their contributions should not disappear simply because they do not currently possess the loudest online fanbases.
When history is reconstructed only around today’s biggest stars, pioneers and less-publicised contributors are gradually erased. That is unfair to the artistes, producers, selectors, promoters and audiences who sustained the culture during its formative years.
This is a call for evidence, not a social-media battle
I am not raising this matter to create unnecessary conflict with Shatta Wale or the Shatta Movement. I am raising it because Ghana needs an accurate account of how its reggae and dancehall industry developed.
If Shatta Wale performed at Fun World, he should provide details:
- In which year (s) did he perform?
- What name was he using?
- Which Fun-World event did he perform?
- Who placed him on the programme?
- Which other artistes appeared with him?
Answers to these questions would help establish the truth.
Until credible evidence is presented, I maintain that the claim does not correspond with the history I personally witnessed. Based on my experience and recollection, Shatta Wale was not among the recognised Fun World performers of that period.
That is why I reject the claim.
Ghana’s reggae-dancehall pioneers deserve recognition
This disagreement points to a much larger problem. Ghana has not properly documented the genealogy of its reggae and dancehall movement.
We need recorded interviews with surviving pioneers, broadcasters, sound-system operators, producers, event organisers and performers. Old posters, television recordings, newspaper reports, studio records and photographs must be collected before they disappear.
That project should not be controlled by popularity or personal friendships. Every credible contributor deserves a place in the story.
I am prepared to tell what I witnessed, acknowledge the people who came before me and recognise those who worked alongside me. I also expect my contribution to be treated with the same honesty.
Nobody should manufacture a place in history, and nobody who genuinely contributed should be removed from it.
Shatta Wale is free to tell his story, but when that story touches a platform and generation that I personally experienced, I am equally free to challenge it.
This is not hatred. It is not jealousy. It is a demand for accuracy.
Ghana’s reggae and dancehall history belongs to all those who helped build it—not only those who became the most famous.
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