Shatta Wale, whose real name is Charles Nii Armah Mensah Jr., was born on October 17, 1984, in Accra, Ghana. He is a renowned Ghanaian reggae-dancehall artist.
Early Life and Education
Shatta Wale was born to Charles Mensah Snr and Mama Elsie. After senior high school, he changed his name to “Bandana” and released the hit track “Bandana from Ghana”. The song made tremendous airwaves in the Ghanaian music industry in 2004.
Career
Shatta Wale’s sudden rise to fame happened at the 2013 VGMA awards when he proclaimed they robbed him of the Dancehall artist of the year to a female Dancehall artist “Kaakie”. Even though the song had vulgar lyrics, it was so anticipated by the media which created his musical breakthrough. His greatest song hit in 2013, Dancehall king took the airwaves by surprise. Shatta Wale’s musical revenue is mostly generated through the hosting of shows which attract most 1000’s of Ghanaian youths.
In 2015, Shatta Wale asked not to be nominated in the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards even though he could have won the prestigious Artiste & Song of the year for the second time running with his hit songs “Dancehall Commando” featuring Sarkodie, “Party all night” long featuring Jah Vinci, “Wine ya waist” featuring Davido and “Korle Gonno” among many hit songs he released the preceding year.
Achievements
Shatta Wale is often referred to as the “Godfather of Dancehall Music” in Ghana. He has played an important role in bringing dancehall music to the mainstream in Ghana and has amassed a large fanbase as a result. In 2014, he peaked to number 38 on E.tv’s “Top 100 Most Influential Ghanaian” Awards chart. He has since then appeared on the chart every year. He was ranked “Most Influential Musician” on social media in 2017. He made a record-setting as a dancehall artist to have won 11 awards at the 2019 3 Music Awards ceremony.