Stonebwoy asserts himself Africa’s dancehall king

Ghanaian Afro-dancehall artiste Stonebwoy made headlines for statements made during his album release party last Friday, where he fired verbal shots, including expletives, at “anyone who says they are the dancehall king”.

Dancehall lovers in Ghana believe that this was directed at fellow Ghanaian dancehall performer Shatta Wale who is often regarded as the dancehall king in the African country.

“Do you know how much work I put into this? Forty-five collaborations with Jamaicans, Billboards, Grammys, what are you talking about?” Stonebwoy said.

Much like the Beenie Man and Bounty Killer saga in the Jamaican dancehall sphere, Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale have had a rivalry since 2014, when the latter took home the Ghana music Award for Artiste of the Year with the help of his hit song Dancehall King. In 2019, the feud heightened when Stonebwoy was given the Vodafone Ghana Music Award for Dancehall Artiste of the Year and Shatta Wale’s crew rushed onto the stage.

This year, the two will again go head to head as they are both nominated for the International Reggae and World Music Award (IRAWMA) for Best African Dancehall Entertainer alongside Patoranking from Nigeria, Star Zee from Sierra Leone, and Winky D form Zimbabwe.

Speaking with THE STAR, IRAWMA founder, Jamaican Ephraim Martin, said that both artistes have been dominating dancehall in their own way and he cannot say who is truly king.

“For the past six or seven years, maybe even longer, they have been key figures in dancehall. In Africa overall, there are plenty [of] dancehall artistes who are doing well from Ghana to South Africa to Zimbabwe to Sierra Leone. Dancehall artistes have been very good. In terms of who is the king of the dancehall in the Ghana market, it would be difficult for me to say since I am the facilitator of the IRAWMA. That would put me in a position to be taking sides and I have to be neutral when it comes to the artistes. But they are both great artistes, doing very well, neck and neck all the time,” he explained.

The show is scheduled for May 7. Currently more than 200,000 IRAWMA votes are from Africa.

For years, Beenie Man has been crowned and widely regarded as the King of the Dancehall, and while acknowledging that there are several ‘kingdoms’ across the world, Martin said there really is just one global dancehall king, and it’s the Jamaican.

“There is always going to be just one global dancehall artiste, but then you have regional. One can be the king of dancehall from South Africa and you can be the king of dancehall of Ghana. But when it comes to the global market, it is a different thing. One time Yellowman was the king before all of these guys and he ruled for a very long time before all of these guys,” Martin shared.

Stonebwoy’s newest album is called 5th Dimension and features Dexta Daps and Shaggy.