An old video of the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mark Okraku Mantey, has resurfaced about him speaking about his days at Hitz FM in Accra, where he sidelined popular dancehall artiste Shatta Wale.
Okraku Mantey said, at the time, he championed an agenda to blacklist dancehall artiste Shatta Wale for being arrogant and decided to promote his ‘rival’ Stonebwoy.
According to some die-hard fans of Shatta Wale, some industry players are trying to continue Okraku Mantey’s agenda against Shatta Wale by sidelining him while promoting new artistes like Black Sherif.
Okraku Mantey, who was then Programmes Manager at Accra-based Hitz FM, said he made the tough decision due to Shatta Wale’s arrogance and lack of respect.
Speaking on Hitz FM, Mark Okraku Mantey said he decided to be tough on Statta Wale when the artist turned down an invitation to grant an interview to his station.
According to him (in a video posted by a Shatta Wale fan page), Shatta Wale was disrespectful when the station contacted him for the interview.
“Shatta Wale was rude. He rudely turned down the station’s invitation, so we decided to blacklist him.”
Mark Okraku Mantey added that the station subsequently decided to promote Stonebwoy and position him above Shatta Wale.
“So we decided to support Stonebwoy and make him a hero because he was not rude. We decided to play a lot of Stonebwoy’s songs,” he said.
