Ghanaian music producer-Mark Okraku Mantey seems to have this time bitten more than he can chew.
Mark in a recent interview with Bola Ray said Shatta Wale’s kind of music is not dancehall, implying that it was, therefore, absurd that Shatta even calls himself the King of dancehall.
Following Mark’s comment, Shatta Wale went on Facebook Live to launch a verbal assault on the producer, calling him all manner of names.
In an op-ed in relation to this, the Editor of GhanaCelebrities.Com-Chris-Vincent Agyapong Febiri stated among other things that:
The above comment by Mark Okraku Mantey may seem harmless but anyone who has a perfect understanding of the music business would appreciate what such brand attack and ego assault can do to a musician.
What Mark said in simple words was that Shatta Wale is not a competent Dancehall artiste and even proceeded to pick an industry rival-Jupita over him–saying Jupita was authentic and Wale was fake.
The truth is, Mark Okraku Mantey is no different to the many radio commentators in Ghana, who have no real expertise in fields they comment on—no proper education or close association with the products they seek to scrutinise.
Mark has never been to a Law School, but like the others, he comments on Law and does so with some smug sense of authority. And he does the same with everything else…
Of course, Okraku has over a decade music production experience but most of his gigs have been Highlife or Hiplife related—therefore, when did he become a Dancehall expert? Where did he get the expertise to determine what music is a dancehall music and what’s not?
Any educated person would easily understand that art including music is not lucid, due to the individual style or unique contribution to the bigger discourse. Music, like most other things, is dynamic—and this can easily be ascertained by looking at the different forms of Hip Hop or the scattered particles of even Hiplife we have today.
When Mark Okraku Mantey was called on Happy Fm to respond to Shatta Wale’ Facebook comments, Mark said, he was not commenting anymore on the issue–blaming the media for dragging things.
It seems the man who started the war has been defeated…
READ ALSO: CHRIS-VINCENT Writes: For the First Time I Support Shatta Wale Against Mark Okraku Mantey—Mark Has No Expertise Whatsoever to Determine What’s Dancehall Music and What’s Not
Listen to Mark Okraku Mantey’s below…