Shatta Wale
Imbued with energy, confidence, and bravado, the music of Ghanaian dancehall artist, actor, and producer Shatta Wale has won multiple awards. He self-released numerous albums, mixtapes, and singles throughout the 2010s including his signature song, 2014's "Dancehall King." This activity caught the attention of Beyoncé, who invited him to guest -- with Major Lazer -- on "Already," a track from her 2019 Grammy-nominated album The Lion King: The Gift, which ultimately enjoyed over 200 million streams. Wale's autobiographical Wonder Boy was issued the same year, followed by Maali in 2023, an uncharacteristically relaxed set that fused his dancehall style with traditional African rhythms.
He was born Charles Nii Armah Mensah, Jr. in Accra's Police Hospital, in 1984. Following his parents' divorce, it was his father -- a public figure working in politics, business, and law -- who played the largest part in raising him. While at Seven Great Princes Academy in Dansoman, Wale developed an enthusiasm for the performing arts and was cast in a play which ran at the National Theatre of Ghana. On leaving Winneba Secondary School, he began to make reggae and dancehall music, inspired by regular visits with his father to stay with their U.K.-based Jamaican relatives. He initially used the moniker Doggy before switching to Bandana in time for "Moko Hoo," a 2004 collaboration with Tinny that received a Ghana Music Award nomination. Although that track brought him a level of fame, he was unable to create an effective follow-up single. Subsequently, the music he made over the next decade remained very much part of the underground.
In 2014, he successfully re-emerged as Shatta Wale, releasing both the Green Times mixtape and Answers: The Hybrid Album. The latter featured the crackling, in-your-face "Dancehall King," which enjoyed enough exposure that he was named Artist of the Year at the Ghana Music Awards. This sharp and significant change in fortune led to his casting in Selorm Martinson, Jr.'s film Never Say Never, which premiered that September. Keen to consolidate his newfound success, Wale issued no fewer than six long-players in 2015, including four mixtapes: Up a Road, Times & Season, Million Miles, and Magical Year. In 2016, he co-starred alongside Martha Ankomah in Ikechukwu Onyeka's Shattered Lives, before releasing After the Storm, the first album issued on his own Shatta Movement Empire. Produced by Willis Beatz, the bubbling and accessible March 2017 single "Taking Over" was a huge success that saw him collaborate with emerging dancehall artists Captan, Addi Self, and Joint 77, while that October's Cloud 9 EP found him delving into hip-hop. Reflective of his upward trajectory, Avance Media named Shatta Wale 2017's Most Influential Musician on Social Media.
The drama-infused single "Ayoo" was named Song of the Year at 2018's inaugural 3Music Awards, just prior to the premiere of Kejetia vs Makola: The Trial of Shatta Wale, a cinematic vehicle that led to his first lead acting role. "My Level" -- a skittering, commercially focused track, and a key part of his canon -- was issued in collaboration with Zylofon Music later that year, just prior to Reign, an accomplished project which hit the Top Ten of Billboard's Top World Albums Chart. In 2019, only a few months before his career-changing Beyoncé cameo, Shatta Wale won eight 3Music Awards, his largest haul at a single ceremony. After 2019's Wonder Boy, an EP, The Manacles of Shatta, arrived in early 2020 before he became the first Ghanaian artist to organize an online concert during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, he teamed up with the Accra hip-hop artist Medikal for the Cross Roads EP. He released the flowing, unhurried Maali in 2023.
© James Wilkinson /TiVo
Artistas similares
Discografía
526 álbum(es) • Ordenado por Mejores ventas
-
Borjor
África - Editado por Waka Music Limited el 21 oct. 2019
Disponible en24-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Dancehall Girl
Epik Jones, Shatta Wale, Ishawna
Reggae - Editado por EPIK MUSIC GROUP el 13 sep. 2024
Disponible en24-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Cartier Party
África - Editado por Shatta Movement Records el 3 feb. 2022
Disponible en24-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Set up Yuhself
Reggae - Editado por FREEMIND MUSIC RECORDS el 26 jul. 2024
Disponible en24-Bit/96 kHz Estéreo -
ON GOD
África - Editado por Shatta Movement Records el 5 may. 2022
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Hunter
África - Editado por Shatta Movement Records el 30 may. 2022
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Hossana (feat. Burna Boy)
Reggae - Editado por Shatta Movement Empire el 2 feb. 2017
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Wonder Boy
África - Editado por Shatta Movement Empire, Digital Distribution By Mipromo el 19 oct. 2019
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Low Tempo (feat. Shatta Michy)
Reggae - Editado por Shatta Movement Empire el 17 may. 2017
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Borjor
África - Editado por Shatta Movement Empire, Digital Distribution By Mipromo el 21 oct. 2019
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Winning Formula
Dancehall - Editado por Evidence Music el 7 ago. 2020
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Umbrella
Reggae - Editado por Shatta Movement Empire el 19 feb. 2017
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Answers (The Hybrid)
Reggae - Editado por SM4LYF Records el 14 mar. 2014
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Taking Over (feat. Captan, Addi Self, Joint 77)
Reggae - Editado por Shatta Movement Empire el 15 mar. 2017
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Dancehall Landlord
Dancehall - Editado por Shatta Movement Empire, Distribution By Mipromo el 16 nov. 2017
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Baby (Chop Kiss)
Reggae - Editado por SM 4 Lyf Records el 27 ene. 2016
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
SAFA
África - Editado por SHATTA MOVEMENT RECORDS - DAMAKA GROUP OF COMPANIES el 20 sep. 2024
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Hajia Bintu
World music - Editado por Shatta Movement Empire, Digital Distribution By Mipromo el 25 dic. 2020
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
After the Storm
Reggae - Editado por Shatta Movement Music Production el 6 may. 2016
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
BulletProof
Reggae - Editado por Shatta Movement Empire el 1 jul. 2017
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Greatest
Dancehall - Editado por Shatta Movement Empire, Digital Distribution By Mipromo el 26 may. 2020
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo