Over the last 24 hours, Africa’s social media space has been dominated by reactions to Sarkodie‘s “My Advice“, a song on which he dissed Ghanaian dancehall star Shatta Wale.

While the diss record might come as a surprise to most, followers of the Ghanaian music industry will hardly be surprised by recent developments between the acts who have called themselves “brothers” in the past.

For afro-pop fans outside Ghana, the biggest question on the scene has been…

What sparked the beef between two of Ghana’s biggest acts?

The iDEY! Music team has combed the internet to put together the public history between Sarkodie and Shatta Wale. Below is a timeline of significant moments in the stormy relationship between both acts.

June 2014 – Dancehall Commando

In June 2014, a song by Shatta Wale titled “Dancehall Commando“, appeared online.

From our investigations, we’re unable to confirm if this was released as an official single. However, we are able to deduce from online comments and the fact that it was considered for a 2016 Ghana Music award that it was a local hit.

It is interesting to note that this song never received an official music video. Shatta Wale later stated that he was unable to pay for a music video at the time, but expected some financial support from Sarkodie (this will be expanded upon later in this article).

November 2014 – M3gye Wo Girl

In November 2014, Sarkodie released “M3gye Wo Girl” – a Killbeatz-produced song on which he featured Shatta Wale. The song went on to become one of Ghana’s dancefloor anthems of 2015.

Again like “Dancehall Commando” before it, the song never received an official music video. No official reason was given for this.

May 2015 – Joint performance at the 2015 Ghana Meets Naija concert

Both acts surprised fans when Shatta Wale joined Sarkodie on stage to perform “Dancehall Commando” & “M3gye Wo Girl“.

December 2017 – Sarkodie’s Rapperholic Concert

On the 25th of December 2017, Sarkodie held the 5th edition of his annual Rapperholic concert. Shatta Wale not only performed at the event, but also served as its Master of Ceremonies.

In the build-up to the event, Sarkodie revealed in a radio interview with Sammy Forson that he paid Shatta Wale a discounted fee of GHS 200,000 based on their friendship.

It is worth noting that Shatta Wale also performed at the 2015 and 2016 editions of Sarkodie‘s Rapperholic concert.

September 2018 – The Hitz FM & Luv FM Interviews

While promoting “Reign” his upcoming studio album, Shatta Wale granted an interview to Hitz 103.9 FM (one of Ghana’s most popular terrestrial radio stations).

During the interview, Shatta Wale said he felt disrespected by Sarkodie, because of his reluctance to shoot a music video for “M3gye Wo Girl“. Shatta Wale also claimed that Sarkodie accorded Nigerian artistes more respect than he accorded him (a fellow Ghanaian artiste).

The interview generated a lot of buzz online with many fans venting their disapproval of Shatta Wale‘s comments on twitter.

Apparently tired of being targeted by Sarkodie‘s fans, Shatta Wale published a tweet directed to Sarkodie and his fans.

Shatta Wale went a step further to allege that Sarkodie‘s fans were “killing his career“.

Up until this time, both men were believed to have enjoyed a cordial relationship. Sarkodie would respond a few days later apologizing to anyone he might have offended, citing the overwhelming effect of his responsibilities.

A few weeks later, Shatta Wale granted another interview to Luv 99.5 FM, during which he claimed Sarkodie and another rapper Kwaw Kese were “very very poor“.

October 2018 – Sarkodie Responds

Sarkodie apparently irked by Shatta Wale‘s comments on Luv 99.5 FM, surprised fans with a freestyle titled “My Advice“. The freestyle featured Sarkodie sampling the instrumentals of Joey B‘s “Stables“.

Although he never mentioned Shatta Wale by name, Sarkordie dropped a number of hard-hitting punchlines which were obviously directed at him.

Sarkodie‘s freestyle has been praised by fans, artistes and critics alike for its maturity and delivery.

Meanwhile the only response from Shatta Wale so far has been a snapchat video showing of his brand new Lexus SUV – in response to Sarkodie‘s lyrics that he couldn’t afford to buy a brand new Range Rover Vogue.

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What Next?

When it comes to personalities like Shatta Wale and Sarkodie, we really never know what to expect. But whatever happens, The iDEY! Music team hopes the feud between both acts remains lyrical and never gets physical.

Credits
This article was inspired by Complex Magazine‘s Timeline series. Pictures have been sourced from Paul Addo Photography & Kwabena Awuku Photography