Shatta Wale facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Shatta Wale
Background information
Birth name	Charles Nii Armah Mensah Jr.
Also known as	Bandana
Born	(1987-10-17) 17 October 1987 (age 37) Accra, Ghana
Genres	Highlife hiplife reggae dancehall Afrobeats
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter record producer actor sound engineer
Instruments	Vocals keyboard
Years active	2004–present
Labels	Shatta Movement Records Zylofon Music
Associated acts	Beyoncé Davido D-Black Burna Boy Mona 4Reall MzVee Tinny Fuse ODG Alkaline Sarkodie Gappy Ranks Amerado Sista Afia Aidonia Shenseea Mr Eazi Dammy Krane

Charles Nii Armah Mensah Jr., (born 17 October 1987) is a Ghanaian reggae-dancehall artist. He is known by his stage name Shatta Wale, formerly Bandana. Shatta Wale changed his name to "Bandana'' after senior high school and released the hit track "Bandana from Ghana". The song made tremendous air waves in the Ghanaian music industry in 2004.

His greatest song hit in 2013, "Dancehall king", took the airwaves by surprise. Shatta wale's musical revenue is mostly generated through hosting shows, which attract thousands of Ghanaian youths.

In 2015, Shatta Wale asked not to be nominated in the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards even though he could have won the prestigious Artiste & Song of the year for the second time running with his hit songs "Dancehall Commando" featuring Sarkodie, "Party all night long" featuring Jah Vinci, "Wine Ya Waist" featuring Davido and "Korle Gonno" among many hit songs he released the preceding year: because of an impending court case with the organisers of the Awards Charter House Productions Ltd for allegedly making defamatory remarks against the CEO of Charter House in a video he uploaded on his Facebook page. Shatta Wale's hard work in 2014, got him nominated for the maiden and highly prestigious GN Bank Awards as the People’s Choice Male Musician of the Year.

His best-known singles are "Dancehall King", "My Level" and "Taking Over". He is also known for "Already" from Beyoncé's The Lion King: The Gift, which also featured Major Lazer. His song "Dancehall King" earned him the Artiste of the Year at the 2014 edition of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards. Wale is also an actor who appeared in the films Never Say Never, The trial of Shatta Wale and Shattered Lives. Wale's 2004 recording "Moko Hoo" was nominated for a Ghana Music Award.

In 2014, he peaked to number 38 on E.tv's "Top 100 Most Influential Ghanaian" Awards chart. He has since then appeared on the chart every year. He was ranked "Most Influential Musician" on social media in 2017. He made a record-setting as a dancehall artist to have won 11 awards at the 2019 3 Music Awards ceremony.

Early life

Charles Nii Armah Mensah Jr. was born in Accra, Ghana at the Police Hospital on 17 October 1984 to Charles Nii Armah Mensah Snr and Elsie Evelyn Avemegah. His father is a politician, businessman and legal practitioner.

Shatta Wale attended Seven Great Princes Academy at Dansoman, a suburb in Accra, where he demonstrated an affinity for arts and acted in a popular drama series, By the Fireside, at the National Theatre of Ghana. He then continued to the Winneba Secondary School where he obtained his second cycle education.He started his young music career with borrowed name and identity-Doggy- a name he took in reverence of his favourite DanceHall artiste at the time- Yoggy Doggy.

Then he changed to Bandana- a name that shot him to fame after a single hit track. He died in music, buried for years, only to resurrect with a new name, Shatta Wale, a new identity and a solid repertoire of hits after hits.

2019–2020

In 2019 he also had a collaboration with Beyoncé titled “Already” on her album The Lion King: The Gift which was nominated at the Grammy Awards.

2021-

In 2021, he was nominated for two awards and won the 'Best Virtual Entertainer of the Year' Award at the International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA).

Concerts

He was the first Ghanaian to organize a digital concert on YouTube which was dubbed the Faith Concert. The concert was organized to bring hope to Ghanaians and his global audience at large during the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. He was selected by The Ministry of Communications, Ghana, alongside Highlife musician Kuami Eugene as the headline artistes for the COVID-19 app virtual launch concert held on Monday April 13, 2020. On Saturday 17 October 2020, he threw a massive birthday party, which saw attendance by family and friends at his East Legon residence to mark his 36th birthday.

Accolades

Mayor of Worcester, Joseph Petty, presented Shatta Wale with the Key to the City on 8 July 2017.

On 18 March 2018, Wale was presented an honoree award for his contribution to reggae in Ghana at the 37th Annual Chicago Music Awards (CMA), in conjunction with the 36th International Reggae & World Music Awards (IRAWMA).

Endorsements

In 2014, Wale became a brand ambassador for Guinness Ghana Breweries and Rush Energy Drink.

In September 2017, Kasapreko Company Limited unveiled Wale as their newest brand ambassador for Storm Energy Drink. 19th of July, 2023, Shatta Wale and Kasapreko Comapny Limited (KCL) renewed their to see Shatta Wale continue to be the face of Storm Energy Drink.

On 17 November 2017, Shatta Wale signed a deal with Boss Baker Beef Roll as the brand ambassador. Infinix Ghana, a smartphone company, on Wednesday, September 11, 2019, announced Shatta Wale as its Brand Ambassador

Charity works and Donations

On June 12 2024, Shatta Wale supported the "Buzstop Boys" in a community clean up exercise at Alajo in Accra and donated some amount through his foundation to the organization to keep up with their environmental initiatives.

Accra Invasion Project

Shatta Wale on the 16th of September 2024 announced the hunt for talents in Accra the Capital of Ghana who need some push and support to make their dreams a reality. The project name is “Accra Invasion Project” (AIP). So far he discovered 9 young talents including Papillon Blood, Shattonzy, Zicoranking, JoeQuaye, Blakid, Boy Cray, Kinjunia, Dosted Gennah, and Sanaa the only female among them.

The “ACCRA INVASION PROJECT” (AIP), is propelled exclusively by grassroots support, unaided by government or elite backing.

This self-funded endeavor seeks to inspire and equip Ghana's youth while stimulating employment within the arts industry, a neglected sector in Ghana. I encourage Ghanaian youths to transcend political affiliations and cultivate self-reliance.

A key takeaway: substantial impact is achievable without substantial initial investment; collective youth empowerment can drive transformative growth.

According to him, he's not giving up on the youth soon he's trying to do all the 10 regions and the Volta Region is next on his talent discovery list.

Personal life

Shatta Wale has a son called Majesty with Ghanaian socialite Michelle Diamonds. After proposing to the mother of his son on stage at the launch of his Reign Album in 2018, the Shatta couple as they were known seemed destine for the altar until their separation in 2019. In confirming their split, Michelle Diamonds went on Social to say that she was tired of living with a partner who is insecure and has trust issues. "No one wants to be in abusive and draining relationship," she added in her Instagram story post in 2019. Shatta Wale and his girlfriend, Maali announced the arrival of their first child, baby girl. They made their relationship public in 2023 after sharing photos and videos of moving out together on severally occasions. This is Shatta Wale's fourth child but his first with Maali.

Discography

Albums

• Green times Mixtape(2014)
• Answers(The Hybrid)(2014)
• After the Storm (2016)
• Cloud 9 (2017, hip hop mixtape)
• Reign (2018)
• Wonder Boy (2019)
• Manacles Of A Shatta (2020)
• Maali (2023)
• Konekt (2024)
• Shatta and Fans Album (2024)

Singles

Videography

Filmography

Awards and nominations

In 2014, Shatta Wale was nominated for the Maiden GN Bank Awards as the People's Choice Male Musician of the year.