Shatta Wale Debunks Jamaican Story: "I Spent 7 Years in My Room Learning Music Production"
- Dancehall superstar Shatta Wale has refuted claims of travelling to Jamaica for dancehall training
- He emphasised that seven years of self-study in Ghana were required to master music production
- The dancehall musician credited his comeback and rapid success to dedicated, solitary learning efforts
Ghanaian dancehall heavyweight Shatta Wale has categorically denied the long-held notion that he ever travelled to Jamaica to study dancehall.
According to him, he did not travel to the Caribbean island as people often claim, but entirely honed his dancehall craft through years of solitary, self-directed study in Ghana.
Shatta Wale disclosed this to put to rest one of the most persistent myths surrounding his ascent to fame during an interview on Accra-based Asempa FM on Wednesday, March 11, 2026.
Source: Instagram
Born Charles Nii Armah Mensah Jnr, Shatta Wale broke through as a rapper known as Bandana in 2004 with his first album, which included the mega-hit Moko Hoo, featuring Tinny. He followed it up with his second album, which also featured the hit, No Problem, in 2005.
Following his initial success, Shatta Wale endured years of obscurity before bouncing onto Ghana's music scene in 2013 with Dancehall King, which transformed him overnight into a household name and announced the arrival of a dominant force in African dancehall.
Since his comeback, there had been suggestions that he had relocated to Jamaica just to learn dancehall and switch from hiplife.
Answering questions in an interview with Osei Bonsu on Asempa FM's Ekosii Sen, the musician noted that his hiatus was all part of his plan to better himself as an artiste and come back better.
Source: UGC
Shatta Wale didn't learn dancehall in Jamaica
However, he was unequivocal about the Jamaica story, saying:
"I didn't travel to Jamaica in my struggling days to learn dancehall. I was in the room for seven years learning music production and working hard to blow."
He attributed the Jamaica narrative to the sheer speed of his development, a pace so rapid it convinced onlookers that outside intervention must have been involved.
"What I was learning was so fast that people thought I had travelled elsewhere to learn," he explained.
Shatta Wale described his formative years as a period of deliberate withdrawal from public view, during which he immersed himself in beat-making, production techniques, and the structural mechanics of the music business, all through online research conducted alone.
"I was in a small room. I learned the beats all by myself, on my own, on the internet. Anytime I didn't understand anything about music production, I went online to study," he said.
Watch the Facebook video below:
Shatta Wale eyes Ablekuma South MP seat
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that Shatta Wale had hinted at his readiness to contest as an MP for Ablekuma South in 2028 as an independent candidate.
He advocates for restructuring Ghana's governance laws, criticising the outdated 1992 Constitution.
The musician emphasises a commitment to policy proposals over populist promises in his potential campaign.
Source: YEN.com.gh
