Popular Ghanaian artiste, Stonebwoy, is not happy about the increasingly toxic wave of rivalries in the country’s entertainment industry.
During an interview with MC Kojo Manuel, the ‘Tomorrow’ composer criticized artistes who intentionally time their releases to clash with others, calling the practice “non-directional” and even a form of “slavery.”
“Because of such a heightened level of toxicity, we could have channelled that into something very productive, like something very constructive so that our industry will see the shine that it deserves. Look at something, like whenever you decide to drop your EP, we are also going to drop a track on that day, there are a million dates. You can actually drop on that same day of course without telling anybody…” he remarked.
Stonebwoy argued that those who thrive by copying or “tagging along” with others are simply showing a lack of originality.
“If you cannot do without having to tag along somebody so much then it means that you are definitely a slave and non-directional; you just move according to other people’s hard work and success to find some cramp out of it to try and use on yours,” he stressed.
Although competition has long existed in the music scene, Stonebwoy believes today’s climate is worse than ever.
“Not so much has changed in terms of behaviour in that rivalry space; it’s gotten worse. I think it will keep getting worse. Because under my watch, I am a witness and I’ve served and followed many of our big artistes before arriving at my own duty, it has never been this toxic whereby now you find out that there’s a cross section of the masses who actually celebrate that. So it has become a thing that you have to balance and it’s taking a big toll on our progress as an industry,” he explained.
Stonebwoy cautioned that the culture of negativity, now even embraced by sections of the public, is stifling progress in Ghana’s entertainment space. Instead of wasting energy on rivalries, he urged artistes to channel their creativity into collaboration and growth for the benefit of all.
Watch the interview below.
