Highlife artiste Kwabena Kwabena has added his voice to the growing debate over contract disputes shaking Ghana’s music space, calling on rising artistes to be deliberate and cautious before committing to industry deals.
Speaking during an appearance on GhanaWeb’s Talkertainment with Elsie Lamar, the ‘Asor’ hitmaker emphasised the importance of legal support when reviewing agreements. While he has never been signed to a record label, he noted that the complex legal language used in most contracts makes professional guidance essential.
“I have never signed to any record label so I probably might not be able to give an experience or a fair idea but the little I’ve studied around is that whenever you’re presented with a contract, the first thing you need to do is to get a lawyer to read the contract and interpret it to you, because every contract is law language,” he explained.
He further pointed out that artistes must take full ownership of any commitment they formalise, stressing that signing a contract means accepting its outcomes.
“If you put your signature to a certain contract, you must know that you are fully responsible for whatever consequences it brings,” he reaffirmed.
Addressing the ongoing tension between Ground Up Chale and rapper Kwesi Arthur, Kwabena Kwabena said he would not attempt to assign blame to either side. He maintained that such disputes should be treated as learning moments that promote a deeper understanding of contractual obligations instead of emotional reactions.
“In this case, we can neither say party ‘A’ is guilty nor party ‘B’ is guilty. Why am I saying that? Everybody put their interest in the contract. You read it, I read it; you sign, I sign, a witness signs. We must use this opportunity to educate people on what to put my signature under and what not to put my signature under instead of having an emotional understanding of it, because there are no emotions when it comes to law; must we all learn the hard way?” he detailed.
He acknowledged that record labels can provide valuable exposure and growth opportunities for artistes but reiterated that legal protection should never be overlooked.
“My advice is that, having a label behind you is a good thing, it can open certain doors, it can take you to a certain level which individually you can’t, but please get a lawyer.
“The moment they’re interested in you, it means that they are confident that you can bring in revenue, so you must be interested in that revenue as well,” Kwabena Kwabena further stated.
