Ghana dealt with many controversies in the year 2023.
Here are some of the biggest controversies that made headlines in the world of entertainment.
Meek Mill and the Jubilee House
It may not seem like it but the Meek Mill Jubilee House controversy happened in 2023. The rapper had travelled to Ghana in December 2022 and upon his return released a music video for a new song.
In the video, he was captured at different parts of the Jubilee House, something that made many angry.
He later pulled the video down and apologised.
Yvonne Nelson and Sarkodie
The two celebrities were embroiled in some controversies after Nelson released her memoir detailing her life experiences. In it, she claimed that she had gotten pregnant for Sarkodie early on in their career and the rapper urged her to have an abortion. He was not ready to be a father.
Nelson said she was left at the abortion premises by the rapper and dealt with the experience and the aftermath alone. This angered Sarkodie who released a track dissing the actress.
However, Yvonne insisted she was not fazed by his words and stood by her memoir which only sought to shed light on her difficult times.
United Showbiz attacked
Some persons who were later identified as members of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) besieged the studios of United Television (UTV) during its prime-time entertainment show, ‘United Showbiz’.
The group barged in during the show, temporarily disrupting the show and threatening to beat up the host and her guests on live television over claims that some disparaging remarks had been made against the governing party on the show.
They were charged with conspiracy to commit crimes and rioting. They pleaded guilty to the charges, and were fined GH¢2,400 each.
Akwaboah Snr
Ghana’s music industry lost one of its beloved legendary music icons Kwadwo Akwaboah popularly known as Akwaboah Snr.
He passed away in May 2023. His family, including his musician son Akwaboah Jnr, held his final burial service on September 30.
Black Sherif and Cruise People
Black Sherif got himself in some legal trouble in the third quarter of the year.
On Wednesday, July 19, social media was awash with reports of the purported arrest of ‘Kwaku The Traveller’ on sight at the Kotoka International Airport.
It was later revealed that Cruise People Ltd. had filed a complaint with the Ghana Police Service over an alleged breach of contract.
The company later filed a lawsuit demanding about $100,000. They claimed after booking Black Sherif for the cruise and paying half of his booking fee ($20,000), the ‘Kwaku The Traveller’ hit-maker was expected to make a video confirming his participation for the event in Greece.
However, he failed to do so after several attempts to get through to him, which caused disinterest in the show leading to its cancellation. The cancellation, they noted caused them to incur costs. But Black Sherif’s team insisted that there was no requirement in the contract for him to make a promotional video.
The case was later dismissed in November. The court, presided over by Judge Mariama Sammo, agreed with the lawyers for the Konongo-born musician.
In her decision on Thursday, November 16, the judge indicated that none of the addresses given by the party performing the contract was located in Ghana. This left the court with no option but to dismiss the case against the award-winning music star.
Mona4Real’s romance scam
Another celebrity embroiled in a legal battle is socialite Mona4Real. The social media star and singer was extradited to the United States from the United Kingdom over her alleged involvement in a $2 million romance scam locally called ‘sakawa’ targeting older, single Americans.
She was extradited from the United Kingdom on May 12, 2023, following her earlier arrest in the European country in November 2022. She has pleaded not guilty and is currently in court.
In May, Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced the unsealing of a six-count Indictment charging Hajia4Real for her role in a series of romance schemes and for laundering the proceeds of those schemes.
According to the court, from at least in or about 2013 through in or about 2019, the Influencer was a member of a Criminal Enterprise based in Ghana that committed a series of frauds against individuals and businesses in the United States, including romance scams.
The prosecution said, “Montrage received money from several victims of romance frauds whom members of the Enterprise tricked into sending money. Among the false pretences used to induce victims to send money to Montrage were (i) payments to transport gold to the United States from overseas; (ii) payments to resolve a fake FBI unemployment investigation; and (iii) payments to assist a fake United States army officer in receiving funds from Afghanistan.”
Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale fight again
This year, the two Dancehall musicians rekindled following a misunderstanding over the booking of Accra Sports Stadium for their respective end-of-year shows.
Shatta Wale and Medikal had previously announced a 5-day festival, the ‘Freedom Wave Festival,’ set to take place from December 20th to 25th at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Days after this announcement, Stonebwoy unveiled his annual year-end concert scheduled for December 22nd at the same venue. The conflicting concert dates agitated Shatta Wale, prompting him to voice his frustration via a live broadcast on Facebook.
He cautioned the Bhimnation boss to avoid crossing his path, emphasising potential harm. Later, Shatta Wale cancelled the Freedom Wave Concert altogether, as a result of the conflict.
Nana Adwoa Awindor breaks down on live TV
Veteran television presenter, Nana Adwoa Awindor, was moved to tears on Joy Prime’s Prime Morning while discussing her life and her musician daughter, Efya. She lamented how bad publicity had caused a huge deal to elude her daughter.
Efya has received a lot of backlash on the internet regarding her lifestyle. Some of these speculations which the artiste has denied on public platforms have cost her a lot in her career according to the mother, which can be very devastating and takes a huge toll on the singer as well.
Nana Adwoa Awindor said some investors who intend to support the singer and invest in her talent sometimes step back when they hear some of these speculations about her.
“These are instances where you’re working on something, sometimes we’re working on something that should push her somewhere and these things come up, that’s why I was saying earlier that we have to be careful the way we do and say things because you never know the effect,” she added.
PlayGhana and the alleged Black Sherif blacklist
Several artistes including Samini, Reggie Rockstone, DJ Mensah and Smallgod, at a press conference earlier this month outdoored the, #PlayGhana initiative, emphasising the crucial need to elevate Ghanaian music, emphasising that the prevalent dominance of foreign music has hindered the industry’s growth.
Samini noted that it was high time Ghanaian music was given the front seat stating that the consistent attention on foreign music over local songs has greatly affected the promotion of the industry.
Also, Black Sherif, expressing solidarity, clarified that the initiative is not about blaming DJs, artistes, or consumers but aims for a united effort to champion Ghanaian music.
“You know, this is not a blame game. We are not blaming DJs. We are not blaming artistes. We are not blaming consumers. It’s a step in the right direction for us all, our music and our culture. So play Ghana. Blessings.”
However, his words were misunderstood by some Nigerians who expressed anger at the rapper.
Nigerian media personality, Adesope Olajide said on Daybreak Hitz on Hitz FM, that Black Sherif risks losing his support base in the Nigerian music market following his support for the #PlayGhana initiative.
“Do you think you can say anything to Reggie Rockstone or Samini? No. They will go for the baby who really has just started his career, he is just building relationships, and they can tell that he is still wet behind the ears. Let’s target this one, he won’t be able to fight back’,” Adesope stated.
He noted that this can affect Black Sherif, who enjoys significant popularity in Nigeria and possesses a substantial fan-base that values his music even more than some local artistes.
Sing-a-thon
During the Christmas holidays, broadcast journalist Afua Asantewaa embarked on her Guinness World Record attempt to break the record for the longest individual singing marathon.
Her attempt brought together many Ghaians including celebrities like Mr Eazi, Kwabena Kwabena, Nana Ama McBrown, Sista Afia, Cina Soul, Clemento Suarez, Lawyer Nti, OB Amponsah and many others who showed up at the Akwaaba Village in Accra to support her.
Others included Vice President Dr Bawumia and independent candidate, Alan Kyerematen.
To surpass the existing 105 hours set by an Indian in 2012, Afua Asantewaa endured a five-day singing marathon that commenced at midnight on Sunday, December 24 and concluded at 7:00 am on December 29.
At the time of ending her record attempt on Friday morning, the young woman had sung for five days, six hours, and 55 minutes.
On Friday evening, an after-party was held in her honour where some musicians including Adina performed for her.
The Ghana Tourism Authority also named Afua Asantewaa a Tourism Ambassador.’ Meanwhile, the Guinness Book of records is yet to confirm if she has indeed surpassed the existing record.
Yemuadie and friends Ltd – Occasional Kwatriot Kwesi Yankah writes