Shatta Wale

Charles Nii Armah Mensah Jr. (born 17 October 1984), known professionally as Shatta Wale and formerly as Bandana, is a Ghanaian reggae-dancehall artist. He began his music career after senior high school using the stage name Bandana and gained early recognition with the hit single “Bandana from Ghana” in 2004, which received massive airplay across Ghana. His major breakthrough came in 2013 after his public criticism of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (now Telecel Ghana Music Awards), which drew significant media attention and boosted his popularity. Later that year, his song “Dancehall King” became a nationwide hit and firmly established him as one of Ghana’s leading dancehall musicians.

Shatta Wale’s music career has been driven largely by live performances and concerts, which attract thousands of young fans across the country. In 2015, he asked not to be nominated for the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards due to a legal dispute with Charter House Productions over alleged defamatory remarks. Despite this, his work in 2014 earned him a nomination for People’s Choice Male Musician of the Year at the GN Bank Awards. His best-known songs include “Dancehall King,” “My Level,” and “Taking Over.” He also featured on “Already” from Beyoncé’s album The Lion King: The Gift, alongside Major Lazer. His song “Dancehall King” won him Artiste of the Year at the 2014 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards. He has also acted in films such as Never Say Never, The Trial of Shatta Wale, and Shattered Lives.

In 2014, Shatta Wale ranked number 38 on E.TV Ghana’s Top 100 Most Influential Ghanaians list and has appeared on the chart every year since. In 2019, he set a record by winning 11 awards at the 3Music Awards. In the same year, he collaborated with Beyoncé on “Already,” which was nominated for a Grammy Award. In 2021, he won Best Virtual Entertainer of the Year at the International Reggae and World Music Awards. In January 2024, he released the song “Balloon” with an accompanying video, and later performed at Vybz Kartel’s Freedom Street Concert in Jamaica. In April 2025, he hosted Nigerian TikTok influencer Peller at his mansion in Ghana, which went viral and also promoted his ride-hailing company, Shaxi.

Shatta Wale was born in Accra at the Police Hospital to Charles Nii Armah Mensah Snr and Elsie Evelyn Avemegah. His father is a politician, businessman, and legal practitioner. He attended Seven Great Princes Academy in Dansoman, where he developed an interest in the arts and acted in the drama series By the Fireside at the National Theatre of Ghana. He later continued to Winneba Secondary School for his secondary education. Early in his career, he performed under the name Doggy.

He was the first Ghanaian artist to organize a digital concert on YouTube, titled the Faith Concert, aimed at inspiring Ghanaians during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was later selected by the Ministry of Communications as a headline act for the COVID-19 App Virtual Launch Concert in April 2020. On 18 October 2025, he hosted Shatta Fest 2025 x Shattabration: The King Calls at Black Star Square in Accra, drawing tens of thousands of fans to a free all-night birthday concert.

Shatta Wale has received several international and local recognitions, including the Key to the City of Worcester, Massachusetts, in 2017 and honors at the Chicago Music Awards and IRAWMA in 2018. In April 2025, he was also recognized at the University of Ghana’s Brands and Marketing Masterclass for his branding and marketing influence. He has served as a brand ambassador for Guinness Ghana, Rush Energy Drink, Storm Energy Drink (Kasapreko), Boss Baker Beef Roll, and Infinix Ghana.

In June 2024, he supported the Buzstop Boys in a community cleanup exercise in Accra and donated through his foundation to support their environmental work. In September 2024, he launched the Accra Invasion Project to discover and promote young music talents in Ghana, uncovering several upcoming artists including Papillon Blood, Shattonzy, Zicoranking, JoeQuaye, Blakid, Boy Cray, Kinjunia, Dosted Gennah, and Sanaa.

In October 2021, Shatta Wale was arrested for creating and circulating false information about being shot, which caused public panic. He was later granted bail. In June 2025, Ghana’s EOCO seized his 2019 Lamborghini Urus following a U.S. FBI request linked to a fraud investigation. He denied any wrongdoing and cooperated with authorities. In August 2025, he was briefly detained and released on bail while investigations continued.

Shatta Wale has been involved in several public feuds with fellow Ghanaian artists including Stonebwoy, Sarkodie, Samini, Kwaw Kese, Yaa Pono, and Kwadwo Sheldon. Despite these controversies, he remains one of the most influential figures in Ghana’s music industry.

In his personal life, Shatta Wale has a son named Majesty with singer and actress Michelle Diamond (Shatta Michy). They separated in 2019. He later confirmed a relationship with Maali, with whom he has a daughter.