Ghanaian sports journalist, Gary Al-Smith, has weighed in on the detention of dancehall artiste Shatta Wale by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), reflecting on his enduring impact and the unfulfilled potential of the Shatta Movement.
In a social media post, Al-Smith recalled how, between 2014 and 2018, Wale’s dominance in the music industry sparked the creation of “Corporate SM” WhatsApp groups, private spaces where professionals who admired him but avoided public association with his controversies could connect.
“Between 2014 and ~2018, when Shatta Wale was at his musical peak, there were multiple WhatsApp groups called ‘Corporate SM’ made up of professionals who could/did not want to publicly ID with SM, for various reasons,” Al-Smith wrote. “The credentials of these people were impressive. Big boys and girls.”
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According to him, members of these groups sought to professionalise the brand. A High Court judge drafted a legal playbook for SM, while a senior communications executive developed a roadmap for intellectual property and branding. The goal, Al-Smith explained, was to elevate Wale’s obvious potential into a sustainable global brand.
Despite these efforts, he noted, the initiative eventually dissolved. “You know what they say about horses, riversides, & water,” Al-Smith remarked.
Still, Shatta Wale’s influence is undeniable. The outpouring of support following his latest legal troubles, Al-Smith argued, underscores his unmatched ability to mobilize fans: “The potential that man called Shatta has to energise his fanbase to do great things is unmatched by any artiste in Ghana, dead or alive.”
He ended his reflection with a sobering observation, that Wale’s charisma could have built an unstoppable movement if only it had been paired with the right structures. “If only his successive management teams allowed his charisma to dovetail into proper, modern structures, the Shatta Movement will be unstoppable,” Al-Smith said.
“Wishing you well, Shatta Wale,” he concluded.
