Music company Ground Up Chale and its founder, Glen Boateng, have filed a defamation lawsuit at the High Court in Accra against Ghanaian rapper Kwesi Arthur, seeking over GH₵10 million in damages for a series of statements he published on social media earlier this month.
According to the writ of summons filed on 27 January 2026, the plaintiffs accuse Kwesi Arthur of making false and defamatory statements about the label and its management in posts on 21 January 2026 that have since circulated widely across Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). Ground Up Chale wants the court to declare the statements defamatory, order the removal of the posts, and restrain further defamatory comments, as well as require a public apology and retraction published with the same prominence as the original content.
The suit breaks down the damages sought as:
- General damages: GH₵5,000,000
- Special damages: GH₵2,000,000 for alleged economic loss and lost business opportunities
- Aggravated and exemplary damages: GH₵3,000,000
- Legal costs related to pursuing the action in court.
Ground Up Chale’s complaint centres on five key statements attributed to the rapper in his social media posts. Among these, Kwesi Arthur claimed he was being asked to pay USD 150,000 for using images of himself in an independent project and alleged that the label “claims to own me, my image, my music, and everything attached to it from 2016 to this day.” He also stated that he had “not made a dime from any of my music” while affiliated with the label and accused the management of making threats, manipulation and attempts to block his current music releases. One of his most serious assertions warned: “If anything happens to me, Glen Boateng and all team members of Ground Up Chale are responsible and should be held responsible.”
The rapper’s comments ignited widespread reaction on social media, with fans and industry observers debating issues of artist rights, contract fairness and music industry practices in Ghana, spawning support hashtags such as #FreeKwesiArthur.
Ground Up Chale’s legal team, led by lawyer Jonathan K. Amable, has publicly refuted several of Kwesi Arthur’s claims. In media discussions, Amable said the company did not block the use of the artist’s image generally, but only restricted specific footage and visuals produced during their contractual relationship under terms agreed when he was signed in 2017. He also provided email excerpts indicating that Kwesi Arthur received royalties amounting to £91,370 and additional payments from distribution deals, countering the rapper’s suggestion that he earned nothing during that period. Amable described the dispute as rooted in contractual rights over past works and emphasised that Ground Up Chale intends to defend its interests in court.
Kwesi Arthur, who rose to prominence after being signed by Ground Up Chale in 2017 and has since become one of Ghana’s leading hip-hop artists with hits like Grind Day and Winning, had not responded publicly to the legal action by the time of reporting.