Veteran Ghanaian musician Rex Omar has explained why he admires dancehall artiste Shatta Wale, describing him as a “fighter” whose outspoken nature has made him a voice for many young people.
According to Rex Omar, Shatta Wale’s willingness to openly confront people, challenge societal expectations and respond to criticism has been a major factor behind his strong connection with his fan base.
Speaking on the Group Chat Podcast hosted by media personality Nana Aba Anamoah, Rex Omar said Shatta Wale’s career could have taken a different path if he had chosen to remain quiet whenever he was offended.
“Shatta wale is a fighter, I like him so much but trust me if shatta became like the so called ‘decent artist’ nice guy and the quiet guy, if you offend him, he won’t say anything, expecting the music alone to speak for him, he wouldn’t have gotten this far,” Rex Omar said.
He explained that Shatta Wale’s willingness to “fight society” has allowed him to express frustrations shared by some young people who often feel unable to challenge older members of society.
“Shatta became who he is because he decided to fight society- no matter who you are, if you say something to offend him, he will return it in double and so he became a voice for a lot of the young hungry people,” he added.
Rex Omar further reflected on how young people are sometimes expected to accept the views of older people, even in situations where they believe the older person is wrong.
“When I was growing up, you know when you have an issue with an elderly person, you know what the elderly person is doing is stupid, there is no sense in it but because you are young one, they will tell you the elderly is right even when the young person is right. So this silenced you,” he said.
He noted that such experiences can cause people to suppress their frustrations, suggesting that Shatta Wale’s outspoken personality has provided an outlet for some of those emotions.
“Some of these things is with us and it suppresses our being so a lot of people bottled anger in them so Shatta became the voice and that is what has propelled him and has given him that core fan base,” he said.
Despite Shatta Wale’s controversial public image, Rex Omar believes the musician may present a very different personality away from the public eye.
“I believe that when you meet someone like Shatta wale in his quiet moment, he is one of the best people you can be with,” he said.
Rex Omar also suggested that Shatta Wale has consciously developed a particular public image that has become closely associated with his identity as an artiste.
“Shatta has created that image that he is a nonsense man,” Rex Omar said, indicating that the persona has become an important part of how the Dancehall star relates to his audience.
By: Prince Martey-Sogar.