I was living with insects, how my girlfriend jilted me – Shatta Wale shares life story

“From Bandana to Shatta Wale was a long journey, I was at a place no one wanted to be; at some point, I was living with insects, frogs and when I remember that now – it fills my eyes with tears.

“I was living at a place where an artist was not supposed to live. That was when I bought myself a small computer, a Pentium two and a keyboard and told myself I wanted to learn how to play beats.

“Because anytime I went to any studio to record; right after I left, they will delete my song – apart from the money which was hard to come by then, I still tried to pay. And I was like “wow, this shouldn’t be happening to me” and anytime I wanted to protest, they will go like Dancehall is not something people in Ghana will want to listen to. But I kept telling them ‘this was what my spirit wanted me to do.

So when I bought my computer, I was always in the room alone around Sakaman playing beats and recording the songs and showing it to people. Some will laugh at me and say ‘Oh! This one you wouldn’t get anywhere, and you won’t make money… Try and do what others are doing.”

I was like it’s not all about the money – this is what I want to put to the youth of Ghana that you can be what you want to be. Money will come when God sees how hard you are working.

“Things was so bad even my girlfriend at the time told me I wasn’t classic enough and decided to go for a classy boyfriend and I was like wow – This was the ‘Megye Wo Girl’ happening in real life.

“I had to move from one area to another area and met friends who promised they were going to help me – they offered me places to live and all that. “I slept in people’s halls and kitchens. Sometimes I had to squeeze myself into people’s verandas. And there were times when my friend’s girlfriends came around, and I had to sit outside and wait with all these mosquitoes.

“And even if I got one girl who was feeling me in that kind of way and wanted to support me small, and I wanted to enjoy some [fleeting pleasures of the flesh] – I couldn’t afford a hotel, so I just find one small uncompleted building and do it quick quick.

“It was crazy but I really had to be strong. Looking back, I realized I was the one who brought all the problems I was facing upon myself. I decided to leave home at a very tender age – my dad didn’t disown me. I was rather stubborn with what I wanted to do. That’s how God created me.”