Ghanaian dancehall music star Charles Nii Armah Mensah Jr known by his fans as Shatta Wale, says he suffered trauma as a child after his parents got divorced.
In a Facebook live stream on Saturday night, Shatta Wale told his fans that his background broken home brought “emotional turmoil and instability” to his life.
The music star has huge fans across Africa and beyond with over 1.5 million followers on Facebook alone.
“It affected me so much. Our broken home affected me. Anytime I talked or complained about this, they (parents) labelled me disrespectful. So, I left them. I left the house. I ran from my parents,’’ he said.
Coping with trauma
The music star was sombre in the live video as he recounted this phase of his childhood.
“I slept on the streets; I slept in front of stores. I slept at filling stations... I slept on the streets of Adabraka,” he added somberly.
Wale says he has learned to cope with the trauma of his childhood by avoiding stress triggers in life.
“As a result, I started running from stress, running from people who would stress me. That’s where I learned how to cut people off because I don’t want stress. It is important to cut off anyone who wants to bring negativity into your life,’’ he said in his live video.
Successful career
Shatta Wale, 38, is a multi-award-winning artist with a career that has spanned over 10 years.
He is known for his high-powered stage performances and his very confident comments on his level of music quality and his response to sharp criticism from those who do not appreciate his work.
On March 18, 2018, he was presented with an honoree award for his contribution to reggae in Ghana at the 37th Chicago Music Awards.
He also set a record as a dancehall artist after winning 11 awards at the 2019 '3 Music Awards' one of Ghana's top entertainment award initiatives.
