A lawyer for Ground Up Chale, Kwesi Arthur’s former management company, has firmly rejected the artiste’s claims that he earned nothing from his works during his time with the label.
Jonathan K. Amable, counsel for Ground Up Chale, described the allegations as false during a Joy FM X Spaces conversation hosted by Kwame Dadzie on Thursday, January 22, 2026.
Backing his position, Mr Amable read portions of email correspondence between the parties, which he said showed that Kwesi Arthur had received royalties from his music.
“In that email Glen details payments that had been made to Kwesi which he never disputed. It says ‘to date, you have benefited from £91,370 in royalty disbursements,” he said.
Mr Amable further claimed that Kwesi Arthur received $118,712 from Platoon, a music distribution company, for his Son of Jacob album without paying Ground Up Chale its share.
He also dismissed suggestions that the company had prevented the artiste from using his images, clarifying that Kwesi Arthur was only barred from using specific footage produced by Ground Up Chale during their working relationship.
“Everything that was created within that period was owned by Ground Up,” he noted.
The lawyer added that Kwesi Arthur signed with Ground Up Chale in 2017 for four years and later renewed the contract for an additional two years.
Kwesi Arthur had earlier accused music executive Glen Boateng and members of the Ground Up Chale team of intimidation, financial demands, and attempts to block his independent music releases in a strongly worded social media post that triggered widespread reaction within the entertainment industry.
In the post, the award-winning artiste alleged that he was being asked to pay $150,000 to use images of himself for a current project and warned that his safety could be at risk amid an ongoing dispute with his former management.
“If anything happens to me Glen Boateng and all team members of Ground Up Chale are responsible and should be held responsible,” Kwesi Arthur wrote.
“I am currently being asked to pay $150,000 for using images of MYSELF for this current project. Ground Up claims to own me, my image, my music and everything attached to it from 2016 to this day.”
The rapper, who rose to prominence under the Ground Up Chale collective, said he has not worked with or had any affiliation with the company since the release of Son of Jacob.
Despite this, he claimed he had earned nothing from music released during the period he was with the outfit.
The dispute has sparked intense debate within Ghana’s music industry, with fans and industry stakeholders divided over the allegations and counterclaims.
