Music awards and the phenomenon of beefing, an analysis of audiences posts on Shatta Wale and stonebwoy at the 20th Vodafone Ghana music awards

Abstract

The study identifies the dominant issues that emerged from the posts shared on Facebook by audiences on the 20th VGMA incident between Ghanaian entertainment icons; Shatta Wale and Stonebwoy. It also probed into the outpour of emotions of the audiences through the posts and also examined how Shatta Wale and Stonebwoy were represented by the audiences through the posts. This research, through the lens of reader-response theory and Ekman’s Theory of Basic Emotions, interrogated Facebook posts of the incident between Shatta Wale and Stonebwoy at the 20th VGMA using qualitative content analysis and purposive sampling technique. This study indicates that just as people are the lifeblood of businesses, fan bases are the core patrons of every musician and their songs. Also, the study reveals that the fan base culture that emerged from the posts shared on Facebook on the said incident not only strengthens the interaction of the audience in expressing their opinions and experiences but also increases the opportunity for musician – fan interactions. This is supported by the audiences describing 20th VGMA incident between Shatta Wale and Stonebwoy along the following themes: mismanagement, terror and antagonism. Further, the study showed that the audiences exhibited three out of the six basic emotions outlined in Ekman’s theory of basic emotions. These emotions were: anger, fear and surprise. Also, in response to how Shatta Wale and Stonebwoy were represented by the audiences, the study revealed the themes of cowardice, heroism and sore loser. The study therefore concludes that while some audiences pinned the incident at the 20th VGMA on Charterhouse for mismanaging the event, other audiences also laid the blame squarely on both Shatta Wale and Stonebwoy.