Kwesi Arthur claimed his life is under threat and asked that if anything happened to him, Glen of Ground Up should be held responsible.
BigXposure had a chat with someone close to Glen and Ground Up, so it is only fair that I post their side of the story. These are voice notes that were sent in confidence, so I may not be able to share them directly now without doing some redactions, as I feel some border on legalities.
Kwesi Arthur has a contractual deal with Ground Up that has not yet expired. I am not privy to the details, but he read, agreed, and signed it.
As to how fair it is, that is not my issue. He has been with them since 2016. Glen housed, fed, and clothed Kwesi Arthur all this period, not to talk of handling the business aspect of his music.
As any sane person knows, these things do not come cheap. Kwesi Arthur‘s rise can actually be attributed to Ground Up, as we all know raw talent alone does not take anyone anywhere. Kofi Mole, Twitch, etc. all benefited from Ground Up. Arthur is not bound by the contract to stay with Ground Up for life, so he is free to do his own projects so far as he does not use any material that was sponsored by them.
Fast forward: he releases a video (Redemption) with some images from Ground Up, and he was asked to take it off because of intellectual property (IP) violations, and he gets upset. Thing is, Kwesi is mature in the game now and would not have agreed if the situation was reversed.
Kwesi Arthur even performs songs that are “owned” by Ground Up on stage, but they usually let it slide because if they go by the book, he should not be able to use their material. The Ground Up crew have always engaged him through legal means and no one has threatened him. If he believes so, he should post the evidence instead of endangering Glen’s life by sharing his photos. He can also report to the police, which is the best option. Running to social media and using emotional tactics because you know you have the numbers would not solve anything.
Find lawyers and PAY them; they will handle this better. The “Fe fe ne fe” song, for example, was released without the involvement of Ground Up, but it performed relatively well, so I believe with the right legal counsel, this should not be an issue. PS: We are always encouraged to read since childhood, but most of us never listened. If my guy had done that, or even engaged lawyers from the get-go, we wouldn’t be here, but no, he was busily eating gari soaking on stage and now we are being denied bangers.
Leave a Reply