Lawyer for Ground Up Chale, Jonathan K. Amable, has shot down claims that the company has prevented Kwesi Arthur from using his images. He rather intimates that the artiste was only restricted from using specific footage owned by the label.
Mr Amable made the clarification during a Joy FM X Spaces conversation on Thursday, 22 January 2026. His comments follow allegations by Kwesi Arthur in a social media post that Ground Up Chale had barred him from using his images and claimed ownership over him.
“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,” Kwesi Arthur wrote. According to the lawyer, the artiste was only prevented from using particular footage produced by Ground Up Chale during the period they worked together.
“Everything that was created within that period was owned by Ground Up,” he said.
Mr Amable also dismissed Kwesi Arthur’s assertion that he earned nothing from his works while signed to the label. As proof, he read portions of email correspondence between the parties which, he said, showed that the artiste had received royalties. “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.
The lawyer 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 added that Kwesi Arthur signed with Ground Up Chale in 2017 for four years and later renewed the contract for an additional two years.
On Wednesday, 21 January 2026, Kwesi Arthur 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.
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. “Although I have not worked or had any affiliation to the company since Son of Jacob, I have not made a dime from any of my music within the period I worked with them for years now and receive constant threats and manipulation from Glen who is living off of my money and hard work,” he stated.
Kwesi Arthur further alleged that deliberate efforts were being made to frustrate the release of his independent work, warning fans that any takedown of his current project should be blamed on his former manager.
“If for whatever reason this project that I am trying to give to my fans independently gets taken down, know Glen is responsible,” he wrote. “He is working constantly around the clock for me to never put out music again.”
The artiste said he had remained silent for a long time despite the personal toll the situation had taken on him, but decided to speak out for safety reasons.
