A lawyer for Ground Up Chale, Kwesi Arthur’s former management company, has rejected claims by the artiste that he earned nothing from his works during his time with the label.
Jonathan K. Amable, counsel for Ground Up Chale, described the claims as false during a Joy FM X Spaces conversation hosted by Kwame Dadzie on Thursday, 22 January 2026.
Backing his position, the lawyer 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. According to him, 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.
“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.
“I’ve tried to not say anything for a long time though this has affected my wellbeing and mental health greatly but for the safety of myself and my family I choose to publicly share.”
Kwesi Arthur is yet to respond to the claims made by Ground Up Chale through its counsel.
