How Fantasy Dome CEO linked Shatta Wale to Beyonce’s team

Shatta Wale has recalled how the CEO of Fantasy Entertainment, Leslie Quaynor, played a pivotal role in his feature on Beyonce’s 'Black is King' project.

According to Shatta, he was in the studio one fateful day when he received a phone call from his godfather, Leslie, that connected him to a member of Beyonce’s team for the project.

“My dad is in America. Leslie of Fantasy Dome Entertainment. Anytime I go to America, he has been taking good care of me. Sometime I was in the studio around 2 am and he called me and said Nii, I have good news for you. Anytime he tells me he has good news; it means he is buying me something. But this time around, he told me it was the best news ever in my life and I was more interested to know what it was.

“Suddenly, he asked me to hold on and speak to someone from Beyonce’s team. I asked if he was tripping and he said no. I told him the only person I had dreamt of was Vybz Kartel because I love dancehall and I wanted to meet Vybz Kartel. But when I noticed he was serious about the Beyonce conversation, I was like herh! JayZ’s wife? And I screamed. (Screams out in the studio),” he told GTV’s Kafui Dey.

Speaking on his reaction, Shatta said he was in denial until he worked on his verse for Beyonce’s ‘Already’ song.

He said all doubts cleared when he finally met Beyonce face-to-face in New York for the video shoot.

“The whole thing looked like a play until they sent Beyonce’s verse for me to put mine on. They also gave me some lines to sing and asked for my input on the song. Still, I couldn’t believe it until I saw her. The way she received me when I saw her was epic. We shot the video in New York, Brooklyn, and around the Times Square.

"Beyonce looked like a normal African chic. She didn’t even slang my name, after talking to me, I went out again to scream. I also saw Blue Ivy. I told her I wanted to meet JayZ and she said anytime I am in America, she could create that for me,” he stated.

Shatta also emphasized how Beyonce complimented his vocals and the validation he got from that.

“When she saw me, she said she loved my vocals and that she didn’t want to be on that song with anybody. Then I remembered I had met some white people from South Africa who also spoke highly of my vocals. I have met people from America at meetings who have also praised my vocals but Beyonce's compliment did it for me,” he added.



Background

In 2020, Beyoncé released the music video for her song 'Already' which features Ghanaian dancehall musician Shatta Wale and Major Lazer.

The single, which forms part of The Lion King: The Gift album, is featured in Beyoncé's Black is King visual album.

The renowned singer also outdoored the deluxe edition of the album which includes the addition of ‘Black Parade’ and a remix ‘Find Your Way Back’ from Melo-x.

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