Date of Birth:

1988-03-05

Place of Birth:

Ashaiman, Ghana

Livingstone Etse Satekla, better known by his stage name Stonebwoy, is a Ghanaian Afropop, dance hall, and reggae singer. He is the CEO of Burniton Music Group.

He won the Best International Act: Africa category at the 2015 BET Awards and Artist of the Year at the 2015 Ghana Music Awards. He is also a recipient of two Billboard plaques. He has been described as the king of reggae and dance hall artists in Africa.

Stonebwoy is also an actor, having appeared in the movies Happy Death Day and My Name is Ramadan. He is a global ambassador for sanitation. In September 2019, he was made the brand ambassador for Voltic Natural Mineral Water, in a deal that could be renewed after two years.

Stonebwoy was born in Ashaiman in the Greater Accra region of Ghana and began making music in his early school days. He realized his talents and abilities as a lyricist and scriptwriter at an early age, remembering writing and acting drama pieces as far back as his fourth year in primary school.

He also studied at Methodist Day Secondary School the same year with rapper Sarkodie where he gained his High School Leaving Certificate. He continued his tertiary education at the University of Professional Studies to earn a degree in Marketing in 2013.

Stonebwoy is Married to Dr. Louisa Ansong, with two children.

Under “Samini Music”, Stonebwoy recorded his first hit single “Climax” featuring Samini, and subsequently “Ghetto Love” featuring Irene Logan. Both songs earned him nominations at the Ghana Music Awards. After this exposure, he released his debut album “Grade 1 Album”.

The album contains seventeen tracks that feature prominent Ghanaian artists including Tinny and Edem aside from those mentioned above. The release of the debut album made the Stonebwoy brand a household name in the music industry.

In 2014, Satekla released his second album, called The Necessary Evil. It consists of twenty-nine tracks, including the famous Baafira track that featured Sarkodie. The album was the recipient of three Ghana Music Awards from six nominations.

Released on 12 December 2017; the Epistles of Mama was dedicated to Satekla’s late mother by the name of Mrs. Catherine Lucy Aku Ametepe Satekla. The 24-track album features Sean Paul, King Promise, and Burna Boy. The album peaked at Number thirteen (13) on Billboard chart top 200 albums worldwide.

In 2018 ‘Epistles Of Mama (EOM)’ was rated the second-best album in the world according to Reggaeville. The Album was honored by YouTube for hitting over 10 million views.

On 24 April 2020, Stonebwoy released his fourth studio album which featured the likes of Keri Hilson (US), Nasty C (SA), Diamond Platinumz (Tanzania), Alicia Harley (Jamaica), Jahmiel (Jamaica), Zlatan (Nigeria), Kojo Antwi (Ghana), Chivv (Netherlands) and Spanker (Netherlands).

He also worked with producers like Mix Master Garzy, Streetbeatz, M.O.G. Beatz, Spanker, Riga, Phantom, iPappi, and others.[20] Let your voice be a voice of Change; a voice of Africa for Africa; Stonebwoy shares his African movement with The Voice of Africa.

Stonebwoy normally ragga in Jamaican Patois (Patwa or Patwah), and is considered a “multifaceted rapper” due to the various musical styles he possesses. In 2015, he received many awards and nominations ranging from “Artist of the Year” to “Album of the Year”. His sophomore album, Necessary Evil, was the recipient of 3 Ghana Music Awards from 6 nominations.

Nana Appiah Mensah, CEO of gold dealership company Menzgold, sent out words of encouragement to Stonebwoy on Instagram for Stonebwoy being supportive. On 18 April 2019, Nana Appiah Mensah posted a photo of the Dance hall act Stonebwoy saying he is proud of the Bhim Nation president for defending him and that God bless him.

He has been listed as part of the 2019 50 (fifty) young CEOs, by YCEO and Avance media. The list which was launched earlier in 2018, was set out to honor distinguished young individuals pursuing the course of providing solutions to some of Ghana’s pertinent problems.

Stonebwoy established the ‘Livingstone Foundation’. In January 2017 the foundation announced a sponsorship package for five students of the Tema Methodist Day Senior High School, his alma mater.

Stonebwoy has also opened the official BHIM merch shop in Ashaiman. Proceeds from the shop are used to fund activities of the Livingstone Foundation.

Stonebwoy has recently been named the Brand Ambassador for ‘Big Boss’ a new energy drink. In September 2020, Stonebwoy was named Tecno Mobile brand ambassador and unveiled the Camon 16 Series in October 2020.

Stonebwoy kicked off his world tour in the Eurozone in August 2014. He performed in Germany, Italy, Spain, and Austria. His 2016 Canada-America tour saw him perform in New York City, Ohio, Philadelphia, and Ontario. In the same year, he rocked Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sidney all in Australia.

His second Euro tour saw him travel to the Nordic to thrill fans in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden in the last quarter of 2017. Stonebwoy performed at Reggae Sumfest, the Afro nation festival in Portugal, the Rotterdam Reggae Festival, and the Uppsala Reggae Festival. Rototom Sunsplash.

On the eve of 18 May 2019, during the 20th edition of Vodafone Ghana Music Awards, a brawl erupted between the followers of Stonebwoy and his music rival Shatta Wale and his fans, which led to Stonebwoy pulling a gun on stage.

They were both arrested and detained the following day. They both appeared in court where they pleaded not guilty to both their respective charges after which they were granted bail of GH¢50,000 each. They were stripped of the awards they picked up that night and were indefinitely banned from the program by Charterhouse, the organizers. They made peace by the 30th day of the very same month.

Discography and Studio Albums

2012: Grade 1

2014: Necessary Evil

2017: Epistles of Mama

2020: Anloga Junction