The road to the 2025 Telecel Ghana Music Awards (TGMA) Artiste of the Year crown has turned into a battleground as DJ Slim and rapper King Paluta lock horns over who truly deserves the coveted title. Here’s a breakdown of the heated back-and-forth:
1. DJ Slim draws the first sword
On May 8, DJ Slim stirred the pot on X (formerly Twitter) by declaring that only Stonebwoy or King Promise deserve the Artiste of the Year honour. He criticized artistes like King Paluta for not actively engaging with the award scheme, writing:
“I will be disappointed in Ghana Music Awards if they give the artist of the year award to anybody apart from Stonebwoy Or King Promise. You can’t show less interest in the scheme and expect to be awarded. This nonsense must stop.”
2. King Paluta fires back
Paluta didn’t let the comment slide. He clapped back hard, rejecting Slim’s notion that awards should go to those who push PR over performance.
“Fada! This be loose talk!! So they should award based on PR and not metrics? If someone doesn’t campaign and he deserves it, they shouldn’t give it to him?? Dem for delete you all from the industry.”
3. Slim doubles down
Not one to walk away, DJ Slim returned with more heat, accusing Paluta of being too laid-back and urging him to match the energy of top-tier artistes like Stonebwoy and King Promise.
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“I go delete your dreadlocks… You are coming against these big acts and u want to relax? Asuo sit up, your days underground is over, this is the big stage. Go hard or go home.”
4. Clash of ideologies
At the heart of the beef lies a fundamental disagreement—DJ Slim values visibility and media presence, while King Paluta insists on merit-based recognition, irrespective of campaigning.
5. The bigger picture
As the TGMA draws closer, King Paluta finds himself in intense competition alongside Stonebwoy, King Promise, Kweku Smoke, Joe Mettle, Black Sherif and Team Eternity. While the debates rage on, the final decision lies in the hands of the academy, board, and fans.
 Artiste of the Year crown has turned war as DJ Slim and rapper King Paluta){kind=link}