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Patoranking Fumes At Burna Boy for claiming that Afrobeat has no substance.
Nigerian reggae-dancehall artist Patrick Nnaemeka Okorie, better known by his stage name Patoranking, has expressed frustration towards Grammy award-winning artist Burna Boy for claiming Afrobeat has no substance.
Patoranking has taken issue with Burna Boy’s recent statement labelling Afrobeat as a genre devoid of substance. In a recent interview, Patoranking strongly disagrees with Burna Boy’s characterization of Afrobeat, asserting that it is fundamentally incorrect to dismiss the genre in such a manner.
He said:
Even though being an ambassador of the culture, I don’t think it is something that should have been said by him (Burna Boy). It’s a culture that we have to preserve. Our biggest problem is going to be the “I did it” route. Stating; “I… I… I…” that may be the downfall of the genre because there’s strength in numbers. If you say “We…”, that’s good. The minute it is “I… I… I”, then there’s a problem. I find that (statement) is completely untrue but like I said before, he’s entitled to his own opinion. It depends on what you view as substance”
“…If you bring it to music, everyone has a role to play, you just have to understand that this is a building phase. It’s going to be bigger than this but, the only way is if we all play our roles. That’s the best way I can explain things so that everyone can understand.”