Nigerian hip-hop artist and producer, Tochukwu Ojogwu, popularly known as Odumodublvck has expressed his disappointment over the lack of respect for hip-hop music in Nigeria.
According to the skilled musician, the genre has not received the acclaim and appreciation it deserves in the country.
Despite the fact that the Nigerian music business is one of the fastest growing in the world, with Afrobeats being the most popular genre, OdumoduBlvck believes that hip-hop is not getting the credit it deserves.
In a recent CTRL Room interview, the singer recalled how, as a new artist, organisers refused to give him a seat at award ceremonies.
He also discussed how he turned down his team’s advice to collaborate with afrobeats singer Davido in order to get renowned.
He claimed that instead, he was drawn to UK grime artists whose style mirrored his own.
He said: “In 2019, someone [in my team] said we should go to Lagos and meet Davido. But I was like, ‘What will Davido do for me? Even if Davido takes me to America and puts me on stage and I’m rapping my stuff, his fans won’t understand because they are afrobeats fans.’
“I was like, I don’t need Davido for anything now. Let me follow people that align with my vision. And that was how we just came together and we’re here now. Number one in the country against all odds. Tell them, they’ve to respect that thing. Because we went for an award show and we didn’t even have seats. They don’t respect hip-hop in Nigeria. They don’t respect us.”
The rapper, however, admitted that he conceded to Wizkid’s controversial statement that “hip-hop is dead”, stressing “I was tremendously happy about Wizkid’s statement… Hip-Hop was dead.”
