Nigerian rapper, Jeremiah Chukwuebuka Ani, popularly known as Jeriq, has debunked the narrative that artists of Igbo extraction in the music industry don’t support each other compared to their Yoruba counterparts.
Speaking in a recent episode of The Vybz TV Cartel podcast, Jeriq described the claim as a “fallacy,” stressing that those of his colleagues who have helped him the most are also Igbos.
“The narrative that Igbo people don’t help each other is a fallacy. Flavour for example, has helped a lot of artists, including several rising Igbo artists, who are now thriving in the music industry due to his co-sign.
“I am also a beneficiary of Flavour’s magnanimity. My biggest song ever in this life is ‘Oluoma.’ Who gave me the verse? Flavour. Numbers don’t lie. It’s my biggest song ever. Flavour did not collect a dime from me.
“I collaborate with other artists and they send me contract and slpit-sheeet. But Phyno and Flavour have never collected a dime from me. I have done three songs with Phyno and one hit with Flavour. They collaborated with me free of charge,” he explained.
Jeriq said he believes that artists who perform predominantly in Igbo would one day sell out arenas in the Western world like Asake is doing with Yoruba.
“The way Asake is doing everything with Yoruba language, I believe that somebody will sell out a stadium either in U.S or Paris with Igbo language,” he added.