Johannesburg - There are about half a dozen people squeezed into a small hotel room on the fifth floor of The Maslow Hotel. It’s two days before the MTV Africa Music Awards (Mamas), and Patoranking, a lanky, 26-year-old reggae-dancehall artist from Nigeria, is in party mode.
Displaying the type of showmanship becoming of his newly-found rock star status, Patoranking leads the frantic chatter, gesturing theatrically and taking swigs of red wine as he does.
On the couch, a few of his friends listen intently, laughing on cue. From what I gather, they’re speaking Nigerian pidgin, so I can barely make out what’s being said.
But Patoranking’s very clear when he says: “I just did an interview with CNN. And I asked if I can say ‘F**k Donald Trump’.” We all laugh.
Patoranking is one of African music’s brightest stars. The last two years have seen him collaborate with some of the continent’s biggest acts and receive nominations for a slew of major awards, including the Afrimmas, the Mamas and the Nigerian Entertainment Awards.
After a few glasses of wine, we escape the noisy room for the hotel lobby to do our interview. I ask him about his incredible journey thus far. “It’s not been easy. Where I come from, we hardly make it. But I’m a testimony to greatness, of fate.”
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The Sunday Independent