Patoranking’s breakout single might have been his “Girlie O Remix” with Tiwa Savage, but he’s now just starting to make songs that have the potential of having a lasting impact.
The “Girlie O Remix” hit, of course, came way back in 2014, when everything was different. There was a lot of diversity in the industry — that was before the ‘Attack of the Clones.’
So, the year is 2014 and Patoranking‘s having his best year ever. He’s just made some hit songs, some high-profile collaborations and he’s the best new artist of the year.
The guy’s a dancehall/reggae singer with one of the rawest vibes from the South. But then, afro-fusion was beginning to take over. That signalled what became the inadvertent beginning of the end of dancehall music in Nigeria.
Unless you were switching up your vibe at that time, there was no way you were gonna stay on top of your game. Long story short, Patoranking kind of fell off. For a couple of years, all he was good for was guest appearances on other artists’ albums. He himself could never make hit songs.
Then the lockdown happened, and Patoranking came back. The guy who had previously dropped two average albums was gearing for his third project, an LP un-ironically named “Three.” The lead single, “Abule” was what brought back his long-lost relevance.
“Abule” was indeed a smash hit and was the only hit song on the album. With a song as big as that as the lead single, it’s actually very hard to have any other song from the album become big — the success of “Abule” dwarfed all others.
2020 passed, though. Lockdown’s gone and everybody is back to basics. But not Patoranking. The guy has no plans of falling off again. Well, not anytime soon, anyway.
His latest hit single, “Celebrate Me,” is not just an afro-pop bop with a catchy tune, the content makes it stand out from all the other hits we’ve had all year. Is this going to go down as one of his most relevant songs? Only time will tell.
Do You Think “Celebrate Me” Is Patoranking’s Best Song Ever?
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