Nigerian singer Mr Eazi confirms Kenyan artists worst nightmare: Kenyans love foreign music more
Nigerian singer Mr Eazi has been in Kenya a lot of times and apparently, it’s because Kenya, and East Africa in general, has a lot to offer. In currency form that is.
The singer confessed that East Africa, particularly Kenya, are among the highest paying concert spots for African artists. The singer openly confessed how easy it was to walk into Kenya and get paid KSh 10 million for a single show, contrary to how it is back in his home country Nigeria.
Easy money
Speaking in an interview with OKayAfrica, the singer shared that East Africa is very receptive.
”East Africa is arguably the most receptive spot for music. In East Africa, they listen to hip-hop, they listen to their local music, they also listen to music from the West of Africa, they listen to pop. So in recent times, asides from when I do festivals or branded shows in the UK or wherever,” Eazi said.
”Nobody is going to pay you $100,000 in Nigeria to do a show, or even $60,000 to come and jump on stage for a set. But you can easily get that money by walking into Kenya or walking into Gambia. So those places should be the ones I focus on. Also, when we dropped Keys to the City, which was not a single and we saw the views on YouTube, the bulk was from East Africa,” he added.
He went on to say that he would definitely perform in Kenya than his country Nigeria given the sweet deals Kenyans offer. The comments comes after Kenyan artists protests that DJs and presenters have given international artists priority over them.
”It is the only place that I can perform without a curated set. If I perform in Nigeria or UK it’s a curated set. But if I perform in East Africa, I can perform every song from Major Lazer to Lotto Boyz to Lady Leshurr, and all the songs on Accra to Lagos. All, I can perform all the songs before that project,” he said.
