By Rotimi Agbana

When afro-pop music singer, Esegine Allen, popularly known as Orezi, unveiled an artwork meant to promote his latest song, ‘Born Broke Die Rich’, critics attacked him for being unpatriotic because he allegedly burnt a N1,000 note in the artwork.

However, in a chat with Showtime, the singer who has since remained radio silent on the matter finally set the records straight.

“It was an artistic move, a Photoshop. I didn’t even have any cash with me during the photo shoot. But you know people must talk, whether you do right or wrong. Banji, my manager, won’t even allow that”, he said.

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He also corrected the impression that the song encourages cyber fraud, ritual killings or any illegal means of livelihood.

“No, it’s not a song to encourage cyber fraud, I don’t make such music. The message behind ‘Born Broke Die Rich’ is to work hard and smart; telling the youths that the fact you come from a poor background should not hold you back from chasing your dreams. You work hard so your kids don’t have to go through what you went through.”

Orezi who still basks in the euphoria of his big win at the 2017 edition of AFRIMA, recounted his experience at the prestigious awards.

“Winning the video of the year award category at the 2017 AFRIMA with the video of ‘Cooking Pot’ was a big one for me. I didn’t see it coming considering the fact that there were other heavyweights like Wizkid nominated in that same category”, he noted with nostalgia.

He added that his desire to discourage rape, encourage protected sex, and talk about other meaningful issues inspired the award-winning song.

“Inspiration behind the song ‘Cooking Pot’ was basically the need to create something meaningful and different; a song that talks about issues like rape, consensual sex and the need for people to use protection (condoms) if they must have sex”, he said.