By Benjamin Njoku

Says: ‘Performing on the World Cup stage was a dream come true’

By BENJAMIN NJOKU

For popular reggae dance-hall singer Patoranking nothing surprises him, but recently he was taken aback when his management arranged his sudden reunion with his mum in Qatar after five years of separation.

Recall that Patoranking was among the top music stars that performed at  the world Cup in Qatar. He was welcomed to the Arabian country by a group of dancers including his mother who resides in Canada.

The ‘Kolo Kolo’ singer claimed that he had not seen his mother for five years . He made this revelation to our reporter shortly after his   performance at the Vanguard Personality of the Year Awards, which  held last Friday in Lagos.

Reliving that memorable experience, ‘the Celebrate Me’ singer said people hardly surprise him but his management beat him to it.

“My management planned the chance meeting. People don’t surprise me easily, but they beat me to it. My mum lives in Canada, but my management planned it so that she flew into Qatar to reunite with me. And I was very happy meeting her again,” the singer recounted.

He, however, described performing at the World Cup as a dream come true, adding “it was a blessing of God.”

“You know that Nigeria didn’t qualify for the World Cup, but we had to represent the country. Performing on the big stage like the world cup you can’t afford to disappoint. And Nigerians never disappointed the world. For me, it was a dream come true. I have performed on many big stages but the world cup stage was one in a million,”Patoranking added.

On why he embraced reggae dance-hall style of music, the Ebony State-born singer said he came from the ghetto, noting that anybody from there would always embrace galala music which described as ‘a stepchild of reggae dance-hall.’

“I am from the ghetto, and anybody from there will like to do galala music. Galala music is a step child of reggae dance-hall. So, they belong to one family. So, I am not surprised to be doing dance-hall and reggae music at the same time. I don’t want to be boxed to a corner. I want to make music. Today, I can wake up and start doing rap or dance-hall music. I don’t want to be known by a particular genre.”

Patoranking, however, wowed the quality guests that thronged the Convention Centre of Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos, venue of this year’s edition of the annual Vanguard Personality of the Year awards, with the performance of some of his show stopping songs. He opened that floor, performing “Girlie O’ followed by his 2020 smash hit song,”Abule. But he got everyone dancing and singing along when he performed his 2021 song ‘Celebrate Me’ and ‘My Woman, My Everything.’

During his performance, the singer said he was happy to perform on the Vanguard stage again after his first appearance a few years ago.

“I like the theme for this year’s award which is celebrating achievers. I am happy to be here  again to spread the gospel through music,” he added.

Patoranking came to the limelight in 2010, after collaborating with Timaya on his debut single ‘Alubarika.’ In 2014, he signed a record deal with Foston Musik and released ‘Girlie O’ , a single that gave him more recognition. And since then, he has not looked back in his quest to be on top of his game.