- Nigerian hip hop artist, Ladipoe, responds to Wizkid’s shade on Twitter.
- Ladipoe playfully mocked Wizkid’s “hip hop is dead” statement on Twitter, prompting a dismissive response from the superstar singer.
- Wizkid dismissed Ladipoe and Don Jazzy in a single tweet, stating he would not engage with artists signed to an influencer’s label.
- In a Cool FM interview, Ladipoe clarified that his tweet was intended as a joke. He emphasized that his tweet wasn’t meant seriously and was aimed at challenging industry narratives.
Nigerian hip hop star, Ladipo Eso, popularly known as Ladipoe, has finally addressed the recent shade thrown at him and his boss, Don Jazzy, by superstar singer Wizkid.
The controversy arose after Ladipoe took to Twitter to playfully mock Wizkid over his previous statement declaring “hip hop is dead.”
In a tweet that sparked the exchange, Ladipoe revisited Wizkid’s controversial assertion and humorously commented on the current state of Afrobeats, suggesting that Nigerian rappers had also faced similar challenges in the past.
However, the jest seemed to stir a response from Wizkid, who dismissed both Ladipoe and Don Jazzy in a single tweet.
Wizkid’s reaction prompted a fan to draw attention to the shade directed at Ladipoe and Don Jazzy.
However, the Starboy boss responded dismissively, stating that he would never engage with anyone signed to a music label run by an influencer, referring to Don Jazzy’s influence in the industry.
“Lol never chatting to anyone signed to an influencer. Next,” Wizkid wrote.
In a recent interview with Cool FM, Lagos, Ladipoe shed light on the situation, expressing his amusement at the chaos that ensued following his tweet.
He clarified that his remark was intended as a joke, drawing parallels between the challenges faced by hip hop artists in the past and the current discussions surrounding Afrobeats.
Ladipoe emphasized that his tweet was not meant to be taken seriously and was simply a commentary on the evolving nature of music genres and the fickle nature of industry narratives.
In his words;
“The whole thing was a joke. Hip-hop artists have been through this time when there was a faux narrative that hip-hop is dead. And now, you are getting the same whispers about Afrobeats. Once again, I think that they are just as ridiculous and false as at the time they were saying hip-hop is dead.
“So my tweet was like, ‘Okay, you guys [Afrobeats singers], we [rappers] went through our own [hard times]. Don’t worry, this too shall pass.’
“I was more like a joke like we went through ours, now you are going through yours. That was the joke. If there’s anybody it was aimed at, it is more aimed at the audience or anybody who believes these narratives. Who are you to say any genre is dead?
“That was the whole intention behind the joke. Any other interpretation of it is something I didn’t anticipate. I know what I was thinking when I tweeted it. I tweeted it. Went to bed. Woke up to chaos. To be honest, the first thing I felt when I saw all the reactions, I was amused.”