Following our previous report, Nigerian rapper, Ruggedman, has finally opened up on the report that former Big Brother Nigeria housemate, Uriel, publicly turned down the invitation of rapper, who invited her to his video game contest, Rugged Premier League.
The incident triggered many Nigerians who felt Uriel was rude and condescending in her response..
However, Ruggedman doesn’t think she was rude.
In an exclusive chat with Sunday Scoop, he said;
“It’s nothing serious. It’s just people trying to blow things out of proportion. Uriel and I have been friends for over seven years and that’s why I could send her a message that way and we even joked about it.
If you go back to read our exchange on social media, you would see she wrote that she had an interview on that day and that’s why she couldn’t make it. She reacted that way because we are friends and not because she was trying to be rude.”
The rapper who last released an album in 2006 also spoke on when next he would be putting out a body of work.
He said;
“I should release an album because I have new songs with 2face, Small Doctor, Koker, Efe Warri Boy, among others. However, I can’t tell when exactly the album would be coming out.
The newest song I have is titled, Is Police Your Friend, and I used it to talk about police harassment issues which have become too rampant. The song features the voice of the police PRO and she said that it is wrong for a policeman to check a citizen’s phone without a warrant.
She also made clarification on other issues such as tinted windows’ permit, and others. I’ve also been going on a radio tour talking about these same issues. It’s all about entertaining and enlightening the people at the same time. I don’t have to be an ambassador of the police to take any step that would educate the people.
As an artiste who has a voice, you should go beyond just entertaining to making an impact on social issues. The good thing is that the campaign that I have been championing has been yielding fruits,”
Speaking on his relationship with PMAN, he said;
“Nigerian music is going places now but only a group of people and some companies are making money out of it.
Forget the fact that a handful of artistes are getting money from shows. If they could only stop and think that if they monetize their music and videos the right way, they would make much more money.
Right now, telcos sell music and keep 70 per cent of the money, while the artistes, who own the song, are left to share 30 per cent with the content provider.
That is what PMAN is trying to fight and that is why I joined the association.”
Explaining why it is taking him so long to get married, he said;
“I’ve not been that lucky when it comes to relationships. There was someone I was supposed to get married to, but her mum preferred somebody else who was richer than I was. I was just coming up in the industry then.
However, she regretted it later. I want a woman who would understand and support my job. I want a woman who would be confident enough to know that she’s my number one even if she sees me with 10 women in public.”