Nigerian star, Patoranking, has described the preceding years to his breakthrough as “very tough one”.

The dancehall singer told Guardian Life that before his hit single “Alubarika” he had collaborated with several artists from different zones in Lagos.

Patoranking said the many years he had spent as an underground artist was necessary to his artistic growth, adding that he had come through the “right channel”.

The singer said he had waited for up to ten years before his eventual breakthrough into the mainstream of the Nigerian music space. 

“To be honest, breaking into the industry was a very tough one. I conquered the underground scene before the mainstream. I remember having a collabo with artists in different local governments in Lagos State. So I came through the right channel, which was going through the underground. I got my big break in 2013. But before then, I had been recording features. I would say I waited for about 10 years before I made it.”

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8qHSJsYQINk

Patoranking also added that “Alubarika” was the song that best described him as an artist because he was able to sell himself to the world within the run time of the song.

“That will be Alubarika because I was able to tell people where I am headed and where I am coming from; within three minutes I was able to sell myself to the world. I was able to sell my dream to the world and tell people, “This is me, this is what you can expect.”