Patrick Nnaemeka Okorie (born 27 May, 1990), better known by his stage name Patoranking, is a Nigerian

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Ijegun-Egba Satellite Town, Patoranking hails from

Onicha Onicha is a Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Nigeria. It has an area of 476 km2 and has a population of 236,828 according to the 2006 census. The postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries ...

Ebonyi State Ebonyi State ( ig, Ȯra Ebonyi) is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north and northeast by Benue State, Enugu State to the west, Cross River State to the east and southeast, and Abia State to the southwe ...

. He started his music career doing underground collaborations, with artists such as XProject, Konga, Slam and

Reggie Rockstone Reggie Rockstone (Reginald Yaw Asante Ossei, "the Godfather of Hiplife") is a Ghanaian rapper. He was born in the United Kingdom but lived his early years in Kumasi and Accra. He has been living in Ghana continuously since he pioneered the Hip- ...

. He signed a record deal with K-Solo's Igberaga Records in 2010, releasing "Up in D Club" under the outfit. Patoranking became a protégé of Dem Mama Records after collaborating with

Timaya Inetimi Timaya Odon (born 15 August 1980), better known by his stage name Timaya, is a multiple award-winning Nigerian singer and songwriter. He hails from Odi, Bayelsa state, South-South Nigeria. He is fondly called the Egberi Papa 1 of Bayels ...

on his song "Alubarika". In February 2014, he signed a record deal with Foston Musik and released "Girlie O", a single that put him in the limelight. On 9 February 2015, Patoranking announced on Instagram that he signed a distribution deal with

VP Records VP Records is an independent Caribbean-owned record label in Queens, New York (state), New York. The label is known for releasing music by notable artists in reggae, dancehall and Soca music, soca. VP Records has offices in New York City, Miami ...

. on September 28 Patoranking released a song titled Abule which he released ahead of his album scheduled to be released later in 2020. He once said, in 2020 that he once got inspiration for song on a football pitch while playing football.

Life and music career

Patoranking was born and raised in Ijegun-Egba Satellite Town, but has family roots in

. He attended Citizen Comprehensive College in

Epe, Lagos Epe is a town and Local Government Areas of Nigeria, Local Government Area (LGA) in Lagos State, Nigeria located on the north side of the Lekki Lagoon and about 90 km from Ibadan. During the 2006 Census, the population of Epe was approximat ...

and later enrolled at Jibril Martin Memorial Grammar School in Iponri. Patoranking started his performing, arts career as a street jam and carnival dancer. In a 2012 interview with ''Entertainment Express'', he said his stage name was given to him by a Jamaican artist whom he met at Alpha Beach in Lagos. Patoranking has cited

Buju Banton Mark Anthony Myrie (born 15 July 1973),Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, professionally known by his stage name Buju Banton, is a Jamaican reggae dancehall musician. He is considered to be one of the most ...

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

, Fela Kuti,

Lucky Dube Lucky Philip Dube (pronounced ''duu-beh'';
luckydubemusic.com, Retrieved 19 October 2007 3 August 1964 – 18 October 20 ...

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Majek Fashek Majekodunmi Fasheke, popularly known as Majek Fashek (March 1963 – 1 June 2020) was a Nigerian singer-songwriter and guitarist. His 1988 album ''Prisoner of Conscience'' included the single "Send Down the Rain", which won six PMAN Music Award ...

, Blackky,

Blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...

Tuface Innocent Ujah Idibia MON (born 18 September 1975), known by his stage name 2Baba, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Noted for his vocal range, lyrical depth, and longevity, he is widely regard ...

and Marvelous Benjy as his key musical influences. In the aforementioned interview with ''Entertainment Express'', he described his music as a morally inclined variation of dancehall and said it references socio-political issues. In May 2012, Patoranking released a single titled "Iya Bisi", featuring Qdot and Kbaj. The Drumphase-produced song is a fusion of dancehall and

fuji Fuji may refer to: Places China * Fuji, Xiangcheng City (付集镇), town in Xiangcheng City, Henan Japan * Mount Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan * Fuji River * Fuji, Saga, town in Saga Prefecture * Fuji, Shizuoka, city in Shizuoka Prefec ...

. Patoranking told ''Entertainment Express'' that Qdot and Kbaj helped compose the song by sharing ideas with him. On 12 September 2013, Okorie released the audio and video for "Alubarika" simultaneously. The song literally translates to "God's Blessings" and features vocals from

. The music video for "Alubarika" was shot by AJE Films and ran for 4 minutes and 16 seconds. According to an article posted by Victor Akande of ''The Nation'', Patoranking described the song as a summary of his life as a musician and said it opened doors for him in terms of building a fan base and working with established musicians. In February 2014, Patoranking signed a record deal with Foston Musik and ended his affiliations with Dem Mama Records. During an interview with

Toolz Tolu Oniru, popularly known as Toolz, is a Nigerian radio personality, talk show host, and presenter. She is best known for hosting ''The Midday Show'' on The Beat 99.9 FM. Early life Toolz was born in London on 6 July 1983. She had her primary ...

on NdaniTV's ''The Juice'',

said Patoranking left his label and was never officially signed. On 4 February 2014, Patoranking released "Girlie O", a song produced by

WizzyPro Nifu Haruna, also known by his stage name WizzyPro is a Nigerian record producer and sound engineer. Best known for his single titled "Emergency", WizzyPro is credited as the producer of Patoranking Patrick Nnaemeka Okorie (born 27 May, 1990 ...

. The music video for the song was shot and directed in London by Moe Musa; it was released on 5 February 2014. In the

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

, Patoranking liberates his next-door neighbor from domestic violence by expressing his innate feelings to her. Foston Musik released the

Tiwa Savage Tiwa Savage (born 5 February 1980) is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and performing artist. Born in Isale Eko, she relocated to London at the age of 11 for her secondary education. Five years later, she began her music career doing backup voc ...

-assisted "Girlie O" (Remix) on 19 May 2014 to critical acclaim. It debuted at No. 9 on

MTV Base MTV Base was a British pay television music channel from Paramount Networks UK & Australia that focused primarily on hip hop, R&B, grime, garage, reggae, funk, soul and dance music. It was launched as part of MTV's digital boutique of music ch ...

's Official Naija Top 10 chart. Tiwa Savage told Ehiz of MTV Base she admires Patoranking's music and decided to reach out to him to do the remix. The music video for "Girlie O" (Remix) was also shot and directed in London by Moe Musa. Joey Akan of Pulse Nigeria said, "On the new remix, the basic winning elements were not discarded. They were retained and improved. The beat, chorus, and dynamism were held onto, and major work put into the lyrics." Patoranking was featured on

Seyi Shay Deborah Oluwaseyi Joshua (born Oluwaseyi Joshua; 21 December 1985), professionally known as Seyi Shay (pronounced Shay-yee Shay), is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and actress. She wrote and produced three songs for the soundtrack to Konami's vi ...

's "Murda" single alongside

Shaydee Shadrach Adeboye Folarin (born September 21, 1987), professionally referred to as Shaydee, is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and vocalist. In 2015, Shaydee was listed on notJustOk's list of "15 Artists to Watch in 2015". He is best known for his hi ...

. The song was produced by Dokta Frabz and released on 1 April 2014. On 11 May 2014, the music video for "Murda" was uploaded onto Vevo. It was directed by Meji Alabi for JM Films.
Patoranking's "Daniella Whine" and "My Woman, My Everything" singles charted on MTV Base Official Naija Top 10 chart. The former debuted at No. 4 in May and topped the chart at No. 1 in June, while the latter "My Woman, My Everything" also appeared on the chart, peaking at No. 2.

Discography

Albums

Selected singles

2021 "Celebrate Me" ;Guest appearances 2019 he did a song with Ugandan Luga flow rapper Fik Fameica that was well received in East Africa, He has collaborated with East African music heavy weights including Only You ft Jose Chameleon, Nyashinski and Diamond Platnumz

Awards and nominations

References