On December 21, 2021, Nigerian artist, Portable took to his TikTok account to express displeasure towards celebrated dancer, Poco Lee's involvement with his hit record, 'Zazoo Zeh.'
There are different sides to Kogbagidi's reaction to Portable's accusation of Poco Lee [Pulse Editor’s Opinion]
While this has created a storm of hot takes on Twitter, two compelling scenarios come to mind.
There is something fishy about Kogbagidi’s reaction to Portable’s mishap. (36NG)
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A few hours later, Nigerian show promoter and manager, Kogbagidi, who manages the artist’s affairs, took to his Instagram page to post a video of himself, sending the singer out of his house and seemingly cutting ties with the artist. He also posted a caption on his Instagram stories.
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While this has created a storm of hot takes on Twitter, two compelling scenarios come to mind;
- Kogbagidi has overreacted.
- It’s all a publicity stunt, to boost everybody’s profile and create anticipation for the upcoming TG Omori-directed music video.
Scenario one
The only reason Kogbagidi would validly react in this manner is;
- Portable has a history of unwarranted public outbursts.
- Portable and Kogbagidi don’t have a valid contract, as is the case with any street deal.
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If both guesses are true, then Kogbagidi is simply getting rid of a headache in the short-term and long-term. This is an artist who seems out of control and prone to social media outbursts, which could ruin relationships and opportunities.
However, this is the worst time to cut any artist off, except Kogbagidi has not put in the work to ‘blow’ this artist for a long time. Because if he has, he wouldn’t cut ties when he looks set to finally reap the fruits of his labour. On the day of release, I was having a conversation with David Ponte, the Co-Founder of Audiomack, and we followed the growth of the song.
It garnered 2,000 plays every 30 seconds on Audiomack. Lowkey, artists like Portable aren’t built to last, but you never really know. Moreover, with the right team, he could still do a solid 18-24-month run.
As regards the argument around a valid contract, it's very possible that Kogbagidi values relationships over a potential star artist. So instead of keeping a potential star artist that could ruin his relationships, he'd rather cut ties.
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However, that's a long shot and it's very unlikely that any businessman, especially one who has the level of influence on his artist - as show in that viral video of him cutting Portable off - would cut ties, just when it looks like the artist is about to explode.
Scenario two
If you check Kogbagidi’s stories, you would see cuts from the video shoot for ‘Zazoo Zeh,’ which is currently the hottest song on Nigerian streets and in Nigerian clubs. We live in a social era where, whoever controls the narrative controls the win. People also love viral conversations and controversy.
Due to fear of missing out (F.O.M.O), they follow every bit of a trending story by following the key players in it and get invested in the gist. Since this drama started, Portable’s TikTok followers have soared to 218,000. TikTok was where he posted his original set of rants.
His Instagram followers have also gained a reported 10,000 to 388,000. Kogbagidi’s Instagram has then soared to 980,000 followers.
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Before now, his highest number of comments on any Instagram post was 984, for the video posted above this paragraph. The video that caused this drama stood at 21,000 comments as at 3:54 pm, on December 21, 2021.
More than ever before, Portable has more virality and identity than he’s ever had. Controversy has a way of stimulating identity in the minds of people. Once people can recognize your face, you’ve had a major win. If this was a PR stunt - which it likely is, then it was well executed.
The anticipation for that ‘Zazoo Zeh’ video has never been higher. Anybody that hadn’t played the song before now is also likely to play it. If it’s not a PR stunt, why did the following happen;
- Kogbagidi is respected within the Nigerian music industry. So it’s important that he maintains certain relationships and shows receipts for breaking bad eggs. However, the world doesn’t need to know that you cut ties with an erring artist. He didn’t just post on his stories, he got someone to record a video of him, sending Portable out of the house, and then posted it on his social media. If the Nigerian music industry wasn’t filled with execs, who are as hungry for the spotlight as artists, then these thoughts would seem excessive, but they are not.
- In his first rant, Portable found a way to sneak talk about his video into his chatter.
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Even if it’s all a coincidence, just a few weeks before Portable’s video release, everything is set to benefit everybody associated with this drama.
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