Willy Paul defended fellow artist Otile Brown’s comments that Kenyan musicians lack international recognition, stating that he refuses to bear the burdens of others during a press conference.
“Mtu asiniletee shida zake. I am too international. Please don’t project your problems to me. If the doors have closed for him to go international, he should not blame all of us,” he said.
Further adding to his stance, Pozze declared, “Nobody should blame others. Kenyans have a lot of potential. We will conquer the world.”
This comes in response to Otile Brown’s recent challenge to East African artists, urging them to intensify their efforts to compete on the global stage.
In a candid interview with Oga Obinna on YouTube, Otile Brown asserted that there currently isn’t a single East African artist recognized as international.
“This International title, we are going to have to fight for it because right now the industry is stuck. Let nobody lie to you; in East Africa, there is no international artiste. We are all on the ceiling; there is no international artiste,” he insisted.
Otile Brown went further, pointing out the exceptional success of Nigerian singer Ruger and highlighting the absence of an equivalent figure in East Africa.
“Let’s keep it real. If y’all want to keep it real, we have so much work to do. So, let’s not lie that we need to package ourselves and all that noise. Some children just broke into the limelight the other day, they are not my age mates, people like Ruger and the likes. A child that just came the other day, yet no artist in East Africa can compete with Ruger on the international level,” he stated.
Several Kenyan artists are set to perform at BoomFest 2024 including Nameless, Ssaru, Fathermoh, Buruklyn Boyz, V-Be, Arrow Bwoy, Nadia Mukami, Willy Paul, Boutross and DJ Lyta.
