Don’t Put Me In A Box – Phyno

Apparently, popular Nigerian rapper, Chibuzor Azubuike, a.k.a Phyno, is not happy with the misrepresentation of his musical genre as he expressed displeasure over the fact that most Nigerians categorize his music as pertaining to only the Eastern part of Nigeria.

Phyno, who is known for recording most of his songs in his indigenous dialect, disclosed this in an interview with Cool FM OAP Do2dtun recently.

Addressing Dotun’s question on whether or not he liked the way Nigerians classify him as an Eastern entertainer instead of just “an entertainer”, Phyno had this to say: “Trust me, I think it’s a box. I should be proud of where I’m from, right? But then again, making it feel like my music is just meant for people in that region is a box already.”

Explaining if he had tried to change the notion, Phyno revealed that his focus was not on such minor issues even though he doesn’t feel good about it.

“Anything you put your energy in drains you. That shouldn’t be my problem, but then again, it’s a box generally, trust me. It’s not something I should be feeling good about. I’m a musician, I’m a rapper doing what I know how to do best, how I want to do it“, he said.

He urged Nigerians to embrace their native language as well as musicians who record their songs in their dialect.

“Nobody says Tekno or Patoranking, the boy from the East, but they’re from the East. (They) probably (box me) because I make music in Igbo…But then again, Wiz does music in Yoruba whether you like it or not. Davido does music in Yoruba whether you like it or not. So why box only Olamide?”

“It’s your native language. Speak it, be proud of it. Don’t box anybody for what they do. Do you really think I didn’t go to school or that I don’t have my certificate at the end of the day? This is how I know to do my music the best way I can.”

Here’s the full video of his interview: