Nigerian rap star Mr Incredible, or MI, has linked fraudsters known as Yahoo Boys to music financing.
As an artiste, MI has never been known to shy away from problematic discourse.
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So, it came as no surprise that the record label executive, who was a guest on the ‘So Nigerian’ podcast, posited that the proceeds of fraud mostly fund the Nigerian music industry.
This position is not new. In 2017, the rap icon gave a shoutout to Yahoo Boys on the Loose Talk podcast, praying for God to prosper their business.
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“There’s no bank in the history of Nigeria that has given one Naira to any label. There’s one corporate entity that has given any label. It’s young guys. You’re more likely to get money from a Yahoo boy—Shout-out to Yahoo boys. May God prosper your business,” he said.
Three years ago, music journalist and podcaster Joey Akan stirred controversy when he posited that the Afrobeats Hall of Fame owes a chunk of its success to the support of fraudsters.
“Afrobeats Hall of Fame will never be complete without honorary mentions to Yahoo boys who funded and kept an industry with no institutional or corporate funding alive. It’s a reality we hate to admit, but huge parts of Nigerian music history and success were built on cybercrime,” he wrote on X, which was then known as Twitter.
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Indictment
Speaking on the ‘So Nigerian’ podcast, which discussed financial sustainability for creatives in the music industry, MI said that funding for creatives generates controversy because many artistes depend on fraudulent money for funding.
“I’m trying to say that it’s an indictment on our country that we have such talented musicians and that the significant funding for the industry comes from the West and this other industry.
“It’s an indictment. It shows something is wrong, so hopefully we can do better,” he said.
Providing context to his statement, the former Chocolate City boss said that fraudsters are not obliged to give the proceeds of their activities to an artiste.
According to him, that’s one of the significant ways that artistes can get investment into the industry.
“Let’s say I’m a Yahoo boy. I’m not, but let’s say I was, and I just made a hundred million. I’m now a criminal who made a hundred million. I still don’t have to give it to an artist. I can blow it how I want to blow it. I can put it in real estate.
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“What I’m trying to say is that the fact that it goes to artists, that’s one of the major ways that artists can make money to get investment into the industry. There’s no place else. It has to be other young people who just so happen to have money,” he said.
He further noted that society will criticise the method of how they got the money, but what is relevant is that there are young people who have money, who are just trying to help, because they are seeing their talented friend.
The rap star, who once changed his name to The Guy, stated that bad is bad and evil is evil.
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