Paul Okoye Warns Young Artists About Smoking in Music Videos
Nigerian singer Paul Okoye, also known as RudeBoy from the group P-Square, has expressed concern over the trend of up-and-coming artists smoking in their music videos and visualizers.
In a message posted on his Instagram story, Okoye questioned why new acts feel the need to include smoking in their visuals.
"Dear new acts, abeg who tell una say whenever una de shoot visualizer video, say una must de smoke igbo for camera," he wrote in Pidgin English, which translates to: "Dear new acts, please who told you that whenever you are shooting a visualizer video, you must be smoking weed on camera."
He specifically criticized the look of these artists, stating they often appear unhealthy. Okoye also pointed out the financial contradiction of spending heavily on expensive habits like smoking while struggling to afford basic necessities like food.
"You’re looking sick. You de smoke around 50k de battle indomie of 1k without egg," he wrote, highlighting the disparity of spending about ₦50,000 on smoking while being unable to afford a ₦1,000 meal with an egg.
Okoye concluded his message with a hint at the pressures faced by new artists, simply writing, "Under pressure…"