Patoranking born Patrick Nnaemeka Okorie is a Nigerian reggae-dancehall singer and songwriter who rose to fame in 2013.
Early Life/Education
Patoranking was born on May 27 1990, to Mr. and Mrs. Okorie, he grew up in Ijegun-Egba Satellite Town and later relocated to Ebute Metta.
He attended Citizen Comprehensive College Epe, and later enrolled at Jibril Martin Memorial Grammar School in Iponri.
Music Career
Patoranking started his performing arts career as a street jam and carnival dancer. In a 2012 interview with Entertainment Express, he said that his stage name was given to him by a Jamaican artist whom he met at Alpha Beach in Lagos. Patoranking has cited Buju Banton, Bob Marley, Fela Kuti, Lucky Dube, Chaka Demus, Majek Fashek, Blackky, Blackface, Tuface and Marvelous Benjy as his key musical influences. In the aforementioned interview with Entertainment Express, he said he references socio-political issues in his music. He has described his music as a morally inclined variation of dancehall.
In May 2012, Patoranking released a single titled “Iya Bisi” featuring Qdot and Kbaj. The song, which is a fusion of dancehall and Fuji, was produced by Drumphase. Patoranking told Entertainment Express that Qdot and Kbaj helped compose the song by sharing ideas with him.
On 12 September 2013, Patoranking released the video and audio for “Alubarika” simultaneously. The song literally translates to “God’s Blessings” and features vocals from Timaya. The music video for “Alubarika”, which was shot by AJE Films, ran for 4 minutes and 16 seconds. According to an article posted by Victor Akande of The Nation, Patoranking described the song as a summary of his life as a musician. He also said that the song opened doors for him in terms of building a fan base and working with established musicians.
In February 2014, Patoranking signed a record deal with Foston Musik and ended his affiliations with Dem Mama Records. During an interview with Toolz on NdaniTv’s The Juice, Timaya said that Patoranking left his label and was never officially signed.
2015 marked a successful year for Patoranking as two of his singles; “Daniella Whine” and “My Woman, My Everything” were chart toppers on the MTV base Official Naija Top 10 Chart. “Daniella Whine” debuted at No. 4 in May and went on top the chart at No. 1 in June. “My Woman, My Everything” also made the chart when it was released, peaking at No. 2.This year, he also signed a distribution deal with the world’s biggest indie Reggae music label. VP Records.
In January 2016, Patoranking was announced as one of the judges for the maiden edition of the singing competition The Voice Nigeria. Patoranking released his debut studio album, God Over Everything, on 1 August 2016. The album features guest appearances from Phyno, Wizkid, Sarkodie, Olamide, Elephant Man, and Wasiu Ayinde Marshall. It debuted at No. 4 on Billboard’s Reggae Albums chart.
In 2018, Patoranking floated his record label, Amari Musiq, with two new artistes Grey C, a Nigerian singer, and Walid, a Tanzanian artiste signed under him.
Announcing the record label, he shared on social media thus; “Really happy to finally announce Amari Musiq. Helping others has always been my number one goal and I couldn’t be more happier to extend the support I’ve had to @officialgreyc and @walidiy. Love to everyone who has supported the journey so far! Get out of your comfort zone today and make that thing happen. Here’s to more music and new talent ?@amarimusiq #ExtendedGreatness #amarimusiq.”
Under his new imprint, the dancehall singer released a couple of songs including ‘Confirm’ featuring Davido. In 2019, the singer dropped his sophomore album, Wilmer, named after his new daughter.
Breakout Songs
Alubarika (2013)
Girlie O (2014)
Girlie O Remix (2014)
Daniella Whine (2015)
My Woman (2015)
Make Am (2015)
No Kissing Baby (2016)
Love You Die (2017)
Available (2017)
Suh Different (2018)
Heal D world (2018)
Confirm (2019)
Lenge Lenge (2019)
Albums
God over Everything (G.O.E) [2016]
Wilmer (2019)
Awards
2014 Nigeria Entertainment Awards – Best New Act of the Year
2014 City People Entertainment Awards – Dancehall/Reggae Act of the Year
2014 The Headies – Best Reggae/Dancehall Single for “Girlie O Remix”
2014 Ben TV Awards – Best Reggae/Dancehall, Best Collaboration and Best New Act
2015 Mtvbase Awards – Best New Act
2016 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards – African Artiste Of The Year
2016 AFRIMA – Best Dancehall Artist for “No Kissing Baby”
2017 Nigeria Entertainment Award – Dancehall Artist of the Year
2017 South African Music Award – Best African Artist
2017 City People Music Award – Reggae/Dancehall Artist of the Year
2018 SoundCity MVP Awards Festival – Video of the year for Heal The World
Scandals
Sometimes in 2014, pictures of Tiwa Savage, Seyi Shay performing sensual dance on Patoranking surfaced online, this sparked reactions from the singer’s fans. Patoranking was quick to shut down the controversies it was causing online. He noted that it was just a performance nothing serious between him and the songstresses.
“It is not that the female singers just twerk for me, it is a performance and we make sure we give people what they want. Most people think they twerk for me and I get aroused or ‘catch feelings’ but I don’t even respond to stimuli at all. We are just trying to make it look like what they do abroad. You see the likes of Beyonce twerking for Kanye. It is just a stage performance,” he clarified.
- During his East Africa tour, it was reported that Nigerian dancehall star, Patoranking was arrested at Entebbe Airport on Tuesday August 2, 2016, a day after he dropped his debut album ‘God Over Everythin’ in South Africa on August 1.
According to the reports, ‘Patoranking was arrested at the Entebbe Airport, Uganda for failure to adhere to security check rules. He had not secured his entry visa and also refused to listen to instructions from airport officials. One eyewitness says he even refused to take off his cap for security check, something which got him detained for a couple of hours’.
Patoranking was later released after he apologised to the officials.
- In 2017, Patoranking was reported to have welcomed a baby boy with an unknown lady following a picture of himself he shared on social media, carrying the newborn while the mother was still on bed.
Weeks later, the ‘No Kissing Baby’ crooner opened up that it was a publicity stunt and a shot from one of his music videos.
Personal Life
Patoranking is not married, but has a daughter named Wilmer.
Social Media
Instagram: @patorankingfire
Twitter: @patorankingfire
Facebook: @patorankingofficial
