Blaqbonez has cautioned music lovers against judging artists solely by streams and chart positions.
The rapper said many of those numbers are manipulated and don’t reflect true creativity or talent.
Nigerian rapper Emeka Akumefule, popularly known as Blaqbonez, has said that music streams and chart rankings should not define a musician’s talent or success, as such numbers can easily be manipulated.
The Back in Uni crooner shared his opinion while responding to a fan who accused him of hypocrisy for celebrating his diss track against Odumodublvck, titled ACL, after it reached number one on Apple Music Nigeria.
Clarifying his stance on X, Blaqbonez explained that while chart success is exciting, it should not be the only standard for measuring artistic value.
He wrote: “I never talked down on the charts, it’d always be exciting but no artist should be defined by it. Most of the artists I’m currently listening to in Naija are not up on our charts.”
“You guys are quick to label someone a failure depending on numbers that we know can easily be manipulated. Use your ears sometimes, if something is good it’s good, that’s all I’m saying.”
Blaqbonez, who has consistently criticized the use of bots to boost streaming numbers, urged fans to value genuine artistry and creativity over manipulated statistics.
