i slept on the streets before-Patoranking

Today, Nneameka Okorie, popularly called Patoranking, is
one of the most celebrated reggae-dancehall artists in
Nigeria and by extension, Africa. But the story, like that of
most people, has not always been that good for the
‘Alubarika’ star.
Patoranking was recently in Ghana for a show last week
where he had an exclusive interview with top Ghanaian
radio personality Bola Ray on Starr 103.5 FM. In the
course of the interview, he revealed that his music career
actually started off in Ghana.
According to him, ‘I started music from my mum’s belly,
but dancehall has always been something that I grew up
listening to and it was perfected in Ghana.’
Patoranking’s first trip to Ghana, according to him, was in
2007 after he was admitted into Cape Coast University.
After a year at the university, he dropped out due to
financial constraints.
“I had to move from Cape Coast to Accra. I was sleeping
on the streets of Osu just to make it. We must make am
now…survival at all cost’, he said before adding: ‘The only
option I had at that point was making it in life because I
just had to change the course of my family, the face of my
family you know…being the first child…I just say thank you
Lord and to everybody that never doubted me. I pray for
them still and we’re still together,’ he added.
It is on record that while hustling in Ghana, Patoranking
met a young Ghanaian entrepreneur named Lanky on the
streets of Osu who partnered with him to achieve his
dreams.
Lanky started a production company called Black
Rhythms Entertainment and made a few tracks with him,
the songs enjoyed some airplay but it was difficult to
break through in Ghana so he returned to Nigeria and the
rest, as they say, it history.