Portable’s strategic use of controversy as a marketing tool

By Adetayo Omotoyosi

Portable’s debut song in the music industry, ‘Zazooh’ due to its acceptance by the Nigerian audience got nominated by the organizers of the Headies Awards in the Best Street Artist and Rookie of the Year. Just as everything started looking clearer for him, Portable uploaded a new video where he threatened to kill his fellow nominees if the award is not given to him.

Controversial Nigerian singer, Habeeb Olalomi Okikiola popularly known as Portable gained waves in the Nigerian music industry in late December 2021 with the much-touted Zazooh remix which featured dancer, Poco Lee and YBNL’s founder Olamide.

Olamide jumping on a song especially if the artiste is an upcoming or a new entrant into the game is a big deal. Olamide’s feature on ‘Zazooh’ immediately made the song popular among Nigerians, especially the masses.

It became the anthem of the street and people began raising their shoulders to signify the dance style which Portable had portrayed in the video of the song. It didn’t take long before the high and mighty or the ‘Ajebo’ joined the movement to vibe to the hit song cementing Portable’s place in the hearts of many Nigerians.

However, things took a different turn when Portable went haywire with the claim that Poco Lee was ‘ripping’ him off from the song by collecting all the royalties from different streaming platforms even though – Portable originally featured him.

In what has now become the norm for him, portable recorded a video and claimed after he perform alongside Wizkid, the latter gave him some dollars, Poco Lee collected a substantial amount of it and only gave him peanuts.

To many in the industry who have in-depth knowledge of how it works, they did not read meaning to Portable’s claim. However, the same cannot be said on the street where Portable came from, a lot of Nigerians supported him and lashed out at Poco-Lee for cheating the “poor boy” from the street who has just found fame and fortune is smiling on him.

But things took a different turn when Portable was ejected from the house he stayed by his manager, Kogbagidi. Kogbagidi claimed that Portable did not consult him before he made the video claiming Poco Lee ripped him off.

Kogbagidi streamed the moment the ‘Zazoo’ crooner was ejected live and many were sad to see the new voice of the street begging him Kogbagidi.

After much plea and intervention from Baddo, Olamide, Portable was forgiven by Kogbagidi and things seems normal again until the two fell out again and eventually parted ways. Portable claimed that he fired Kogbagidi and hired another manager to handle his promotion and bookings.

In his usual controversial character, Portable has been enmeshed in a lot of troubles. From fighting on the streets which many Nigerian singers have tried to stay away from until his foray into the music industry.

Portable was seen in a viral video fighting some guys on the street also known as area boys and had to be taken away by soldiers.

Sadly, in most encounters, he had been on the receiving end. If his car is not destroyed then he gets some bruises from the fracas with these area boys. Despite this, Portable is not deterred by his adversaries.

Portable’s debut song in the music industry, ‘Zazooh’ due to its acceptance by the Nigerian audience got nominated by the organizers of the Headies Awards in the Best Street Artist and Rookie of the Year. Just as everything started looking clearer for him, Portable uploaded a new video where he threatened to kill his fellow nominees if the award is not given to him.

Worried by this seeming threat of the street-hop singer, the organizers of the award led by its founder, Ayo Animashaun announced the disqualification of Portable citing threats to the lives of other nominees.

Portable later uploaded another video and boasted that he doesn’t need the award as he is already accepted by Nigerian music fans.

Months after the award had been won, Portable has been in a squabble with one of the winners, Goya Menor, whom he accused of being just a hype man without talent.

He claimed Goya has not released any other song that has been accepted by the people after his ‘Ameno’ hit. There seems to be an unending war of words between the two of them on who is the most talented singer.

Despite all the flaws he has, Portable has continued to enjoy the blessings of the high and mighty in Nigeria and all over the world. He gets cash donations when he performs at some functions and many celebrities couldn’t hide their joy when they meet him.

The ‘Ika of Africa’ has been featured in comedy skits of Mr Macaroni, Lawyer Kunle amongst others.

The biggest of the endorsement came from Nigerian billionaire club owner, Obi Cubana who signed him to promote his alcoholic drink, Odogwu bitters. It is said that he was paid millions of naira as an ambassador of the Odogwu brand.

While many Nigerian singers try to stay away from controversy as much as possible, such orientation is not in the dictionary of the ‘Zazooh’ crooner. He baths, sleep, and dwells in controversy.

From the study of this writer, it seems Portable has employed a deliberate and strategic means of staying relevant in the Nigerian music industry especially when it comes to the streets where most of his fans come from.

The fact that he constantly pushes out videos that instantly become viral and trends online has become a mirage to many.

Many celebrities who have been embroiled in controversies that were not up to that of Portable never found their feet again but that is not Portable.

The Ogun state indigene gains new followers every time his name is mentioned in any issue. Although some are getting tired of his gimmicks, saying he is just an attention seeker. Others are of the view that the character Portrayed by Portable is needed especially in the music industry where it has been revealed that there are gatekeepers who are always on the hunt looking for the next prey.

Some few months ago, Portable’s bar was stormed by men of the Nigerian Police who attempted to arrest him after they claimed he ignored countless invitations sent to him by the security agency.

In the video that has now gone viral, Portable streamed the encounter live and resisted the move to arrest him claiming he campaigned for the now President-Elect, Tinubu, therefore he cannot be arrested.

In the video, Portable is heard saying, The video which was condemned by the Force Public Relations of the Nigerian Police, Muyiwa Odejobi as an assault on the police officers that went to carry out their legitimate duty gave him 48 hours to report himself to the police station or face the risk of arrest

After failing to report himself as ordered, Portable was eventually arrested and arraigned in a court by the police.

What came as a rude shock to many was the sober mood the singer was when he was arraigned in court. He was different from the violent character which many had known him to be prior to his ordeal.

Luckily for him, he was released after meeting the bail conditions set by the presiding judge.

After his release, Portable in his usual way uploaded a video online, now with a different tune, he claimed in this life you must know people, have the best lawyers, or risk jail term.

Days after, he recorded a new song detailing his ordeal and saying that after God, it is the government. The song shows Portable is really not a troublesome character even though many have alleged that the impact of drugs makes him misbehave sometimes. While this writer cannot dispute that, it is a known fact that many Nigerian musicians ‘get high’ and Portable is not an exception.

Similarly to Naira Marley, Portable has now released a song that is still getting waves among Nigerians.

Recall that on the 10th of May 2019, Naira Marley was arrested by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, EFCC, and sent to KiriKiri prison. Naira caught the attention of many Nigerian music fans when he release his viral song “Soapy.” Soapy became a hit especially in the street, especially with its dance step. The “Rexxie” produced song even created a fanbase for Naira Marley now called “Marlians.”

From the travails of Naira Marley down to Portable, it is clear that controversy works and it’s a marketing tool that needs to be employed in the music industry. Portable though not highly educated understands the principle of using controversy as a celebrity and he is using it to his own advantage. However, there is a caveat, if not managed, it could be the beginning and the end of your career.

Adetayo Omotoyosi is a Public Affairs Analyst.