Naira Ali, Edward Ssendi Engage in Heated Exchange over Claims of Artists Paying for Airplay

[Photo Credit: Naira Ali Instagram]

By Gloria

Get Free Music Updates and Mixes on Telegram

Ugandan artist Naira Ali has hit out at media personality Edward Ssendi for his response to allegations she made on a recent post, where she accused some local artists of paying radio and TV presenters to continuously play their songs.

Read Also: Naira Ali Urges Upcoming Artists to Exercise Caution While Selecting Digital Music Platforms

In a recent Facebook post, Naira Ali claimed that some artists have a habit of paying radio and TV presenters huge sums of money to play their music, while blocking other artists from accessing airplay.

"You pay for your song to get on countdowns, pay presenters to praise you, you exercise pay per play for your songs, you pay bloggers to praise you, you boost your social media for following, you generate YouTube views monetarily, almost every media person is on your payroll, you sabotage other artists music playing and there’s absolutely nowhere your music goes deliberately if not paid for and then you claim you’re the best. Amazing!" she posted.

Read Also: Spice Diana Vs Lydia Jazmine: Who’s the Queen of Ugandan Music?

Reacting to the post, Edward Ssendi attacked Naira Ali accusing her of “seeking relevance”. He argued that artists who are dominating airplay on TV and radio are doing so because of their hard work.

“Naira Ali is musically as short as a nymph. She is just homesick. She wants to return home and at the same time wants to stay the way she is. Naira Ali is only looking for relevance. And this is now my last time to talk about her.

“I give credit to whoever either (Sheebah or Spice Diana) she was attacking because they have worked their way to the top. She should never make such statements again. She even has no music at all because I one time watched her perform but she wasn’t even impressive as nobody cared to know who was on stage,” he said.

Responding to Ssendi’s attack, Naira noted that she was disappointed by the veteran media personality as he should be issuing counsel instead of attacking young artists.

"...there is a big difference between opinions and abuse. When a nation has elderly men who have nothing to offer but bitterness, abuse then we are doomed," Naira Ali shared as she vowed to stand tall amidst the attack.