Other than his hit song, Classic Man, you should know Jidenna is strongly passionate about his homeland of Nigeria. He has come under fire for a recent interview on Vlad TV where he commented on being light-skinned in Nigeria. He stated, “The fact that you have African blood in you is gonna make it hard. When you’re light-skinned, you’re a heavier target for being kidnapped because you’re seen as more valuable. We were robbed–our family’s been assaulted. We’ve had a lot of issues.”
In his own defense against his detractors who took his comments as painting Nigeria in a negative light, he penned an open letter on his website reaffirming his doubters.
He writes, “I am, always have been, and always will be proud of my Nigerian heritage. I understand the pain and anger caused by some of the comments I made in a recent interview, and I wanted to address you directly. Contrary to popular belief, this interview was not the first in which I mentioned Nigeria. In fact, I’m frequently bragging about how Nigerians attend the world's most prestigious institutions, and how we are known to produce world class doctors, entrepreneurs, innovators, lawyers, engineers, professors, athletes and artists.”
He added, “Unfortunately, people tend to leave these moments out, and, in this case, highlight stereotypes. I would never do or say anything to intentionally disgrace the legacy of my father nor my fatherland. But to not relay my own story both the good times and the bad, would be a disservice.”
Read the full letter here; http://jidenna.com/dearnaija/
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