Remember Classic Man Jidenna‘s comments last month about how being light skinned made him more likely to get kidnapped in Nigeria? After being dragged by Nigerians worldwide for his comments and trending on social media, the Nigerian/American artiste quickly cleared up his statement and being that we are a forgiving bunch we quickly embraced him again, after all it’s not every day a Nigerian has a song on Billboard’s Top 100.

The dapper rapper appeared on yesterday’s edition of Power 101.5’s Breakfast club with his Wondaland collective which includes Janelle Monae and Deep Cotton, where they were grilled by the show’s hosts DJ Envy, Charlamagne Tha god & Angela Yee.

During the course of the interview he was asked about the comments he made about light skin being more likely to get kidnapped and he explained himself better saying it was a miscalculation on his part. He also spoke on Nigeria being a very proud place, a place where excellence is fostered. He told a story about his late dad and his schools tests, saying

I remember coming to America, in the US you get a highest score on the test and your teacher says “bring it home to your parents. show your parents.” So I brought it home to my father like “dad I got a 98 on my math exam”, and he said “ah ah 98? Where are the other two points? Go there and bring them back, then I will celebrate with you” “And that’s how I grew up with everything I did, basketball, soccer, football. Everything that I played. In Nigeria its standard to try to check somebody if you see them making misstep. With the words that I said I didn’t make a miscalculation in my experience, but I can see how certain people perceive that

Watch his interview & see what else he had to say after the jump


What I said was…I was referring to my mixed heritage, and being a man who may be perceived as more valuable because you are light skinned, because you look really closer to a white man which all around the world, a white man, the white man is perceived as more valuable. Unfortunately light skinned is often perceived as more valuable. So my comments were referring to that. When I went home to bury my father it was the highest kidnapping time in our area, the area that I am from, the South East Nigeria. So my family in the village was concerned about me burying my father so they said “look you have to take extra precautions this time because one-you are a foreigner, you are coming from America, and then two- your appearance is going to make you a target” “So my comments were revolving around that but some people took it as me believing that I am more valuable or believing that light skinned people are kidnapped more than others, and it wasn’t really about that. It was about a perception of wealth

On having fears about going to Nigeria following the success of Classic Man. Jidenna said,

No I am not afraid at all. I am not really afraid of standing anywhere. I have always stood out, and I will always stand anywhere. In fact already the Nigerian community embrace me. They have from the beginning, and they do today. That little miscommunication on Vlad TV is pretty much dead and gone right now. I just did a show with some great Nigerian, Nigerian-American artistes a couple of weeks ago in Jamaica, Queens so that show went well

Watch below, he starts talking about Nigeria at the 16.00minute mark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jHbhS7QQ80

SOURCE: http://www.that1960chick.com/2015/08/15/jidenna-speaks-about-nigeria-being-a-proud-place-those-light-skin-comments-on-the-breakfast-club-video/

mchewwww

Ok classic man we haf hear

for his mind who won kidnap u b4 huuuuush guy pack well nobody get ur time to start with

Mister, come back home, get a first-hand experience before drawing your conclusion. Not concluding with your little or zilch secondary knowledge.


When was the last time he stepped foot in Nigeria anyway

Mr Classic Man, always do remember
that home is home.

No matter how much you look like them or
claim to be like them, you are not them.

Home is Home.