- Kelly Hansome made a bold claim linking Flavour’s O2 Arena London ticket sales to the support of Yoruba fans
- The singer compared Flavour’s situation to Wizkid, alleging ethnic loyalty drives concert attendance in Nigeria
- Kelly Hansome invoked Fela Kuti’s legacy to defend his decision to speak openly on controversial issues
Singer Kelly Hansome has stirred debate online after making a controversial claim about why Igbo artist Flavour allegedly struggled to fill his London concert venue, pointing the finger squarely at Yoruba fans.
Speaking on the Nigerian music scene, Kelly Hansome argued that Flavour was denied the kind of cross-ethnic support that he believes Yoruba artists like Wizkid routinely enjoy.
Credit: @flabournabinaa, @kellyhansome, @wizkidayo
Source: Instagram
According to him, the same London venue that Wizkid can fill without difficulty proved a challenge for Flavour because fans from outside the Igbo community did not show up.
“Flavour went to London. Flavour could not sell out the same venue where Wizkid sells out easily. Who are the people who were supposed to buy those tickets? Yoruba people. But when it’s an Igbo artist, they don’t want to buy tickets. That’s why he could not sell out the show,” Kelly Hansome said.
Kelly Hansome Defends His Outspokenness
Rather than walk back his comments, Kelly Hansome doubled down, framing his willingness to speak on uncomfortable subjects as a matter of integrity.
He suggested that staying silent would be the easier, more comfortable choice, but one he is unwilling to make.
“If you don’t want to come to my show because I said something that is the truth, then why are we playing Fela’s music now?” he asked.
The singer extended his argument to include Fela Kuti’s enduring legacy, noting the irony of Nigerian police officers dancing to music that openly critiques authority.
He argued that even those in uniform recognise uncomfortable truths, even if they rarely act on them.
“The police in Nigeria, the Nigerian police, they play Fela’s music the most. Go to police barracks; they are just dancing to it. They know the truth more than anyone,” he said.
Kelly Hansome tied this observation to how some police officers interact with citizens, adding,
“That’s why a police officer would say, ‘You know your rights, right? Don’t worry, when we get to the police station…'”
His comments have reignited longstanding conversations around ethnic loyalty and its role in shaping the commercial success of Nigerian artists, particularly when performing abroad.
Watch Kelly Hansome’s video that made waves on Instagram:
Source: Instagram
Flavour visits his three daughters at school
Legit.ng had reported that the popular Nigerian singer, in a viral clip, had reported that his three daughters from different mothers were all on good terms.
A clip of the singer going to his daughters’ schools to pick them up before taking them out went viral.
In one of the clips online, he was seen holding his girls as they took a walk together after they went to pick up the youngest from school.
Source: Legit.ng