NIGERIAN singer Patoranking recently signed a distribution deal with VPAL Music, a move he hopes will broaden his appeal outside Africa and Europe.

VPAL is a subsidiary of VP Records, the independent company based in Queens, New York that is credited with introducing dancehall music to a pop market in the 1990s.

Under the deal, VPAL will distribute Patoranking ‘s first album. No details of that release have been disclosed by artiste or label.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer, the 24-year-old artiste said breaking new ground is his biggest priority.

“Before this signing, I have been blessed with opportunities to perform in the US and UK. With VP involved, my fan base outside of Africa can only get bigger, he said. Reggae and dancehall are genres that the world understands and loves, and I have no concerns that those who love good vibes will love what they hear from me,” he said.

Patoranking is known in Africa for the pop-reggae songs Girlie O, Up in D Club and Murda. Last year, a remix of Girlie O with fellow Nigerian singer Tiwa Savage made the top 10 of MTV Base, a popular cable channel that focuses on artistes and music from Europe and Africa.

He is the latest artiste (and first from Africa) to sign with VPAL which distributes music on vinyl, compact disc or digitally, for a number of dancehall acts including Anthony B, Mr Vegas and Junior Kelly, as well as artistes from the Pacific region, an emerging market for reggae/dancehall.

Born Patrick Nnaemeka Okori, Patoranking has been recording since 2012. He told the Observer that while the traditional sounds of his homeland remain his biggest influence, a diverse list of Jamaican artistes helped fashion his sound, from Marley to Buju Banton and Chaka Demus and Pliers.

Songs like Girlie O and Murda have earned him a following throughout Africa, and to a lesser extent in the United States, United Kingdom and Dubai, another growing market for reggae/dancehall and world beat music.

He expects his fan base to grow even more with the VPAL deal.

“Europe and North America are markets that any artiste wants to grow in, and I will be humbled the day that I see my music on top charts in those markets,” he said.

 —  Howard Campbell