I was told to pay R25,000 to be playlisted on radio, says SA rapper

28 April 2017 - 11:49 By TshisaLIVE
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Priddy Ugly said that he was told to pay for his music to be played on radio.
Priddy Ugly said that he was told to pay for his music to be played on radio.
Image: Via Priddy's Instagram

Young rapper Priddy Ugly was apparently told to cough up R25,000 to get his music played on radio, including a R16,000 deposit for just two weeks of airplay.

The star, who recently signed for Ambitiouz Entertainment, made the claims during an interview with Hip Hop Galaxy .

The Bula Boot hitmaker said that he was approached to meet with "one of the biggest radio compilers in the country" to discuss getting his music on air.

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He claimed that once he met with the man he was told that he would have to make a R16,000 deposit and cough up a total of R25,000.

"He (the radio compiler) was like; 'listen, we can make this song the biggest song in the country. In six months you can start winning awards, your ratings can go up. So, you can pay a deposit now of like R16,000 for 2 months’ airplay and come later on. So I want R25,000, but you can pay R16,000 now and then pay for my flight or something,'" he added.

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Although Priddy would not reveal what station the compiler represented, SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago has repeatedly called on any artists who have proof of bribery or corruption to come forward with evidence.

"We have always said that there is a process for submitting music at our radio stations and encourage artists not to engage in payola (paying for their music to get playlisted). We continue to have a zero tolerance for fraud and corruption and ask anyone who has been asked to pay a bribe to bring it to the attention of the organisation," he told TshisaLIVE.

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