Nicki Minaj says Skeng is the future

Nicki Minaj has declared herself to be the biggest fan of dancehall artiste Skeng, whose song, Likkle Miss, she recently remixed.

"Skeng is the future. Everything Skeng touch is special. He's different. I love him so much - y'all have no idea," said the Trinidadian-born rapper- singer-songwriter.

"No one is a bigger Skeng fan than me. NO ONE!!!"

In an Instagram story post she made last Friday, the rapper dubbed the Gvnman Shift deejay as "the future."

Influential entertainment players with whom THE STAR spoke yesterday reacted to the Queen of Hip Hop's proclamation of Skeng as the future.

According to Joe Bogdanovich, principal of Downsound Entertainment and Reggae Sumfest, it is important for the market and audience to understand what the content of the future represents

"What's the future? Is it hip hop? While Skeng is doing well, it is not necessarily up to one person. It's usually up to more than one person, and usually the future is dependent on more than one person, and if it's more than one person, it has to have some weight behind it and sustainability," Bogdanovich said.

He added: "Both popularity and music, that is, lyrics seems to mean something to the current generation. I thought the remixes they did, managed to catch attention to the public."

Last week, Nicki Minaj delivered a second remix of Skeng's Likkle Miss. Alongside Minaj, the girl group on the project comprises Spice, Destra Garcia, Patrice Roberts, Lady Leshurr, Pamputtae, Dovey Magnum, Lisa Mercedez and London Hill.

Pop Style Music CEO and reknown artiste manager Julian Jones-Griffith weighed in on the discussion of Skeng being the future. He said that for an artiste to be the future and eventually become an icon, "you really have to have an edge to you that sets you apart".

"It's something fans will log in to, keep them engaged and really elevate you to another tier as an artiste. Skeng definitely has that, his character and personality are bursting out of him, and everywhere he goes he lights it up," Jones-Griffith said.

The music executive offered that Skeng must continue producing and strengthen his connections.

Most of Skeng's tracks, including Protocol featuring Sparta, Talibhan, Gvnman Spaniard, Gvnman Shift, and Gang Bang have garnered more than five million streams on the video hosting platform, YouTube.

"It's just for him to keep producing those and do them bigger and bigger. He's attracting the ears and eyes of Nicki Minaj and many others in the wider industry (so) his future is definitely however he wants to carve it," Jones-Griffith said.