Burna Boy’s ‘Ye’ was Inspired by Blak Ryno’s ‘Ay Ya Ay Ya’ Song: Interview

In an interview aired on Friday, Dancehall artiste Blak Ryno revealed that his song Ay Ya Ay Ya inspired afrobeats singer Burna Boy’s hit track Ye, and the difficulties he faced after being featured on the Nigerian artiste’s album.

Ryno released his track Ay Ya Ay Ya during his prominence in the early 2000s during his time as a member of the Gaza Empire. Burna Boy later released his track Ye in 2018 on his third studio album, Outside.

Speaking on the Let’s Be Honest podcast, Ryno shared that artiste manager Romeich Major connected him with Burna Boy and his team as the singer had been trying to reach out to him.

Ryno expressed that his sole discussion with Burna Boy was a good one, with the Last Last singer sharing with him that his single had inspired his song. Ryno was later featured on Burna Boy’s fourth studio album, African Giant, with the deejay performing Ay Ya Ay Ya in an interlude.

However, Ryno said he began to experience difficulties after being featured on the track, with Burna Boy’s team initially refusing to have him credited for his contribution to the project.

“Mi think it would a be a fair link up and then mi realise seh nuh credit nuh rey and the managa start get disrespectful. Suh mi is like what? Suh before dat mi afi respect myself first before anyting and just know seh alright f**k it. It is what it is,” Ryno said.

The deejay further shared that the manager told him that he would not get any credit because of the documents that he signed, which Ryno said he did not know at the time. According to Ryno, the issue was later resolved, though he is still not sure who precisely was trying to prevent him from being credited.

Watch Ryno’s interview below.