Some stakeholders in the Fuji music industry have faulted claims in some quarters that the genre of music was for touts and dregs in the society.

They, however , said that the genre of music had come to stay

They said this in separate interviews on Wednesday at the late Sikiru Ayinde Barrister First Colloquium, at Raddisson Blu Hotel , Ikeja, Lagos.

The colloquium with theme , “Fuji Music: Yesterday , Today and Tomorrow- The Impact of Sikiru Ayinde Barrister”, was held in honour of the late Fuji icon.

Alhaji Rasaq Balogun, the first son of late Barrister, told NAN that the impression of touts being the fan base of Fuji musicians was laughable.

“Fuji is for elites; look at the people that my dad sang praise of, check their pedigrees, they are not touts, these are prominent people.

“If you say people fight after shows, people fight at Davido’s and Wizkid’s shows too, so it is not peculiar to any genre of music, we have respectable people listening to Fuji,” Balogun said.

Fuji musician, Sule Alao Malaika , fondly called Malaika, said that Fuji music had evolved beyond unruly behaviour.

“In 2022, we shouldn’t be having this conversation; Fuji music has evolved over the years like every other genre of music, and it will be unfair to project past behaviour on modern day Fuji.

“Gone are those days. Fuji is for mature minds, and we intend to keep spreading the gospel of Fuji,” he said

Also, Sulaimon Adio, who goes by the stage name, Atawewe, said that Fuji music is the most popular indigenous music and that nothing could change it.

“Fuji is bigger than trying to attribute its root to thuggery. If notable people don’t listen to Fuji, why do we mention them in our music?

“Fuji is for everyone , so, no amount of negativity will change that, we are not touts and our fans are not either,” he said.

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Taye Adebisi , known as Taye Currency, said that “associating Fuji music with thuggery is wicked.

“I am a Senior Special Assistant to our Governor in Osun, and you will still associate my job to thuggery, a job that has given me the recognition I have?

“I am proud of how far I have come with Fuji, it will be wrong to deceive young upcoming talents with things that are not true.” (NAN)