The National Association of Emerging Artists (NAEA) has voiced its discontent with the 'Gangs of Lagos' movie promoters.
The producer and director Kemi Akindoju and Jade Osiberu's characterization of artists as "criminals" upset NAEA, the organisation stated.
Unadey Jones, the group's spokesman, revealed this in a recent statement.
Casting artists as criminals has hurt the pop cultural fabric of Nigeria and upheld damaging musician stereotypes', the statement said in part.
Singers Chike, Pasuma, and Zlatan Ibile were cast as gangsters in the film by its director.
Chike in particular portrayed Ify, aka Panamo, a budding artist who was embroiled in gangsterism and was ultimately murdered by his gang mates to hide a secret.
The "Gangs of Lagos" movie has also been referred to as a "cultural misrepresentation" by the Lagos State Government.
Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, the State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts, and Culture, scoffed at the movie's promoters for portraying the Eyo Masquerade as a villain brandishing a gun and dressed in full traditional garb.
The Apesinla yba Alakt Pupa Kalaba Kun, a cultural organization, had already ordered the producers of "Gangs of Lagos" to stop promoting the film right away, branding it as "ethnic profiling, sacrilegious, and outrageous trash."
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