Pius Mayanja, also known as Pallaso, has slammed fellow musician Moses Ssali, better known as Bebe Cool, for claiming that he wields significant control over the music industry.
During a recent TikTok live session, Bebe Cool claimed he had considerable influence on the industry, suggesting that he could go as far as leveraging his connections to influence the airplay of some artists' music.
The Gagamel boss further said that in the past, he used to pay DJs and radio stations to prevent them from playing songs by his competitors, all in an effort to fight off "healthy competition".
His remarks have since sparked debate, particularly on social media.
However, in a recent interview, Pallaso dismissed Bebe's assertions about his influence, highlighting the rise of social media platforms like TikTok, which many emerging artists are now utilizing to advance their careers.
"He (Bebe) may have some power, but it doesn't extend that far. The strategy of paying DJs and radio stations to suppress others' music is no longer effective because of TikTok," Pallaso stated.
He continued, "Everyone is on TikTok now. He shouldn't claim he controls the industry anymore because the landscape has changed."
This week, Bebe Cool addressed the long-standing narrative that prominent artists, including himself and Jose Chameleone, have historically paid DJs and radio stations to undermine the careers of young artists and eliminate competition.
In his Tik Tok live session, Bebe Cool admitted that he once paid DJs and club owners to refrain from playing Chameleone's songs as a form of retaliation against the Bayuda singer.
"When I started my music career, Chameleone was coming back from Kenya, and I returned a year later. When I got back, Chameleone and his associates refused to play my music. His DJ friends wouldn’t play my songs anywhere," Bebe explained.
"I hired DJ Shiru because I was frustrated with the DJs not playing my songs. Instead of continuing to fight them, I decided to befriend the club owners and asked them to employ my DJs. Once I got some of my DJs in those clubs, my music started getting played. It became easier to instruct my DJs not to play Chameleone's songs," he added.