Nigerian Afrobeat artist, Davido, has followed in the footsteps of his fellow musicians, Burna Boy and Wizkid, in disassociating himself from the Afrobeat genre.
During an interview on the Business Untitled Podcast, Davido expressed his frustration with the tendency to stereotype African artists under the Afrobeats label, regardless of their unique musical styles.
He prefers to classify his own music as Afro-fusion, emphasizing that Afrobeat was originally created by Fela Kuti but has now become a blanket term for all African songs.
In order to emphasize his argument, he also highlighted that when an artist sings pure R&B, resembling artists like SZA or Summer Walker, they are categorized as Afrobeats. Similarly, if an African rapper raps in a style similar to Drake, they are still labeled as Afrobeats.
“The first place that accepted African music outside Africa was the UK before America later joined. The UK termed African music Afrobeats.
Afrobeat is a sound that was originally pioneered by Fela Kuti. But now all African songs are termed Afrobeats. If an African artiste sings pure R&B, sounding like SZA, or Summerwalker, they put them under Afrobeats. If an African rapper raps like Drake, they still put them under Afrobeats.
I don’t get offended when we’ve been categorized as Afrobeats. I mean, we need a genre. It could be R&B or Afropop. I call my music Afrofusion but I’m not big on ‘O put Afrofusion on my song.’ I know how long it took for African music to become mainstream.”
Many people online are upset and accusing him of copying Wizkid and Burna Boy after his statement.
I Am PeplumI commented, “Wizkid already explained this but y’all didn’t want to accept the truth”.
One, 1hameed commented, “OBO,, when you start dey do Afrofusion wey we no know?
Another person, Ridwanu Allah commented, “They call Wiz a madman”.
And, Kay Cayy commented, “Who come dey do Afrobeats?
Also, Peter commented, “Artistes need to stop puttering by themselves in a box because of where they come from because you’re from Africa doesn’t necessarily mean you make Afrobeats
Another person, Josh commented, “No Nigerian is singing pure RnB and no Nigerian rapper is rapping like Drake”.
And, Esko Barz commented, “He don watch Burna Boy interview well, e don finally know wetin Afrofusion mean”.
Also, Ghost Hurt commented, “Burna Boy’s influence”.
Remember that few weeks ago, Wizkid warned Nigerians not to label him as an Afrobeat artist when he announced his new album.
He emphasized that he doesn’t want to be stereotyped or confined to a specific genre. He urged Nigerians to educate themselves and recognize that while he is an African artist, his music goes beyond just Afrobeat.
Similarly, Burna Boy expressed his belief that 90 percent of Afrobeats songs lack depth and real-life experiences. He criticized artists for only singing about a luxurious lifestyle and not addressing important issues. He argued that this doesn’t reflect the reality of everyday life.
However, artists like Ayra Starr and Rema still appreciate Afrobeats. Rema, during his acceptance speech at the Headies award last year, stated that regardless of Burna Boy’s opinion, they would all come together at Afrobeats award shows.
Ayra Starr even declared Afrobeats as the best genre in the world, highlighting its growing popularity not only in Africa but also globally, including in the US.
