Fans Roast Burna Boy For Saying Afrobeats Lacks Substance
Burna Boy has been put on the chopping board and being shredded into pieces on social media for saying Afrobeats has no substance.
During an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music, Burna Boy made a statement that caused controversy. He claimed that 90 percent of Afrobeat songs, which are primarily produced in Nigeria, lack substance and real-life experience. As the self-proclaimed African Giant, Burna Boy emphasized the importance of artists embodying real-life experiences in their music. He also expressed his belief that the genre itself is lacking in substance.
Burna Boy said; “Because of where I am from. The sh*t I have to go through to maneuver and just stay with my crown on my head. (It is harder for people that know you best to love you the most). Because they do not know you best. You just think they do.
“When you start going around the world and you start seeing that there are actually motherf**kers that know me a lot than the people that share the same (not experience)… because 90 per cent of them [Nigerian musicians] have no real life experiences which is why most of Nigerian music or African music or afrobeats as people call it, is mostly about nothing, literally nothing.
“It is why you hear most of Nigerian music or Afrobeats as people call it, is mostly about nothing. Literally nothing. There is no substance to it. Like nobody is talking about anything. It is just a great time. It is an amazing time. But at the end of the day, life is not an amazing time.
“No matter how nice of a time you are having now or you are had at some point or you plan to have, you are still going to face life. Me speaking for myself, the artiste is the person who has good days, bad days, great days, and worst days.
“So, for me, I feel like music should be the essence of the artiste. The artiste is a person who has good day, bad day, his great days and worst days. So, I’m dropping a project that should be a window for the fans to see those experiences.”
His statement has predictably sparked furore amongst fans and industry players across Nigeria and Ghana, the home of Afrobeats.
Among the tons of varied reactions his comment generated was this one from a tweep named Roviel who said:
Davido and Wizkid will go on the international stage and promote the culture, try shining the light of Afrobeats to the world, and help other upcoming acts get on big stage. But every Opportunity this guy gets, it’s to downgrade Africa or sell us short, The Term Big 3 or 2 wasn’t just because of Musical accolades, it involved the impact they made off the studio, That’s why personally, Olamide deserves that Big 3 title more than the other guy.
