Nigerian Afrobeat singer, Davido has joined his colleagues, Burna Boy and Wizkid to distance himself from Afrobeat.
In an interview on the latest edition of the Business Untitled Podcast, Davido lamented the stereotyping of African artists in the Afrobeats genre regardless of their musical style.
He described his own genre of music as Afro-fusion rather than Afro-beats as he noted how Afrobeat is a sound that was originally pioneered by Fela Kuti, but now all African songs are termed Afrobeats.
To further portray his point, he further pointed out how if an artiste sings pure R&B sounding like SZA, Summerwalker, etc, they are put under Afrobeats and if an African rapper raps like Drake, they are still being put under 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.”
His statement has caused a stir online with many claiming he was imitating Wizkid and Burna Boy.
One I Am Pelumi wrote, “Wizkid already explained this but y’all didn’t want to accept the truth
One 1hameed wrote, “OBO,, when you start dey do Afrofusion wey we no know?
One Ridwanu Allah wrote, “They call Wiz a madman
One Kay Cayy wrote, “Who come dey do Afrobeats?
One Peter wrote, “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
One Josh wrote, “No Nigerian is singing pure RnB and no Nigerian rapper is rapping like Drake
One Esko Barz wrote, “He don watch Burna Boy interview well, e don finally know wetin Afrofusion mean
One Ghost Hurt wrote, “Burna Boy’s influence”.
Recall that weeks back, Wizkid while announcing his new album, cautioned Nigerians against categorizing him as an Afrobeat artist and read the riot acts to Afrobeat lovers to avoid downloading his album.
Doubling down on his words, he explained his statement better, noting how he makes music not to be stereotyped or boxed. Telling Nigerians to educate themselves, he stated that though he is an African artist, he makes fine music and doesn’t want to be labeled as just an Afrobeat.
Similarly, a year back, Burna Boy, avowed that 90 percent of Afrobeats songs lack real-life experience and substance. He explained that in many of the songs, artists aren’t saying anything worthwhile and are only singing about the good life or having a great time, which mostly isn’t the case in real life.
Unlike them, the likes of Ayra Starr and Rema still appreciate Afrobeats. Rema, while receiving the Headies award last year, stated that no matter what Burna Boy calls Afrobeats, they would all meet at Afrobeats award shows.
Ayra Starr had declared Afrobeats the best genre in the world, as she noted how it is taking over and currently making headlines not only in the continent but across all continents including the US.
