“Afrobeats has no substance, It is mostly about nothing” – Singer, Burna Boy (Video)

Grammy award-winning Nigerian singer, Damini Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy, has triggered mixed reactions following his recent comment on Afrobeats.

Burna Boy said that most Afrobeat musicians lack life experiences, which renders their music empty, in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe.

He characterized Afrobeat music as exciting and entertaining but devoid of real-life experiences.

Burna Boy characterized musicians as having their own ups and downs in life, including good days, terrible days, and difficult moments that surround the creation of music.

The self-acclaimed African Giant discussed the necessity for artists to incorporate real-life experiences into their works of art, noting that the genre is “literally nothing”.

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.”

Watch him speak below

“Afrobrats as you people call it, is mostly about nothing. There’s no substance to it.” – Burnaboy pic.twitter.com/vAsgGBY4uo

— YabaLeftOnline (@yabaleftonline) August 23, 2023

In similar news, Burna Boy opines that it’s good that the music legend, Fela Kuti didn’t exist in the present generation since his so-called fans today would’ve criticized him and called for his arrest.

Burna made the statement while speaking in a recent interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe in New York.

The ‘Odogwu’ hit maker, whose maternal grandfather Beson Idonjie was Fela Kuti’s first manager, said that it’s better that Fela existed in the generation that he did because it allowed him to express his message in his music.

He said; “What I have realised is that the times are really funny. Fela in his time was going through things that, if he was here today, it might have been a whole different feeling like a whole bunch of people from Nigeria who you see today celebrating Fela, are the same people that would have been tagging the police to go and arrest Fela if there was Twitter then.

“So, at the end of the day, I feel like God doesn’t make mistakes. You know what I mean like the times are just perfect for everyone, you know.

If he [Fela] was here today, like his career started now, he may not have the space to explore that [his conscious creativity] because there is too much in this day and age that it just doesn’t interlock with the spirits. Right now, spirituality is almost non-existent.

“Now, it [the society] is just mostly run by stupidity and ignorance. It was still the same back then [during Fela’s era] but it wasn’t as amplified or accessed [as it is today]. Now, everything is defined by stupidity and ignorance.

“I’m grateful for the fact that he [Fela] existed in his time so that we can get an experience of the true organic nature of what he was, the essence of what he stood for and the messages he passed across to us.”