Afrobeats superstar Burna Boy has caused a backlash by saying "there is no substance" to most of the genre's music.
In an interview with Apple Music's Zane Lowe, the Nigerian singer explained that he doesn't feel that most contemporary artists from Nigeria and even Africa have the experience to make what he sees as meaningful music.
“Half of them, [actually,] 90 per cent of them, have almost no real-life experiences that they can understand,” he says. “That’s why you hear most Nigerian music, African Music, or Afrobeats, as people call it, is mostly about nothing, literally nothing.”
He went on to say that the music he hears is just about partying. Nothing more.
“There is no substance to it, like nobody is talking about anything. It’s just a great time, an amazing time,” Burna Boy added. “But at the end of the day, life isn’t an amazing time.”
The comments has sparked a backlash from fans, with many calling him out for being ignorant and trying to help promote his new album, I Told Them..., which drops tomorrow (August 24).
This is the afrobeats that got no substance?? @burnaboy oga shut up! https://t.co/5tDJpOi6vH
— Man. (@macdot__paul) August 24, 2023
RE: Burna Boy and Nigerian music lack of substance.
— Joey Akan (@JoeyAkan) August 23, 2023
Whenever Burna Boy has to sell a new album to a foreign, Westernised market, he finds a divisive narrative to bestow him exceptionalism in a market that does not know his backstory or lack proper context to process his…
