Maverick Nigerian singer, Seun Kuti, has stirred debate in the music industry with his take on the identity of Afrobeats.
According to the Grammy-nominated Afrobeat star, Afrobeats is “more of a title than an actual genre of music.”
Speaking in a recent interview with The Beat 99.9 FM Lagos, Seun Kuti argued that Afrobeats has become more of a convenient label to categorise African music on the global stage rather than a well-defined genre with consistent rules and elements.
“I think Afrobeats is more of a title than a genre. You can see Amapiano is the new Afrobeats. It’s the new title, it’s the new thing in Afrobeats. So, Afrobeats is just a generalisation; it’s just a title to identify something from a particular place [Africa],” he said.
Seun Kuti further stressed that even the so-called gatekeepers of Afrobeats do not treat it like a genre.
Instead, he explained, many Afrobeats artistes constantly switch styles – from dancehall to blues, Nigerian pop, and even Amapiano – depending on what is trending.
“They are [Afrobeats] artistes that are eclectic in a way that they could do a dancehall track today, do a blue track tomorrow, do a Nigerian pop sound, jump on Amapiano, and whatever is trending. So, I think it’s actually a title,” he added.
The son of Afrobeat pioneer, Fela Kuti, has often been vocal about the distinction between Afrobeat (his father’s creation) and Afrobeats, the umbrella term for contemporary African pop.
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Also, his latest comments are expected to reignite conversations about the global recognition and categorisation of African music.
