Burna boy apologises over remarks on afrobeats
Nigerian music star Burna Boy has publicly apologised for his past criticism of Afrobeats, acknowledging the genre’s vital role in promoting African artists globally.
In 2023, the Grammy-winning singer sparked backlash after declaring that Afrobeats lacked lyrical depth and distancing himself from the genre. However, in a recent interview with BBC’s Eddie Kadi, Burna Boy admitted he now sees things differently.
The artist explained that his earlier comments stemmed from a misunderstanding of the strategic importance of Afrobeats as a unifying label for African music. He noted that he originally identified his sound as Afrofusion because he didn’t believe it fit neatly within the Afrobeats category at the start of his career.
“I didn’t understand why people wanted my music to be inside one box,” he said. “The way I saw it, if you just put everything into Afrobeats, you’re now comparing Socrates to Kendrick Lamar because they both said two things that rhyme, so they both must be rappers.”
Burna Boy added that he was in a “dark place mentally” when he made the controversial statement and expressed regret for any confusion it caused.
“I didn’t realise we needed the Afrobeats tag as an umbrella to go anywhere,” he admitted. “I totally get it now and I apologise for that confusion.”
He emphasised the need for unity among African artists, urging them not to be divided by genre labels but instead work together to elevate the continent’s music on the global stage.
