Seun Kuti has stirred up conversation about Afrobeats, claiming it’s more of a marketing label than a real music genre.
During a recent chat on The Beat 99.9 FM in Lagos, the Afrobeat singer broke down his thinking on the term “Afrobeats.”
According to him, people throw the word around to describe pretty much any music coming out of Africa, rather than pointing to a specific sound with its own rules and characteristics.
“I think Afrobeats is more of a title than a genre,” Seun explained. “You can see Amapiano is the new Afrobeats.
It’s the new thing in Afrobeats. So, Afrobeats is just a generalisation, a title to identify something from Africa.”
The son of legendary Afrobeat creator Fela Kuti pointed out something interesting about today’s biggest artists – they don’t really stick to one “Afrobeats” sound.
Instead, they’re constantly switching things up, jumping from Nigerian pop to dancehall, then to amapiano, or even throwing in some blues when the mood strikes.
“They could do a dancehall track today, switch to amapiano tomorrow, and then drop a Nigerian pop song. That’s why I don’t think Afrobeats is a genre. It’s just a title,” he said.
