‘I was confused’ — Burna Boy apologises for distancing self from Afrobeats

Burna Boy, the Grammy winner, has apologised for previously stating that he does not identify as an Afrobeats artiste. 

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In July 2022, the ‘African Giant’ hitmaker singer sparked mixed reactions when he declared that his music style should be classified as Afrofusion rather than Afrobeats.

However, in a recent interview on The Official UK Afrobeats Chart Show, Burna Boy explained that his earlier remarks stemmed from a misunderstanding of the importance of a unifying genre label for African music.

Reflecting on his past comments, Burna Boy admitted that he initially resisted being boxed into a single category, emphasising that his sound blends various influences with an African foundation.

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“I said I don’t do Afrobeats in the interview because I don’t understand why everyone wanted my music to be in a particular box forcefully,” he said.

“From 2010, I have been saying Afrofusion is what I make, where I mix elements with the African base.

“So, if you try to put me under Afrobeats, it’s like you’re now comparing Socrates to Kendrick Lamar because they both said two things that rhyme, so they both must be rappers.

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“At the time, I didn’t understand that we need an umbrella for the genre, for the music to get recognition like R&B and Hip-Hop. I didn’t come to terms with it until I started seeing the reactions and the division it was causing, so I got the point of the Afrobeats tag.”

The singer, however, acknowledged that he later realized the significance of the Afrobeats label in pushing African music onto the global stage.

“If I had understood then, I would have gone about it differently. Why would I want to destroy what I’m building?” he added.

“I didn’t realise the Afrobeats tag is needed to make it global because there wouldn’t be any R&B, Hip-Hop, or any of these popular genres if their beginnings had a lot of separation. So now, I totally get it and apologise for the confusion.”

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