Burna Boy Explains Why He Feels Afrobeats Has ‘No Substance’: ‘Nobody Is Talking About Anything, It’s Just A Great Time’

August 23, 2023 by Twila-Amoure McDaniel in Music with 0 Comments

Burna Boy

Burna Boy Explains Why He Feels Afrobeats Has ‘No Substance’: ‘Nobody Is Talking About Anything, It’s Just A Great Time’

Burna Boy isn’t holding back when it comes to his opinions on music.

Nigerian music artist Burna Boy, born Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, is no stranger to the spotlight. The 32-year-old reportedly entered the music industry in 2010, and rose to stardom in 2012 thanks to the release of his single “Like to Party.” However, in 2019 his fame hit a whole new level and he was announced as the “Up Next” artist for Apple Music ahead of the release of his fourth studio album “African Giant.”

Throughout his career thus far, Burna Boy has earned many notable accolades, including BET Awards, Soul Train Awards, and a Grammy. The “Last Last” singer is gearing up for the release of his seventh studio album “I Told Them…” and recently had a revealing chat with media personality/DJ Zane Lowe about his love of hip-hop, musical inspirations, personal life, and more.

During the candid conversation, Burna Boy said that the album was inspired by people in his hometown of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, and anyone else, who “didn’t believe” he’d be where he is today. He continued, explaining that he’s happy they doubted him because if they didn’t he would have had to create a different body of work for his upcoming project.

When asked why it’s hard for “people that know you best to love you the most,” Burna Boy smiled big as he replied,

“Because they don’t know you best, you just thought they did…And that was where you made the mistake.”

After Zane Lowe questioned if Burna Boy feels there are people who know him better than those who shared the “same experience in life,” the songwriter interjected and said,

“Not even experience, because half of them, like 90% of them, have no real-life experiences that they can understand.”

“Afrobeats is mostly about nothing , no substance” – Burna Boy pic.twitter.com/dGHcBtr45L

— ??????? (@kusssman) August 22, 2023

He then explained how that connects to the issues he has with Afrobeats.

“Which is why you hear most Nigerian music…African Music, or Afrobeats, as you people call it, it’s mostly about nothing. Literally nothing. There is no substance to it, like, nobody is talking about anything, it’s just a great time. It’s an amazing time.”

He added,

“But at the end of the day, life is not an amazing time…you’re still going to face life. So for me, I feel like, music should be that. Music should be the essence of the artist, you understand, the artist is a person. Me speaking for myself, the artist is a person who has good days, bad days, great days, and worst days.”

After picking up a record to further demonstrate his point, Burna Boy said,

“If I give you something like this, with my face on it and my name, then I should be giving you that experience…that should be a window for you to see some of, you know, that essence.”

See the full interview below:

As expected, not everyone was here for what Burna Boy had to say. One X user (formerly known as Twitter) said,

“Dear Burna boy, you don’t need to downplay other people’s crafts just because you sampled your way to the top.”

Another person weighed in and said,

“90% of Africans have no real life experiences?? So who was he talking about on African giant? This man is a bastard”

However, some defended Burna Boy’s remarks, with one X user claiming,

“Burna Boy spoke the truth. Your music have no substance. Foreigners say this all the time. Y’all just want to hate on him because it’s easy to do so.”