Afrobeats Lack Depth, Says Flavour Agreeing with Buju Banton
Nigerian highlife sensation Chinedu Okoli, affectionately known as Flavour, has corroborated Jamaican reggae icon Buju Banton’s claims that afrobeats music lacks depth. The remark is not the first time afrobeats has faced criticism; Banton sparked a major controversy earlier this year by asserting that the genre is nothing but “f*ckery.” For him, afrobeats is soulless and destined to fade with time. This perspective has sparked a heated debate, drawing in notable figures within the Afrobeats community, one of whom is Flavour. On a recent episode of the ‘In My Opinion’ podcast, Flavour responded directly to Banton’s allegations and concurred that the main issues lie with the artists. Accusing them of being “lazy,” Flavour believes these current crop of Afrobeats acts focus more on “vibe” rather than substance, contributing to their music’s lack of depth.
Additionally, this episode of the podcast exposed one of the underlying issues often reported in Western media – the tendency to club and misrepresent every African artist beneath the afrobeats moniker. Flavour, a seasoned and well-established highlife performer, is keen to distance himself from what he perceives to be an oversimplification of Africa’s incredibly diverse musical landscape. Not least of all, he aims to bring attention to the rich cultural significance surrounding the genre he represents: Nigeria’s high-life music.
Whether there’s any truth to this viewpoint aside from the opinions of these iconic musical figures remains to be seen as people worldwide continue to engage with diverse music and debate the matter hotly.
