Burna Boy Says Afrobeats Lacks Substance And Is About 'Nothing,' Backlash Ensues

Afrobeats is arguably the most popular form of music at the moment, seeping into various genres and making artists change their sound.

But Nigeria's Burna Boy says the music doesn't have any substance because many of the artists have lived sheltered lives.

Burna Boy speaks on AfroBeats as a genre
“… AfroBeats as people call it, is mostly about nothing, literally nothing. there’s no substance to it — like, nobody is talking about anything in it. it’s just a great time.” pic.twitter.com/rfzOtCaZZY

— benny. (@benny7gg) August 22, 2023

"Half of them … 90% of them, have almost no real-life experiences that they can understand," said Burna in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. "That’s why you hear most Nigerian music, African Music, or Afrobeats, as people call it, is mostly about nothing, literally nothing. There is no substance to it, like nobody is talking about anything. It’s just a great time, an amazing time. But at the end of the day, life isn’t an amazing time."

Of course, in this current era of outrage, Burna's opinion highly offended people.

Burna boy needs to apologize to Africans for talking down on Afrobeats.

— Funny Man (@mrfunny____) August 23, 2023

As a superstar and a representative of any movement, Burna gotta curb your selfish motives and hubris, and speak with nuance or not speak at all.
The world is watching and your words can make or break that movement. The greats don’t shut the door behind them, they leave it open.

— Motolani 'Idan' Alake (@OneMotolani) August 23, 2023

"Burna boy needs to apologize to Africans for talking down on Afrobeats," one person tweeted.

"As a superstar and a representative of any movement, Burna gotta curb your selfish motives and hubris, and speak with nuance or not speak at all," wrote someone else. "The world is watching and your words can make or break that movement. The greats don’t shut the door behind them, they leave it open."

Where do you stand on this?