Nigerian highlife singer Chinedu Okoli, popularly known as Flavour, has aligned with Jamaican reggae icon Buju Banton in critiquing the depth of Afrobeats music.
DIASPORA GLITZ MAGAZINE reports that Banton recently sparked controversy by labelling Afrobeats as “f*ckery” in an interview. He argued that the genre lacks substance and predicted it would fade over time.
In response, during a recent episode of the ‘In My Opinion’ podcast, Flavour agreed with Banton’s assessment.
According to Flavour, Afrobeats lacks depth because its artists are lazy. “I understand what Buju Banton is trying to say. The current generation of Afrobeats artists doesn’t want stress; they just want to vibe,” he lamented. “Maybe Buju Banton is trying to awaken our spirit.”
Furthermore, Flavour distanced himself from the Afrobeats genre, clarifying that he identifies as a highlife artist, not an Afrobeats artist. He criticized the tendency of Western media to label all African artists under the Afrobeats genre.
