Nigerian singer and songwriter, Yemi Alade has criticised her colleagues over their decision to downplay Afrobeats and distance themselves from the genre.
She addressed the recent acts of denouncing Afrobeats by saying that while it is not wrong for artistes to deny being under the Afrobeats, they cannot deny that it contributed to every Nigerian artiste’s development.
Taking to her Twitter (X) handle, Yemi Alade emphasised that even if the musicians feel it doesn’t define their art, it is hypocrisy for them to downplay the genre.
The ‘Johnny’ crooner wrote: “I don’t see anything wrong in informing your listeners of the genre of music an artist makes especially when you feel it doesn’t define your art.
“Just Announce your Genre in peace. Downplaying the role Afrobeats has played in every artist’s development is hypocrisy.”
Alade’s online rant is coming against the backdrop of some Nigerian singers like Burna Boy, Wizkid, and Fireboy DML denouncing the Afrobeats genre.
Burna Boy had said that Afrobeats lacked substance, and this stirred a controversy in the industry that did not fade for a long time
In his words; “Because of where I am from. The sh*t I have to go through to maneuver and just stay with my crown on my head. (It is harder for people that know you best to love you the most). Because they do not know you best. You just think they do.
“When you start going around the world and you start seeing that there are actually motherf**kers that know me a lot than the people that share the same (not experience)… because 90 per cent of them [Nigerian musicians] have no real life experiences which is why most of Nigerian music or African music or afrobeats as people call it, is mostly about nothing, literally nothing.
“It is why you hear most of Nigerian 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 is just a great time. It is an amazing time. But at the end of the day, life is not an amazing time.
“No matter how nice of a time you are having now or you are had at some point or you plan to have, you are still going to face life. Me speaking for myself, the artiste is the person who has good days, bad days, great days, and worst days.
“So, for me, I feel like music should be the essence of the artiste. The artiste is a person who has good day, bad day, his great days and worst days. So, I’m dropping a project that should be a window for the fans to see those experiences.”
