Davido, the prominent Nigerian artist, has followed in the footsteps of Wizkid, Burna Boy, and Fireboy by publicly disavowing the Afrobeats genre. In a recent appearance on the Business Untitled Podcast, the ‘OBO’ crooner expressed frustration over the categorization of all African artists under the Afrobeats umbrella, regardless of their diverse musical styles.
During the podcast, Davido highlighted the historical context of African music’s acceptance outside the continent, citing the UK as the pioneering space before America’s later involvement. He emphasized the distinction between Afrobeat, the genre pioneered by Fela Kuti, and the broader label of Afrobeats, which has become a catch-all term for African music.
Davido raised concerns about the lack of differentiation within the genre, noting that artists ranging from pure R&B vocalists to rap artists are often lumped together under the Afrobeats label. Despite recognizing the necessity for genre classification, he advocated for more accurate descriptors such as R&B or Afropop to reflect the diversity within African music.