‘Afrobeats has no substance, it’s mostly about nothing just vibes’ – Burna Boy

Burna Boy, the Nigerian singer who has won a Grammy award, has made a firm declaration that the afrobeat genre is devoid of substantial lyrical content and is essentially focused on providing an enjoyable experience, describing it as “just a great time.”

In a recent interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe in New York, the artist, often referred to as the “African Giant,” expressed his view that the afrobeat genre holds little meaning beyond the enjoyment it brings, characterizing it as “literally nothing.”

He said, “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.

“There is no substance to it — like, nobody is talking about anything in it. it is just a great time. It’s 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 had at some point or you plan to have, you are still going to face life.

“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.”