Grammy-nominated Afrobeat artist Seun Kuti has sparked fresh debate in the Nigerian music scene after declaring that Afrobeats is not a genre, but rather a label used to generalise music from Africa.
Speaking during a recent interview on The Beat 99.9 FM Lagos, Seun, son of the legendary Fela Anikulapo Kuti, argued that the term “Afrobeats” lacks the structural integrity of a true genre and is instead treated as a flexible tag by artists and industry gatekeepers.
“I think Afrobeats is more of a title than a genre,” he said. “You can see Amapiano is the new Afrobeats. It’s the new title, it’s the new thing in Afrobeats. So, Afrobeats is just a generalisation; it’s just a title to identify something from a particular place [Africa].”
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Kuti emphasised that most Afrobeats artists are eclectic, often switching between styles like dancehall, blues, Nigerian pop, and Amapiano, depending on what’s trending. This fluidity, he argued, proves that Afrobeats lacks the defining musical characteristics that would qualify it as a genre.
“Even the gatekeepers, the big names, don’t deal with it like a genre,” he added. “They don’t work it like a genre.”
His comments have reignited long-standing conversations about the identity and evolution of African music on the global stage. While Afrobeats continues to dominate international charts and festivals, critics and purists like Seun Kuti are questioning whether the term truly reflects the depth and diversity of African soundscapes.
