Burna Boy Apologises After Saying Afrobeats ‘Lacks Substance’
Grammy-winning Nigerian artist Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy has issued an apology for previous comments in which he appeared to distance himself from Afrobeats, acknowledging the confusion and division his words caused.
The singer has faced criticism following a 2023 Apple Music interview in which he said the genre “lacks substance” and claimed most Afrobeats artists had “almost no real-life experiences.”
In a recent interview with 1Xtra’s Eddie Kadi, Burna reflected on the backlash and clarified his position.
“I got the point of the Afrobeats tag in that moment,” he said.
“I totally get it and I apologise for that confusion.”
Burna Boy explained that he had been in a difficult emotional state at the time of the original remarks.
“I wasn’t the happiest man in the world,” he admitted. “I was in a dark place mentally.”
Despite his international success including becoming the first African artist to headline a UK stadium in 2023, Burna said he had long resisted being boxed into one genre.
“I didn’t understand why people wanted my music to be inside one box,” he said.
“The way I saw it, if you just put everything into Afrobeats, you’re now comparing Socrates to Kendrick Lamar because they both said two things that rhyme so they both must be rappers.”
He now says the strong reaction to his comments helped him understand the unifying role the Afrobeats label plays in promoting African music globally.
“The division it caused made me come to terms with my opinion,” Burna explained. “I learnt to embrace the fact that I will always be different. I’m not going to be the favourite but I’m going to be the best.”
His latest album, No Sign of Weakness, released last week, embraces Afrobeats more directly and marks a new chapter in his relationship with the genre.
Beyond studio work, Burna Boy who has nearly 24 million monthly listeners on Spotify says performing live remains his greatest passion.
“I want to be able to do this until I die,” he said.
“I want to be doing this the way someone like Coldplay has been doing it for a long time, or The Rolling Stones. These people are still doing what I’m doing now, so why don’t I see anyone that looks like me, on those levels, at that age? And it’s simple, it might sound crazy, it’s because they just don’t love it as much as I do.”
Inspired by that passion, Burna reached out to one of his idols Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger—to feature on his new track, Empty Chairs.
“Mick Jagger is the rock star,” he said. “I felt he, out of everyone in the world, would understand where I was coming from with this song lyrically and he did.”
He described working with the 81-year-old icon as “one of the best experiences I’ve had.”
Burna Boy performed at Wireless Festival on Sunday and is currently on a European and North American tour, set to run through the end of the year.
