Nigerian highlife artist Chinedu Okoli, better known as Flavour, has concurred with Jamaican reggae legend Buju Banton’s view that afrobeats music lacks depth.
Gistme9ja notes that Banton caused a stir with his interview remarks, where he criticized Afrobeats as “f*ckery” and suggested that the genre, in his opinion, lacks substance and would eventually fade away.
In a recent episode of the ‘In My Opinion’ podcast, Flavour agreed with Buju Banton’s critique, affirming that Banton’s observations were accurate.
Flavour expressed that afrobeats lacks depth, attributing this to a lack of effort from contemporary artists. “I get what Buju Banton is saying.
Today’s artists are not willing to put in the hard work; they just want to create a vibe,” he commented.
“Perhaps Buju Banton is aiming to spark a change in us,” Flavour suggested.
At the same time, Flavour has made it clear that he is not aligned with the afrobeats genre. He emphasized that he identifies as a highlife artist, not an afrobeats performer.
He criticized the tendency of Western media to categorize all African artists under the afrobeats label.