Afrobeats music is becoming increasingly popular worldwide. Nigerian musicians are winning international awards, working with global stars, and performing at major concerts. This success has brought attention to the genre from various quarters. Jamaican Reggae and Dancehall artist Buju Banton recently shared his thoughts on Afrobeats during an interview on the Drinking Champs Podcast.

“A lot of culture vultures out there. They’ve focused on our music so hard & stolen our culture. They don’t give us no respect”

– Buju Banton talks about Afrobeats not giving Jamaican Reggae & Dance hall enough props. pic.twitter.com/Ost7x1lBDx

— OLAMIDE 🌸💖 (@Olamide0fficial) August 11, 2024

He expressed his opinion that while Afrobeats is gaining international recognition, it lacks the impactful messaging of earlier African music.

Banton compared current Afrobeats to the works of artists like Fela Kuti, Salif Keita, and Youssou N’dour. He believes these older artists’ music had a more sociopolitical impact and better reflected the struggles of the African continent.

According to Buju Banton, Afrobeats songs don’t connect deeply with the audience’s experiences. He contrasted this with Reggae music, which he says documents various aspects of life and reflects current political climates, including ongoing protests in different countries.

Banton also commented on the influence of Reggae and Dancehall on both Afrobeats and Latin American Reggaeton. He feels these genres don’t sufficiently acknowledge their Caribbean influences. He specifically criticized Afrobeats for not including more collaborations with Jamaican artists.

The Jamaican musician’s comments have sparked discussions on social media. Many observers disagree with Banton’s claim that Afrobeats lacks conscious music.

Buju Banton: Name one Afrobeats song that can uplift us?

Me: Here’s 20 that dropped this year…

1. Burna Boy – Higher
2. Yemi Alade & Ziggy Marley – Peace & Love
3. Wizard Chan – Demons & Angels
4. Show Dem Camp, The Cavemen, Nsikak David & Moelogo – Blessings
5. Ladipoe,… https://t.co/x3IoY2nmKI

— gracey mae (@_graceymae) August 11, 2024

They also dispute his statement about Afrobeats artists not featuring Jamaican counterparts, pointing out that such collaborations do exist.

Asake, a Nigerian music artist, released his third album titled ‘Lungu Boy‘ on August 9, 2024. This new album features collaborations with several famous artists from around the world. These include the Grammy-winning Nigerian star Wizkid, British rappers Central Cee and Stormzy, American rapper Travis Scott, and Brazilian singer Ludmila. The release of ‘Lungu Boy’ marks another significant step in Asake’s rising international career.

Tremendous success on various music streaming platforms met the album’s debut. On its first day of release, ‘Lungu Boy’ set a new record on Spotify Nigeria with 5.86 million streams. This figure surpassed the previous record of 4.91 million streams held by Davido’s album ‘Timeless’. The album’s success wasn’t limited to Nigeria alone.

.@asakemusik’s ‘Lungu Boy’ tallied 5.86 million streams on Spotify Nigeria in its opening day

It sets a new all-time record for the biggest first day for any album in the platform history— breaking the previous record of @davido’s ‘Timeless’ (4.91M) pic.twitter.com/nE613mqTGg

— TurnTable Charts (@TurntableCharts) August 10, 2024

Globally, ‘Lungu Boy’ achieved 9.2 million streams on its opening day on Spotify, setting a new record for Nigerian albums on the platform. The album’s popularity continued into its second day. It garnered 3.03 million streams on Spotify Nigeria. This number represents the biggest second-day stream for any album in 2024 and also exceeds the first-day streams of all other projects released that year.

.@asakemusik’s ‘Lungu Boy’ tallied 3.03 million streams on Spotify Nigeria in its second day of release

It is the biggest second day streams for any album in 2024— and more than the opening day streams of any other project this year pic.twitter.com/Izo0FJzQtz

— TurnTable Charts (@TurntableCharts) August 11, 2024

Individual tracks from the album also performed exceptionally well. The second track, ‘MMS’, broke the record for single-day streams on Spotify Nigeria with 870,577 plays. This surpassed the previous record of 626,000 streams held by Wizkid’s song ‘IDK’ featuring Zlatan.

.@asakemusik and @wizkidayo’s “MMS” recorded 870,577 streams in its first day of release on Spotify Nigeria

It sets a new record for the biggest first-day streams by any song in Spotify Nigeria— surpassing @wizkidayo’s “IDK” (626K) and @heisrema’s BENIN BOYS (619K) pic.twitter.com/dTmKudXrmY

— TurnTable Charts (@TurntableCharts) August 10, 2024

The album’s success extended to other music platforms as well. On Apple Music’s US chart, ‘Lungu Boy’ matched the highest position ever achieved by a Nigerian album. It tied with Burna Boy’s ‘I Told Them’ and Davido’s ‘Timeless’.

In the UK, ‘Lungu Boy’ reached the number-one spot on Apple Music’s chart.

This made it Asake’s third album to achieve this milestone, following his debut ‘Mr. Money With The Vibe’ and his second album ‘Work of Art’.

‘Lungu Boy’ represents Asake’s third album release in years. This rapid succession of hit albums has cemented Asake’s status as a defining artist of his era in Nigerian and African music. Since his breakthrough into mainstream music, Asake has been on a remarkable upward trajectory.

His debut album, ‘Mr. Money With The Vibe’, was recognized with the Album of the Year award at the 2023 Headies Awards, a prestigious honour in the Nigerian music industry. His second album, ‘Work of Art’, also achieved significant success, particularly with the single ‘Lonely At The Top’. This track set a record for the longest-charting song on the TurnTable Top 100. Further,  demonstrating Asake’s staying power and popularity in the music charts.

Jimmy Odukoya is both a Nollywood actor and a pastor. He recently talked about his emotional journey after his mother, Pastor Bimbo Odukoya, died unexpectedly in 2005. He shared this personal story on a podcast called “Truth Table.” His sister, Pastor Tolu Odukoya hosts the podcast. This was the first episode of the podcast.

During the podcast, Jimmy spoke openly about how losing his mother affected his belief in God. He explained that he struggled with his faith after his mother’s death. Jimmy described how difficult it was for him to deal with his grief while also trying to maintain his religious beliefs. He talked about the internal conflict he experienced between his sadness and his faith.