Veteran rapper Ruggedman has criticised the practice of grouping African music under the single label “Afrobeats.”
In a recent interview with Day Genius, Ruggedy Baba said he had always opposed the term but was often accused of being envious of Afrobeats singers.
“I don’t like Afrobeats as an umbrella genre from every music coming out of Africa. That was a mistake. I didn’t like it from the beginning but when I complained people accused me of being jealous or trying to gatekeep.
“Right now, if I go to the UK to perform, I would be tagged an Afrobeats artiste. It is wrong.
ALSO READ: Ruggedman rejects Afrobeats label for Fela, King Sunny Ade, Others
“It is the people in the UK who started this thing of tagging every African music Afrobeats. Nigerians love classicism. They just wanted to give it a name.
“For me, Afrobeats with an ‘S’ is a name talentless Nigerians hide behind. All you need to make an Afrobeats hit is just to get a good beat and a street slang and repeat it as many times as you like. Then spend a lot of money to promote it. That is the Afrobeats with an ‘S’,” he said.
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Ruggedman also claimed that only a few Afrobeats artistes can sing without autotune. He added that this is why most Afrobeats artistes shy away from freestyling and live performances with bands.
