Burna Boy is one of the artists exporting Nigerian music to the world, thanks to his compelling talent that has earned him numerous awards and sold-out venues. In a recent interview with Apple Music before the release of his seventh album “I Told Them,” the artist described mainstream Nigerian music, commonly referred to as Afrobeats, as lacking substance.
In a conversation with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, as reported by Pulse Nigeria, Burna Boy stated that Afrobeats is practically about nothing. “Afrobeats, as you call it, is basically about nothing. It has no substance, and nobody is talking about anything. It’s just about having a good time,” he said.
According to the Grammy winner, music shouldn’t only be about having a good time, as life is not always a good time. “Ultimately, life is not just a good time. No matter how much you live in a good time, or you have lived at a point in time, or you are looking to live, you will always have to deal with life. For me, I feel like music should be an artist’s essence and an artist is someone who has good days, bad days, good days, and worst days,” he added.
Burna Boy claims that he uses his music to share his essence, and his album is a window through which listeners can glimpse a part of that essence. The singer, whose new album is set to be released on August 25th, describes his “new baby” as another insight into his mindset.
