Nigerian music sensation, Burna Boy has clarified the misconception surrounding his music style, emphatically labeling it as Afro-Fusion rather than the previously reported term Afrobeats.
The accomplished artist shared these insights during an interview conducted in the United States.
Burna Boy was probed about the distinctions between his musical genre and Afrobeats, to which he responded by tracing the origins of “Afrobeat” back to the late musical icon Fela Kuti.
He expressed his lack of awareness regarding the genesis of the term “Afrobeats.”
According to Burna Boy, “Afrobeat” inherently belongs to Fela Kuti, the revered African legend.
He pointed out that those who adopted Fela’s style needed a distinct label for identification purposes, and that’s when the term “Afrobeats” emerged, with the addition of an “S.”
He admitted his uncertainty about its origin, speculating that it might have originated from the UK or another source. Regardless, he made it clear that it wasn’t originally “Afrobeats.”
Burna Boy went on to define his musical style as Afro-Fusion, an intricate fusion of diverse sounds that encapsulate the essence of the African experience.
He explained that when he embarked on his Afro-Fusion journey, he found no pre-existing label that resonated with his unique sound.
Consequently, he coined the term “Afro-Fusion” to encompass the amalgamation of various musical elements. He likened the African essence within his music to the container holding the entire concoction, signifying its core identity.
“Afrobeat is Fela Kuti. The African legend called Fela Kuti. That’s Afrobeat. Those who adopted his style needed to call it something to be able to identify. And somehow, they just said Afrobeat and added an S. I have no idea. Maybe it’s the UK or maybe I don’t know who. But it wasn’t Afrobeats.
“So for me, it’s like when I started the Afro-Fusion thing, there was nothing that I could identify myself with. So I just said, you know what? I’ll call it Afro-fusion. Because it’s a fusion of everything, really. And the Africaness is the bottle that holds the whole drink,” he added.