Afrobeat artist Seun Kuti has reignited debate around the classification of Nigerian music with provocative comments during a recent interview on Beat 99.9 FM.
The son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti challenged the common perception of Afrobeats as a distinct genre, arguing instead that it’s more of a label used to group diverse sounds emerging from Africa.
“Afrobeats is more of a title than a genre,” Seun said. “It’s a generalization—a way to identify music from a particular place. But it doesn’t do justice to the range and depth of what’s actually being made.”
He pointed to the stylistic diversity of Nigerian musicians as evidence that Afrobeats isn’t a fixed genre. “You see artists doing amapiano today, Afrobeat tomorrow, dancehall next. Even the biggest names aren’t locked into one sound,” he explained.
Seun further criticized industry gatekeepers for treating Afrobeats as a catch-all term, noting that many top acts seamlessly switch between styles, from pop to blues to amapiano.
“Their artists are eclectic. They’re not treating it like a genre. That should tell you something,” he added.
He concluded that rather than viewing Afrobeats as a narrowly defined musical style, it should be seen as a broad, unifying label for contemporary African music—a reflection of the continent’s musical fluidity and global influence.
