Afro beats artist, Bella shmurda has expressed dissatisfaction and disappointments on Nigerian artists undermining and disrespecting the afrobeat music genre on international stages.
Shmurda stated this during a recent interview on the 90s show, as he said he was displeased with the recent trend of artists especially those considered to be the big cats disrespecting the music genre on social media.
According to him, he had remained mute on the issue all along because he doesn’t want to risk having issues with people.
He said “we all artists should respect afrobeats. This is our thing, you can’t downgrade it no matter what level you are. The country is bad, the government is bad, this is our only source of happiness and you can’t downgrade it.”
He also had words for the artists who are disrespecting the afrobeats on international stages all in a bid to distinguish themselves. Bella stated it clearly that these big artists don’t support the local awards or perform in Nigeria but they go out there citing themselves as representatives of Africa when seeking international validation.
“We have Headies awards, we have AFRIMA, they call you and you don’t want to perform because you are too big but when you go for these international awards, you try to to give shout outs to Africa and make it look like you are representing Africa. Leave the shout outs, it’s for yourself, you are not real and you are not representing africa because if you are representing Africa you will be at at an African award.”
In defense that the artists might not want to be boxed in award categories on International stages, Bella said Nigerian artists should prioritize the Nigerian and African awards because these platforms understand and know their music better than the international audience, and even if artists brand themselves as a means of distinguishing from others they should do so without disrespecting the afrobeat genre.
“If they try to categorize us, let’s prioritize our own. If you want to be acknowledged properly from home, you have to be that person. If we take our own seriously, these people won’t have a choice.”
The musical artist raised concerns on the fact that the artists who are big and are supposed to be leaders in the African music industry are busy seeking international attention and validations from outsiders. He further stated that that was the reason for their condescending attitude towards afrobeats.
“Those who are supposed to be at the top and should be leading the afrobeats, i think they are more interested in validation from outside and this shouldn’t be so.”
The consistent jabbing on afrobeats by top artist like Davido, Burna boy, and the recent one which is Wizkid who tried to disassociate himself from afrobeats has raised concerns from industry stake holders who feel the musical genre might be loosing it’s value.
Bella shmurda’s take on this issue is very valid toward maintaining the value and integrity of Afrobeats in this age and time. Afrobeat is our heritage and should not be disrespected by anyone regardless of status or level.
