Veteran Nigerian rapper Ruggedman has voiced his disapproval of grouping all African music under the popular “Afrobeats” label, arguing that the classification is misleading.
In a recent interview with Day Genius, the artist, also known as Ruggedy Baba, said he has long opposed the term but was previously misunderstood and accused of envy by critics.
According to him, Afrobeats should not be treated as a universal genre for music coming out of Africa, insisting that the label oversimplifies the continent’s diverse sound.
“I don’t like Afrobeats as an umbrella genre from every music coming out of Africa. That was a mistake. I didn’t liked 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 artistes. It is wrong.”
Ruggedman blamed the origin of the classification on people outside Africa, particularly in the UK, stating that Nigerians later embraced the label for convenience.
“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.”
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He further criticised the industry, claiming that the term has become a cover for mediocrity among some artists.
“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’.”
The rapper also questioned the vocal abilities of some performers within the space, alleging that only a few can perform without heavy reliance on autotune.
Prompt News reports he added that this is why many avoid freestyle sessions or live band performances.
