Readers will recall his infamous statement that Afrobeats lacked substance, which he made in a 2023 Interview with Zane Lowe of Apple Music.
Burna Boy shared that the statement was born out of his long-standing decision to identify his music as Afro-fusion as opposed to the umbrella term Afrobeats, which is used to define Nigerian pop music and which he believes doesn’t adequately capture his music.
“I described it by music as Afro fusion because it was as if there was almost no place for it at home, and I had to create my own place for it”.
Retracting the statement, the global music star stated that at the time of making the statement, he didn’t know that Afrobeats was an umbrella term used in advancing Nigerian music as a collective rather than just being a music genre.
“I didn’t understand why everyone wanted my music to be inside one box”.
He said understanding the essence of Afrobeats as a movement has led him to appreciate the negative reactions to his comments.
“I didn’t understand that we needed an umbrella term for what we were doing to actually get somewhere,” he said on his realisation of the purpose of Afrobeats as a movement in advancing Nigerian music.
“If I understood this, I would have gone about it differently because why would I want to destroy what I am building?” he clarified.
“I didn’t realize we needed Afrobeats tag as an umbrella to go to anywhere. I totally get it now and I apologize for that confusion”
– Burna Boy apologizes for saying Afrobeats lacks substance pic.twitter.com/4OGSFCR0KN
— OLAMIDE 🌸💖 (@Olamide0fficial) July 15, 2025
“I apologise for the confusion,” Burna Boy said on the division his statement caused.
Burna Boy’s explanation offers clarity on the reason behind his infamous statement, and his apology is an admirable move to take accountability.
The history-making star recently released his 8th album ‘No Sign of Weakness’, which features notable global stars including Mick Jagger, Travis Scott, and Stromae.
The Port Harcourt-born star is set to go on a tour of North America and Europe, where he will be headlining iconic venues.
