OPEN LETTER TO BURNABOY- NO, YOU ARE NOT A MUSICAL MESSIAH COMING TO SAVE NIGERIAN AFROBEAT
Dear Burna Boy ,
I hope this gets to you in good spirit .
I choose to write you this open letter because you called for it . I understand what this is all about to you – to stir up a buzz for the release of your forthcoming album,’ I told them ‘ two days from today . You want this controversy reason you decided to take a wrecking ball to the genre that made you .
Dear Odongwu, your antecedent in the past has proven that you take pride in putting others down to climb. Your pride knows no bound . I have defended you in most of those days, but it seems with you that a leopard truly can’t change its spot.
You said, ” 90% of Afrobeats’ songs lack real-life experiences and substance,” and you said this on the stage of world music . You decided to rubbish the genre that gave you life so as to be that ‘ messiah ‘ that rescues ‘Afrobeat ‘ So who said your songs have ‘substance’? What exactly have you sang that shows substance or can last generations like Fela or even Tuface ? Who gave you the audacity to be the touch bearer of Afrobeat?
Fine , musicians worldwide, and everywhere now chase hit songs for Tiktok without paying attention to real ‘substance’ just for number, but you are a culprit of this too. Many of your songs have no ‘substance ‘ according to you. How dare you take yourself out of the equation and throw others under the bus?
In perspective, sometimes Davido sings about his life experiences , struggles, etc, same as Wizkid , Olamide , Omahlay, and others . In fact , Omahlay tells his life stories in his song that they now call his song ‘ Afrodepreesion’. So what are you talking about ?
You are struggling so hard to fit into the American culture by putting down the African culture that made you and the other day, you once allegedly said ‘ Black Americans have no culture ‘ and yet you try to be like them . It seems to me you are now a box of paradox . A man without no identity seeking identity from the West . You trash your people and bring them down before the West so as to acclaim you are the ‘ African Giant’ …African Giant my foot!
Dear Burnaboy, you are no Odogwu . You are no messiah of Afrobeat, and in fact, Afrobeat needs no MESSIAH. It’s doing just fine. If not, you won’t be where you are today .
Your own don too much , it’s time to clear your craaaze!
Afrobeat is bigger and better, and no one has the monopoly to it but every lovers of music, especially Nigerians. It has substance, sit your ikebe down!
Sincerely,
Tino writes ✍️ from New York.
