Afrobeats Comment: Joeboy Tackles Burna Boy
Nigerian singer Joseph Akinfenwa Donus, a.k.a. Joeboy, has tackled his colleague, Damini Ogulu, popularly known as Burnaboy, over his ‘substance’ statement.
Burnaboy stated in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe that Afrobeats artistes make music without substance.
While featuring in the latest episode of the Zero Conditions podcast, Joeboy, when asked about his take on Burnaboy’s statement, said every [Afrobeats] artistes has substance.
His words, “I feel everybody has substance. It’s just based on what people relate to. Sometimes when you make a high-tempo song that is danceable, people feel like you are just vibing.”
The ‘Don’t Call Me Back’ crooner also stated that ‘substance’ in music has nothing to do with language.
“I used to see some comments [on social media] because somebody is singing in plain English; they [fans] would be like, ‘Ah pen game!’ What pen game? Because the lyrics of the song is in English?
“I understand that you can’t connect to every form of music that you come across. But I promise you, anybody who has the ability or mind to create something out of thin air has substance.
“You don’t have to like it.”
Joeboy stated that as long as a group of people can connect to what you’ve created, that’s substance, even though some “substance is whack.”
