In his debut Drink Champs interview, which aired on Saturday, August 10, with host N.O.R.E and DJ EFN, Buju Banton criticized Afrobeats as uninspiring and failing to uplift people across Africa.
“Tell me one Afrobeats song that can uplift us,” he said. “Kenya is suffering; young men in Kenya are revolting. South Africa, Sudan, South Sudan—everywhere is struggling. But which of these Afrobeats songs can relate to me for a peace of mind, to tell me that we are in the struggle, and even though it’s hard, we will overcome? Tell me.”
Several people online, including podcaster Jair Frai, have suggested that Burna Boy’s “Common Person” is a song made to uplift. However, the biggest Afrobeats hits often blend pop and R&B sensibilities. Notably, “One Dance,” a dancehall-infused collaboration between Drake and Nigerian star Wizkid, stands out as the biggest song in both Afrobeats and Dancehall.
It is certified Diamond and has sold more than 11 million units in the US. Leading artists in the genre include Nigerian singers Burna Boy and Tems, as well as South African singer Tyla, known for breakout songs like “Last Last,” “Essence,” and “Water.” Tyla’s collaboration with Skillibeng on the track “Jump” has become his biggest hit to date, surpassing 100 million streams on Spotify. The song spent 7 weeks at No. 1 on the UK Afrobeats chart and peaked at No. 38 on the UK Official Singles Chart.
Afrobeats has surpassed Dancehall and reggae in both the US and the UK, with many critics asserting that Afrobeats artists are currently producing work superior to anything coming out of Jamaica.
Murray Elias, the producer of “I’m Still In Love With You” by Sean Paul featuring Sasha, in response to Rvssian’s claim that Afrobeats would be in trouble if dancehall acts united commented on a WMV Instagram post that dancehall acts lack the ability to compete.
“First, Dancehall and Unity are oxymorons. It will never happen. Secondly, even if it were to happen, the Afrobeats artists are better songwriters, better singers, better artists than anything coming out of Jamaica. And by better, I mean more commercial on an international crossover level. Also, the Afrobeats music industry is well-funded and well-run, and the major labels see where it makes money,” he said.
Elias, a white New Yorker also criticized several Jamaican dancehall artists who recently signed record deals but have not turned a profit or achieved major chart success. “All the dancehall signings have been flops or the jury is still out,” he said. He included reggae acts in his critique, mentioning that “Protoje and Lila Ike flopped and were just dropped.”
In the past five years, several reggae and dancehall acts have signed with major record labels and released one or two albums. Buju Banton’s “Upside Down 2020” sold 2,900 units in its first week, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart, with a total of 53,000 units sold by January 2024. His follow-up album “Born For Greatness” sold 2,600 units in its first week but has yet to make the US Billboard Reggae Chart as of January 2024.
Koffee’s “Gifted” and Shenseea’s “Alpha” are the two most successful albums released by Jamaican artists in the past two years. “Gifted” debuted at No. 2 on the US Billboard Reggae Albums chart, peaking at No. 5 on the UK physical albums chart. It has sold over 250,000 units in the US. Shenseea’s “Alpha” sold 60,000 units in its first year of release.
Other acts with lukewarm first-week sales include Masicka’s Def Jam debut “Generation Of Kings,” which sold 3,500 units in its first week, and Skillibeng’s “Crocodile Teeth,” which sold 627 units in its first week.
Even Sean Paul, with whom Elias worked on the 3x Platinum “Dutty Rock” album, has struggled to sell 2,000 albums in the first week of release over the past two years. His albums “Live N Livin” and “Scorcha” debuted at No. 9 and No. 6 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart, respectively.
Byron Messia’s “No Love” was the most successful dancehall album released in 2023, driven by his breakout single “Talibans,” but Elias believes Byron and Teejay are poised to be one-hit wonders. “Right now, both Teejay and Byron Messia each have one hit record. My money is that they are both one-hit wonders,” he commented.
In contrast, Afrobeats artists have achieved major success in recent years. Burna Boy’s global arena tours included two sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden. Rema’s “Calm Down” spent a year in the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 and entered 2024 at No. 1 on the US Billboard Afrobeats chart. Tems won the NAACP Image Award for her cover of Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry.”
Buju also took shots at the Reggaeton genre saying by calling the artist in the genre culture vultures. “Listen, a lot of culture vultures out there, we have sat and we have watched Reggaeton f*ck with our music so hard and stolen out culture,” Buju said. He clarified that he is not hating but demanding respect and honor for the reggae and dancehall culture. “I am not knocking anybody but you don’t give us no respect motherfuckers, and you still expect us to act like we take something from you? This is the King’s music. Your music will come and go because it has nothing to o with soul and building energy. Our music is time marker.”
Drink Champs host N.O.R.E was one of the hip hop artist who helped to usher reggaeton into mainstream with the Puerto Rican collaboration Oye Mi Canto featuring Daddy Yankee, Nina Sky, Gem Star, Big Mato.
However, dancehall pioneers Steely and Clevie, have filed a sweeping copyright case alleging that 1,800 reggaeton hit songs illegally copied their 1989 track “Fish Market.” In May California Central District Judge André Birotte Jr. ruled that the case now move forward.
Defendants in the case include prominent artists such as Pitbull, Bad Bunny, Drake, Karol G, and Wisin, as well as all three major labels and publishing companies Warner, Sony and Universal and their publishing arms.
Defendants had filed five motions to dismiss challenging the sufficiency of the plaintiffs’ claims. However, the court denied these motions for the direct copyright infringement claim, allowing the case to proceed.
In a statement to WMV, lawyers representing Steely and Clevie criticized the defendants’ tactics: “Instead of working to resolve the dispute, the defendants filed a slew of motions in an effort to delay and increase the cost of the case, and to deprive our clients of their day in court. This tactic proved unsuccessful and we look forward to the litigation’s next phase.”
