On April 11, 2023, Nigerian musician David Adeleke, nicknamed Davido, debuted the music video for his popular song “Unavailable,” which also features Musa Keys of South Africa.
Although the Zulu-themed music video’s director, Dammy Twitch, was praised for his artistic talent, the video has drawn much criticism for referring to Davido as “the King of Afrobeat.”
A female voice could be heard greeting the viewer in the video’s opening seconds, mixing isiZulu and English. Listening to Timeless FM right now. Where is he now, after all this time of wondering? What is he doing, exactly? I’m here to vouch for the return of the King of Afrobeat, baby!
“I’m talking about Davido. He’s back with a brand-new album. And I’m talking hit after hit. Thank you Davido. Thank you.”
In contrast to Afrobeats
Long ago, the terms “afrobeat” and “afrobeats” were interchanged. They may sound identical in pronunciation and writing, but they are two different genres.
According to Wikipedia, afrobeat (without a “s”) is a type of West African music that combines American funk, jazz, and soul influences with indigenous musical genres including fuji, folk, and highlife, with an emphasis on chanted vocals, intricate rhythms, and percussion.
While hip hop, house, jùj, afrobeat, R&B, highlife, and soca are all distinct genres, afrobeats is more of an umbrella phrase used to represent popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that draws from a variety of influences.
Does Davido perform Afrobeat or Afrobeats?
Davido, like the majority of his contemporaries who began their musical careers in the 2010s, performs songs in a genre best referred to as “Afro-fusion”—a genre that combines several musical genres like as hip-hop, juju, fuji, highlife, mokoss, R&B, pop, reggae, dancehall, makossa, soul, hip-life, ndombolo, and most recently, Amapiano.
Given the information above, it is safe to assume that Davido is more of an Afrobeats musician than an Afrobeats artist, with the latter term serving more as a description of West African popular music than a genre.
Afrobeat, which was developed in the 1960s by Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Fela Kuti, combines elements of West African music, jazz, and funk rhythms with an ensemble that emphasizes African percussion and vocal styles.
Femi Kuti, Suen Kuti, Made Kuti, Newen Afrobeat, and Antibalas are some contemporary afrobeat musicians.
Afrobeat music is not what Davido does. Therefore, it is MISLEADING to say that he is the “King of Afrobeat”!
