‘Afrobeats has substance’ – Dancehall singer, Spice disagrees with Buju Banton

Spice, a Jamaican dancehall diva, has clashed with her countrymen, reggae great Buju Banton, who says Afrobeats music is “f*ckery”.

During a recent visit on the ‘Drink Champs’ podcast, Banton criticised Afrobeats artists for supposedly utilising their music to enrich themselves rather than speaking about social issues.

He also argued that Afrobeats music lacked substance and would vanish over time.

He went on to accuse Afrobeats artists of taking Jamaican reggae and dancehall music without crediting the source.

Spice responded in an Instagram Live conversation with Nigerian media figure Daddy Freeze, saying Afrobeats isn’t “f*ckery” and emphasised that she is a lover of the genre.

The ‘Queen of Dancehall’ stated that, contrary to Buju Banton’s statements, there are Afrobeats artists who create conscious music.

“I don’t think Afrobeats is f*ckery. It’s absurd to say that,” she said.

“I am a fan of Afrobeats. I think he [Buju Banton] was speaking from a point that afrobeats don’t do cultural songs and I don’t know that to be true. Because I listen to Burna Boy and I know his songs. I know that Burna Boy did a song about EndSars. He also did ‘Monsters You Made’ which is also a cultural song. There are other afrobeats artistes like 2Face and Falz who make songs about political issues in Nigeria. So, I feel like there are afrobeats artists that do cultural songs.

“The problem with Buju Banton is that he doesn’t understand that artists are different. So, I think it’s harsh to say a genre is f*ckery, especially one that’s doing very well. We can’t deny it. I’m the queen of dancehall but afrobeats is ruling the world now.”