Ghanaian-British afrobeat singer Fuse ODG has strongly refuted claims by legendary reggae artiste Buju Banton that afrobeat lacks the cultural substance to uplift African communities.

In a recent conversation with the media, Buju Banton expressed disappointment in the direction Afrobeat has taken. According to him, unlike the purpose for which it was initiated, which is to inspire positive change and talk about societal ills, the music genre has lost its potential to bring about meaningful change.

He said that unlike Fela Kuti, who used his music to create awareness and bring about change, musicians now cannot do so with their Afrobeat songs.

Reacting to Buju Banton’s comments in a video shared on X, Fuse ODG acknowledged that some artiste now do not produce afrobeat songs that carry positive message, however, there are some songs that have inspired Africans and people of African roots across the globe to return home.

He said, “I get where Buju is coming from because most afrobeat hits do not have the message in it, but that is not to say there are no afrobeat artiste with positive messages in their music. Afrobeat is so spiritual, and most often, we speak in our mother tongue to connect with Africans and people of African descent all across the globe.”

 Fuse ODG continued, “This music is now allowing Africans to fall back, fall in love with themselves, and be proud to be Africans. It is allowing African-Americans to want to come back home. It’s allowing Afro-Caribbeans to come home and connect to their roots.”

Fuse ODG maintains that although Afrobeat has its challenges, it is allowing Black people to take ownership of their motherlands and also bring huge revenues to most African countries.

Watch the video here:

Fuse ODG reacts to Buju Banton’s opinion that afrobeat is uninspiring and doesn’t raise the hope of Africans pic.twitter.com/yo8M4xEOa1

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