Veteran music producer ID Cabasa has offered his thoughts on the recent criticism of Afrobeats by Jamaican reggae icon Buju Banton.
Afrobeats have gained international recognition, but Banton had called them “shallow and unsubstantial.”
Speaking with reporters on Thursday at the late preacher Denis Joseph Slattery’s memorial lecture in Lagos, ID Cabasa proposed that Banton’s unfavourable opinions are the result of his ignorance of the language and style of the genre.
He underlined that people who are not familiar with Afrobeats may find it challenging to completely understand the music due to linguistic and cultural quirks.
ID Cabasa made the observation that people may mistake Nigerians for being superficial due to their use of caustic humour and narrative techniques.
He mentioned Afrobeats performers like Burna Boy, BNXN (Buju), Olamide, and Asake as instances of musicians using their music to communicate important themes.
ID Cabasa recognised that lack of acquaintance with the genre did not excuse disparaging criticism, thus he urged critics such as Banton to hold off on passing judgement.
To quote him:
“Buju Banton does not understand the genre. Can he speak our language? No.
“When you go online, Nigerians are the most sarcastic people in the world. So when you don’t understand our sarcasm and how we tell our stories, you will think there is no story to it.
“Now, these guys present the truth in a very simple way. And because your (Banton) own generation sang and you were saying so many things, you think you are deeper than them.
“So, these guys, they say stuff. You listen to Burna, BNXN, that we call Buju. You listen to Olamide and Asake. Are you going to tell me that there’s no substance in what Asake is doing?
“That you don’t understand a lot doesn’t mean that you should just criticise it. I think he is falling so much in love with the beat, which was why he said what he said.”
