Afrobeats has better artists than reggae dancehall says music exec Murray Elias

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

The numbers are there for the Sub-Saharan continent. Afrobeats continues to grow and its gonna overtake trap music in the airwaves in the next couple of years.

Yeah. It’s also the soft-power move Africa needed to attract favor and investment.

Entertainment is a big leverage on the world stage

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

You say this every year, its not happening.

Afrobeasts skyrocketed during the pandemic when clubs were shut down and the vibes shifted. There was movement but the flip was solidified right then.

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

Lol gangster rap and dancehall definitely is being played heavily across the motherland.

Did I say it was banned?

I’m saying in terms of performance and radio play, it’s not getting support. Its streaming and the streets where you hear that stuff but I’m talking industry standard stuff.

Even in Jamaica you can’t get on stage doing all that violent shyt. People again dont know this. artists get fined all the time for this.

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

 

[papa pimp]

Did I say it was banned?

I’m saying in terms of performance and radio play, it’s not getting support. Its streaming and the streets where you hear that stuff but I’m talking industry standard stuff.

Even in Jamaica you can’t get on stage doing all that violent shyt. People again dont know this. artists get fined all the time for this.

"radio play" lol

africans on the continent aint consuming music via no damn radio

 

[papa pimp]

Afrobeasts skyrocketed during the pandemic when clubs were shut down and the vibes shifted. There was movement but the flip was solidified right then.

not according to Luminate (look them up)
hip hop still got the US and the world in a chokehold even without obvious party/club records

 

[Jards]

From de time you start sell your soul and change your style chasing acceptance in foreign, you lost. The foundation is the foundation.

Aside from that, the money people will always go with what has a larger, readymade audience, and even if you limit the sample to West African nations and their immediate diaspora the population numbers will always dwarf Jamaicans. It's just simple maths.


A better product will always trump numbers, so focus on the product. DJs, engineers, producers, soundman, whoever. The standards have been slipping. Take the egos out and get to work, especially with the youths coming up after(look how LONG Bounty been preaching dat). Ain't no way you could tell me Skillibeng is the best thing on offer out here. The media people will do what media people do, filter that out.

Fix.the.product.

This right here. Nigeria alone has over 200 million people as well as a large diaspora spread out across the world.

I fukk with Afrobeats but if the genre isn't careful, it will be the next mainstream trend to die out quickly as the lyrical content is limited. Burna himself said that most of the tracks are about nothing and have no substance. I wouldn't go that far but most of the tracks are lovey dovey, having a good time type of vibe which is what he was mainly getting at. And as much I can appreciate a gunman tune as much as the next man, dancehall needs to find a balance.

 

[MajesticLion]

This right here. Nigeria alone has over 200 million people as well as a large diaspora spread out across the world.

I fukk with Afrobeats but if the genre isn't careful, it will be the next mainstream trend to die out quickly as the lyrical content is limited. Burna himself said that most of the tracks are about nothing and have no substance. I wouldn't go that far but most of the tracks are lovey dovey, having a good time type of vibe which is what he was mainly getting at. And as much I can appreciate a gunman tune as much as the next man, dancehall needs to find a balance.

People are going to have to decide what they want their music to be and be capable of. You can let it be completely party music and end up a niche genre like soca music, or get into more religious/spiritual themes like conscious reggae, or pure social commentary like traditional calypso. That's the freedom of it all, you get to decide what themes you touch on in your music.

The most powerful tunes have been those timeless ones where you have that balance you mentioned, a Beres Hammond/Buju combination, Pinchers and Bounty Killer, a Barrington Levy/Beenie refix, whatever. Different perspectives, same tune, balance. Don't put limits on yourself chasing "hits" when you can talk about everything. That is how life works, no man is simply just any one thing. You can appeal to different facets all at once.



You could drop Kette Drum in a dance all now, all these years later, and still tear up any dance. There's a reason.

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

This right here. Nigeria alone has over 200 million people as well as a large diaspora spread out across the world.

I fukk with Afrobeats but if the genre isn't careful, it will be the next mainstream trend to die out quickly as the lyrical content is limited. Burna himself said that most of the tracks are about nothing and have no substance. I wouldn't go that far but most of the tracks are lovey dovey, having a good time type of vibe which is what he was mainly getting at. And as much I can appreciate a gunman tune as much as the next man, dancehall needs to find a balance.

People are going to have to decide what they want their music to be and be capable of. You can let it be completely party music and end up a niche genre like soca music, or get into more religious/spiritual themes like conscious reggae, or pure social commentary like traditional calypso. That's the freedom of it all, you get to decide what themes you touch on in your music.

The most powerful tunes have been those timeless ones where you have that balance you mentioned, a Beres Hammond/Buju combination, Pinchers and Bounty Killer, a Barrington Levy/Beenie refix, whatever. Different perspectives, same tune, balance. Don't put limits on yourself chasing "hits" when you can talk about everything. That is how life works, no man is simply just any one thing. You can appeal to different facets all at once.



You could drop Kette Drum in a dance all now, all these years later, and still tear up any dance. There's a reason.

so what you’re saying is they need a religious and political martyr to live off of like what Marley did for reggae?

Political music is hard in africa cause…they’re not gonna play with that shyt

It’s new territory but on sheer population, they have more runway than ever before. Let’s see what the continent does with it.

 

[Ugo Ogugwa]

 

[IllmaticDelta]

True but nikkas like putting both together. shyt we can even call out reggae cause them “riddims” sound more like RnB than real reggae. Nikkas done sold tf out.

Meanwhile, Afrobeats and Reggaeton incorporated the formula Jamaicans created and are now more successful than yardies.

Afrobeats and modern Reggaeton incorporate House/Techno (EDM) type sounds that Dancehall never had

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

they gotta get back to this




This dude has EVERYTHING to win right now

 

[Buckeye Fever]

Drill had shock value which lured ppl in, but in reality, the shyt is WACK.

I would be a fan of Durk if he made more tracks like "Smurk Carter". Non-drill raps over a non-drill beat. That song is tough to me.

 

[King Sun]

fukked up the more I learned about reggae is how they would snake their artists out of money. Just google Barrington Levys situation he can't even eat off his OG biggest song because of another black man got his publishing. I feel like this has more to do with the decline of dancehall than just afrobeats artist being "better". Hell I doubt a major label is giving a bag to popcaan to make a dope classic than they would to burna boy.

 

[NoirDynosaur]

it's not a matter of talent it's a matter of marketability

afrobeats artists friendlier/safer more ready for mainstream

dancehall got too much criminal gangster street related shyte tied in

*

Dancehall was very marketable starting in the '90s and throughout the 2000s

These songs are certified club bangers




Overall, it was just good vibes and good music. Afrobeats picked this up and capitalized on it.

As you said, content plays a role in building a core audience. As well as sticking with tradition, as soon as the labels try to water down the formula, the genre loses its flavor.