Oyindamola Olaleye 
Grammy-nominated Afrobeat singer, Seun Kuti has sparked fresh debate about the classification of Afrobeats, insisting that it is not a music genre.
Speaking during an interview on The Beat 99.9 FM Lagos, the son of Afrobeat pioneer, Fela Kuti, explained that Afrobeats is more of a “Title” or tag used to group music from Africa rather than a distinct genre.
The 42-year-old singer argued that even the so-called “gatekeepers” of the industry and many top Afrobeats stars do not approach it as a defined genre.
“I think Afrobeats is more of a title than a genre,” Kuti said.
Adding that “You can see Amapiano is the new Afrobeats. It’s the new title, it’s the new thing in Afrobeats. So, Afrobeats is just a generalisation; it’s just a title to identify something from a particular place, Africa.”
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According to Kuti, artists within the movement are highly versatile, shifting easily between different styles and trends.
“They could do a dancehall track today, a blues track tomorrow, switch to Nigerian pop, jump on Amapiano, or whatever is trending,” he explained. “That’s why I say Afrobeats is not a genre, it’s just a tag.”
Seun Kuti’s remarks have reignited discussions about the evolution of African music and how global audiences perceive the rise of Afrobeats on the world stage.
