Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Tems has addressed Buju Banton's criticisms of Afrobeats, emphasizing the genre's role as escapist music.
During her appearance on Kick Game’s Shopping for Sneakers, Tems responded to Banton's remarks from his August interview on Revolt TV’s Drink Champs, where he described Afrobeats as "shallow and unsubstantial music that lacks content aimed at liberating Africa."
Banton contrasted this with the politically charged messages of Reggae and Dancehall, expressing disappointment that contemporary African artists have not continued the legacy of using music to address social and political issues.
Tems acknowledged Banton's influence in the global music scene but offered a different perspective, stating, "Reggae is not Afrobeats, and the Afrobeats in Nigeria is specifically for escapism. It’s specifically for dancing; specifically for vibes. It’s specifically made for that purpose. That’s the purpose of Afrobeats. It’s made to bring you alive and just forget about your worries and just enjoy."
She further explained that the climate of Nigeria calls for such music, which is why it resonates so well with Nigerians and has gained global popularity. "But it doesn’t change the purpose of that music… so the purpose remains the same. It’s always been for vibes and I think that’s just the clarification, you know, Afrobeats is not Reggae and Reggae is not Afrobeats," she added.
Tems also highlighted the diversity of music genres, noting that each serves different purposes. "We can’t all make the same type of music. It’s like R&B is usually about heartbreak or it’s about love. You can’t compare R&B to Jazz; you can’t compare Jazz to rock music or punk rock. Music is for different purposes, and there is music that is for uplifting people economically, financially, and politically, and then there is music that is just for escape—it’s a good time," she said.
Banton had stressed the importance of leaving a lasting impact through music, urging Afrobeats artists to think beyond accumulating wealth and consider their legacy.
He lamented, "The music needs to free Africa. If I am all the way in Jamaica, and my country and my people fight fi free your continent with word, sound, and power, and you have the ability now, and all you are singing is f-ckery? You don’t sing a song to free Africa all now?"
Nigerian artist Burna Boy shared similar sentiments in an Apple Music interview last year, criticizing the lyrical content of many Afrobeats songs for lacking depth and real-life experiences.
"Half of them, 90 per cent of them, have almost no real-life experiences that they can understand, which is why you hear most Nigerian music, African Music, or Afrobeats, as people call it, is mostly about nothing, literally nothing," he had said.
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