DJ Big N says Afrobeats is at its lowest point in 20 years, blaming artists and executives.
He urged a return to originality, warning that chasing global appeal has weakened the genre’s quality.
Nigerian disc jockey Nonso Temisan Ajufo, popularly known as DJ Big N, has expressed concern that Afrobeats is currently at its lowest point in two decades.
Speaking in an interview with Echo Room, the Mavin Records DJ said both artists and music executives share the blame for the decline, noting that efforts to make the genre appeal to international audiences have instead weakened its originality and quality.
“Afrobeats right now is at its worst position in the last 20 years. And everyone from musicians to music executives has a part to be blamed. The quality of music dropped,” he said.
He continued, “The originality of the music dropped. Whatever you want to export has to be original, first and foremost. You can’t sell foreign genres to foreign audiences. We have to embrace our originality.”
DJ Big N also lamented that many Nigerian artists have become unaffordable, even in their own country, due to excessive performance fees.
He urged Afrobeats artists and stakeholders to rethink their strategies and return to authenticity to preserve the genre’s global reputation.
