Nigerian music producer, Olumide Ogunade, popularly known as ID Cabasa, has described Senegalese-American singer, Akon’s recent claims about pioneering Afrobeats as a “half-truth,” likening it to the colonial-era assertion that Mungo Park discovered the River Niger.
Cabasa made the statement while appearing on Sunday’s edition of Rubbin’ Minds on Channels Television, where he weighed in on the ongoing conversation around the origin and ownership of the Afrobeats genre.
He clarified that while Akon’s influence in spotlighting Nigerian artistes on the global stage was notable, it did not equate to being the originator of the genre.
“What Akon said, I think, was sort of a half-truth. It’s like Mungo Park saying he discovered the River Niger and Benue — but he met people there fishing.
“There was already a sound that attracted him (Akon), and you’re claiming you discovered it? That’s how it sounded. Even the people he mentioned — these guys were already popping, already doing stuff,” the producer said.
In early May, Akon claimed in an interview with Sherri Shepherd and also with the BagFuel Brigade podcast that he played a pivotal role in creating Afrobeats.
The music executive credited his collaborations with Nigerian artistes like Wizkid and Banky W in the late 2000s and early 2010s as foundational to the genre’s global success.
Akon had described himself as a major catalyst for Afrobeats’ international breakthrough by introducing business structures that were previously missing in the Nigerian music scene.
Credit: channelstv.com
