Fireboy DML explained the difference between Afrobeat and Afrobeats. The Nigerian artist spoke with Billboard. The Afrobeats musician discussed his passion for music and his many prominent collaborations like Ed Sheeran on Peru, Blaqbonez, Jon Bellion, and Madonna. He also discussed his feelings about the Grammys finally acknowledging Afrobeats and blending Afrobeats with country music.
Fireboy DML has released three hit albums: Playboy (2022), Apollo (2020), and Love, Tears, and Goosebumps (LTG) (2019). During his interview with Tetris Kelly, the Afrobeat artist provided a historical lesson on the origins and distinctions between Afrobeat and Afrobeats.
He stated, “Regardless of where we find ourselves, we will take whatever we can find and adapt. Fela, the godfather of Afrobeat, combined his essence, his own culture, with jazz to create what we know as Afrobeat. He passed it down. This is separate from the Fuji and Juju, which are our own creations. That’s exactly what we do. We combine our own culture with pop. People like CKay mixing it with R&B. Rema is mixing it with Afropop”.
The artist who attended the 66th Grammy Awards Black Music Collectives Party discussed his experience. Fireboy, Davido, Asake, Blaqbonez, Sarz, and other Nigerian performers were also in attendance. Speaking about his experience, he stated, “It was incredible. It was an entirely new experience for me. It was glamorous to see all of those folks with talents, you know, people you look up to. I saw both Lenny Kravitz and Jay-Z. Yes, it was a fantastic experience for me.”
