Renowned Hip-Hop producer Swizz Beatz has recently come under fire online for claiming to have introduced Afrobeats superstars Burna Boy and Wizkid to the United States, despite the evidence suggesting otherwise.
The Grammy-winning hit-maker, who has worked with the likes of Jay Z, DMX and Kanye West, made the claims while as a guest on Amazon Prime Music’s ‘Rotation Roundtables,’ hosted by Speedy Morman, Nyla Symone, Rob Markman, and Gabe P.
While referencing a 2015 video, in which he and his wife Alicia Keys were dancing to Wizkid’s Ojuelelegbe, Swizz explained: “I introduced Wizkid to America. I was the first person to play his song. Me and my wife were on a trip and we danced to his song.”
He also added: “I was the first person to bring Burna Boy to the States. I introduced him on stage.”
Swizz, who raps occasionally, was on the show promoting his hit clash series, Verzuz – which Beenie Man and Bounty Killer dominated back in 2020. The 44-year-old was also teasing future projects while commenting on a range of topics, and his stirring comments came following a prompt by host, Nyla Symone.
She had explained that after a trip to Ghana, she’s been stuck on Afrobeats.
Symone then quizzed the father of five on what sound he’s been tapping into lately – which led to his now highly criticized comments.
Staunch defenders of Afrobeats took to social media to rip the producer’s comments, labelling them ‘insulting and ignorant.’
According to one Twitter user: “Swizz introduced Burna on stage at the concert, but this is insulting to the work all the promoters and people of the diaspora have been doing to spread the culture… This is why we need our own platforms so our stories can be properly told.”
Another user explained that until Wizkid and others addressed the full extent of their own investments in their work, there will continue to be comments like Swizz’s. “[Until] the day the real players like Wiz will talk about this topic… everyone who contributed, no matter how little, will wanna claim the glory. For emphasis sake, WIZKID has a lot to say about this and someone needs to get him talk.”
Giving a bit of a history lesson, one fan of the genre explained in reference to Wizkid: “For a guy who stamped his authority as a co-headliner at the first ever concert to be tagged ‘Afrobeats’ in London in 2011, went back to make history at the same venue as a solo headliner in 2012, sold out UK and US tours in 2012, a detailed Wizkid documentary series is vital 😤😤”
Underscoring the power of the diaspora, one tweet read: “Lol I think Swizz has ridiculously underestimated the power of Nigerians both at home and abroad. They didn’t need handouts, they were always going to blow.”
While Swizz certainly deserves some credit for amplifying Afrobeats’ reach in the US, he certainly wasn’t, as he claimed, the first to do so.
The seemingly endless jostling for who deserves the most credit for Afrobeats’ presence in the US has led to quite a few baseless claims, but names like Chris Brown, as far as Wizkid is concerned, have ground to stand on.
As far back as 2013, Chris Brown can be observed on a resurfaced clip from BETs 106 & Park talking about Wizkid, years before they would collaborate.
In the video, after performing a dance move to cheers from the audience, Chris explained: “I learned that from a Nigerian artist by the name of Wizkid, so I don’t wanna act like I created the dance… He’s an incredible artist…”
Confirming that Chris Brown was indeed among the first to show him love, a resurfaced clip of Wizkid’s Made In Lagos 2021 Tour at the O2 Arena in the UK featured the Afrobeats star bringing Chris Brown on stage for a performance of Breezy’s hit song, ‘Go Crazy’.
Said Wizkid in the video: “This is my guy, my brother, for more than 10 years. This is my guy – the first guy to ever show me love like, internationally and s#@t… Now y’all make some noise for my f@#&in’ brother.”
Swizz Beatz’s introduction of Burna Boy, in the meantime, actually came in 2017.
