Veteran Nigerian producer and music executive, ID Cabasa, has called out Akon over his recent claims of helping to create the Afrobeats genre.
In a recent interview, Akon suggested that his early collaborations with Nigerian artists in the late 2000s and 2010s laid the foundation for what is now known globally as Afrobeats. But Cabasa isn’t having it.
Speaking during an interview on Wazobia FM, the producer made it clear that while Akon may have partnered with Nigerian acts at the time, that doesn’t mean he can take credit for creating the genre.
“Akon for also tok say na he still discovered the likes of 2Face, Timaya, 9ice and Co,” Cabasa said in Pidgin. “Na the people wey he roll with when he come Nigeria, wey tell am say, ‘I’m the biggest person around this place.’ So, he properly feels he pioneered business and branding sides of Afrobeats.”
Cabasa also addressed Akon’s claim that Wizkid was “just a local artist” before signing to his label in 2008. He corrected the narrative, pointing out that it was Banky W who discovered Wizkid and signed him to Empire Mates Entertainment, which only later partnered with Akon’s label.
“Even the way wey he take dey tok about Wizkid, no be wettin the story be be that. We all know say na Banky W dem sign Wizkid,” he said.
On the broader claim of birthing the genre, Cabasa was clear: “Yes, we collaborate with Akon in terms of distribution but e no mean say he go tok say na he create Afrobeats. Because Afrobeats no be wettin wey one person create, na culture.”