Fireboy talks about how he added depth & soul to Afrobeats

Since breaking into the mainstream in 2019 with his debut album 'Laughter, Tears, and Goosebumps', Fireboy has achieved remarkable success and contributed to the global exportation of Nigerian music.

In a recent interview with BET, the award-winning artist gave some insights into his self-styled Afro-Live genre which he described as Afrobeats with some level of soul and depth to it.

According to Fireboy, while Afrobeats music has always been beautiful however it lacked soul and lyricism which was something his music brought to Nigerian mainstream Pop music with his Afro-Life genre.

"The Afrobeats scene before I came in, has always been beautiful. It was built on vibes and energy and percussion and instruments and everything. But I realized that there was something lacking, and that was pure soul and lyricism in our music. That was what I brought into the game. And I figured if you're bringing something new to the table, it needs a name. That's why I call it Afro-Life — it’s Afrobeats that has some depth to it.”

Fireboy's statement on Afrobeats' lack of soul and lyricism is reminiscent of Burna Boy's interview with Zane Lowe in 2023 where he claimed the majority of Afrobeats' music is about nothing and lacks substance.

It also continues the trend of Nigerian artists creating their genres in a bid to detach from the Afrobeats tag.

In the interview, Fireboy also shared some insights about his fourth album which is expected to be released later in the year.

“It is a culmination of what I've learned in the past couple of years,” he says of the forthcoming album on which he intends to get personal and share what success means to him.

Fireboy also shared that he wishes to work with Nigerian Grammy winner Burna Boy, Post Malone, Travis Scott, and Don Toliver in the near future.