Omah Lay doubles down on claim as Afrobeats greatest act of the decade

Nigerian singer Omah Lay has again staked his claim as the defining Afrobeats artist of his generation, describing himself as the greatest of the decade in a recent interview with Capital XTRA and making clear he does not appreciate being grouped with his peers.

"I am the greatest Afrobeats artist of the decade, I am the greatest," he said. "You can say numbers, personality, and the level of fame, you would not consider me. But when it comes to the art itself, I am the greatest."

The remarks drew attention not just for their confidence but also because they came against the backdrop of his having made similar claims recently.

Speaking on the Nandoleaks podcast just recently, he said he feels "some type of way" when placed alongside other artists in the same award categories, adding: "No, don't do that. I'm the greatest."

It is not the first time the Port Harcourt-born artist has made this case. On the episode of the Nandoleaks podcast, Lay declared himself the best in the craft of music-making over the past two decades, saying:

"I am the best when you put the whole Afrobeats category. I am not the strongest when it comes to visuals; maybe it's due to my personality, I don't know. But when it comes to the art of making music, I am the best in the last 20 years."

The one exception he is willing to make is Burna Boy. Lay acknowledged that the only other artist he places himself alongside is his fellow Port Harcourt native, saying: "The only person I sometimes put myself with is Burna Boy."

The declarations arrive alongside his sophomore album Clarity of Mind, which dropped on April 3, 2026 and which Lay has also described as the greatest Afrobeats album of all time. 

He has framed the project as a direct response to what he sees as a broader decline in the genre's creative standards. 

At his Lagos Warehouse Session, he said: "Overseas, Afrobeats is declining. It's facts. The Afrobeats you guys used to know in 2020–2024 is not the Afrobeats you know now anymore. Clarity of Mind is going to be a statement to wake our artists up."

In a separate interview, Lay elaborated on that concern, saying he fears Afrobeats is "drifting towards a place where people are not putting in so much effort in the art anymore," describing the trend as artists "just really playing with music" rather than genuinely developing the craft.

Omah Lay’s Clarity of Mind has opened strongly, debuting at No. 1 on Spotify’s Top Albums Debut Global chart. In Nigeria, the project pulled 16,727,400 streams in its first week on Spotify and also claimed the top spot on Apple Music Nigeria’s Top Albums chart.

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