Nigerian rapper and humanitarian, Michael Ugochukwu Stephens, popularly known as Ruggedman, has expressed reservations about categorizing legendary musicians such as Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, King Sunny Ade, and Kwam1 under the modern “Afrobeats” music genre.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Rubbin’ Minds programme on Sunday, Ruggedman said, “I wish they had just left it at Nigerian music.”
He explained that despite the similarity in their names, Afrobeat and Afrobeats are distinct genres.
According to him, “Even though their names, Afrobeat and Afrobeats sound almost the same, some people are of the opinion that they are not the same. Afrobeat is Fela Kuti’s revolutionary, instrumental genre while Afrobeats is today’s diverse, commercial African pop sound.”
The rapper also voiced concerns that the “Afrobeats” label currently used to describe Nigerian contemporary music might not last long. “I just have a feeling that this whole Afrobeats thing, the tag might end soon. Nigerian music is in the forefront and I’m happy it is Nigerian music,” he said.
However, Ruggedman noted a decline in the quality of some modern Nigerian songs, stating, “The only change that I don’t fancy much is the quality of the music, and not too many of them are giving me what I really respect.”
Addressing the current state of rap in Nigeria, he lamented that the genre has taken a back seat as many artists prioritize more commercially rewarding sounds. “Unfortunately, rap has kind of taken a backseat, because people want to do something that gives them money quickly. Not too many people are doing rap, and it costs more to push and promote rap than Afrobeats,” he said.
Speaking on his latest music project, Ruggedman revealed that he recently recorded acoustic versions of five of his songs — ‘Ruggedy Baba’, ‘Baraje’, ‘Change’, ‘Won’t Battle’, and ‘One Man’ — with the assistance of renowned guitarist Fiokee.
He added, “This is the first time, no Nigerian rapper has done this acoustics, just guitar and rap. So this gives you an opportunity to hear the lyrics and feel the soul, the heart behind all the words I use, and nobody has done this before.”
