Grammy-nominated artist Davido has revealed that the term “Afrobeats” was popularised by British media as a convenient label for the emerging wave of West African music, distinct from the original Afrobeat pioneered by Fela Kuti.
In a recent interview, Davido pointed to D’banj’s 2012 global hit “Oliver Twist” as a defining moment when the term Afrobeats began to gain international traction.
He noted that the success of the track in the UK played a key role in shaping the global perception of contemporary African music.
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He said: “The word ‘Afrobeats’ the UK gave us that name when D’Banj had ‘Oliver Twist,’ that was like the biggest song in the country at that time, so they had to put a name on the genre. But Afrobeat is really Fela’s genre”.