Ghanaian artist Darkovibes has stirred conversation within the music industry with a bold declaration that Afrobeats is “dead.”
He made this statement during a recent interview on The Culture Daily Show on 3Music TV, alongside hosts Jay Foley and other panelists.
Darkovibes, known for his genre-blending sound, claimed that his discussions with global record executives reveal an industry-wide sentiment: Afrobeats is no longer yielding the returns it once promised.
According to him, independent artists, like himself, have noticed that record labels are struggling to recoup their investments in Afrobeats projects, particularly when it comes to competing with top-tier global Afrobeats artists.
He explained that the financial stakes in promoting Afrobeats have become unsustainable. “The money involved is a whole lot, and they’re not getting back the amount that they should be investing,” he said, reinforcing his claim that the genre is essentially losing steam on the global front.
In contrast, Darkovibes highlighted the growing popularity of Ghanaian highlife and hiplife music, genres deeply rooted in Ghana’s cultural history. He pointed out that since the middle of last year, a resurgence of these genres has been noticeable, with many artists producing chart-topping highlife hits. “Ghanaian highlife and hiplife are trending amongst Ghanaian artistes,” he stated, attributing the steady rise in local music dominance to the shift in audience preferences.
Listen to Intercontinental (EP) by DarkoVibes
As one of Ghana’s influential voices, Darkovibes’ comments have sparked conversations about the future of Afrobeats and the evolving music landscape in West Africa. Many will be watching closely to see if highlife and hiplife will indeed continue their rise as Afrobeats sees a potential decline.
The industry now awaits how other stakeholders, artists, and producers will respond to Darkovibes’ bold stance, as it challenges the popular narrative of Afrobeats’ dominance.
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