Veteran Nigerian producer and music executive ID Cabasa has weighed in on a recent interview where Akon claimed to have played a pivotal role in the creation of the Afrobeats genre, and he isn’t holding back.
In the now-viral interview with American talk show host Sherri Shepherd, Akon positioned himself as a key player in the global rise of Afrobeats, suggesting that his early collaborations with Nigerian artists in the late 2000s were foundational to the genre’s current worldwide popularity.
According to Akon, his work with artists like Wizkid, whom he claimed to have signed before the star went global, and his partnership with Banky W, helped shape what the world now recognizes as Afrobeats.
But in a recent chat with Wazobia FM, ID Cabasa made it clear that while Akon may have contributed to the genre’s expansion, claiming to have created Afrobeats is a stretch too far.
“Akon Did Not Create Afrobeats” — Cabasa Sets the Record Straight
Speaking candidly, ID Cabasa acknowledged that Akon did collaborate with Nigerian artists at a time when Afrobeats was still evolving and gaining traction internationally. However, he noted that many homegrown acts were already making waves in the Nigerian music scene before Akon ever entered the picture.
“Before Akon came into the scene, artists like 2Face, 9ice, and Timaya had already laid serious groundwork,” Cabasa said. “Afrobeats was already thriving. What Akon did was business, not invention.”
He also pushed back on Akon’s claim about “discovering” Wizkid, clarifying that it was in fact Banky W who discovered and signed Wizkid to Empire Mates Entertainment (EME), before any affiliation with Akon’s Konvict Music.
“We all know say na Banky W dem sign Wizkid,” Cabasa emphasized. “Yes, dem collaborate with Akon in terms of distribution, but that no mean say he go claim say na him create Afrobeats.”
Afrobeats: A Movement, Not a Moment
According to Cabasa, Akon’s claims reflect a broader misunderstanding of how Afrobeats came to be. He explained that Afrobeats is not a creation that can be credited to one person or one moment, it is a cultural movement built over time by countless artists, producers, and fans.
“Afrobeats no be wetin wey one person create,” he said. “Na culture. Na the streets, the artists, the producers, and even the fans. E dey evolve from different corners of Africa, especially Nigeria.”
In essence, Cabasa called for more respectful recognition of the genre’s roots and the many individuals who shaped it, long before the Western world began to take notice.
