Swizz Beatz has been a part of many monumental musical moments. From his tapes with Lil Wayne, to his new EP honoring 50 years of Hip-Hop, Swizz has been a central piece in Hip-Hop history. Recently, the star producer appeared on Amazon Music’s Roundtable Rotation, with Rob Markman, Speedy Morman, Nyla Symone, and Gabe P. During the interview, Swizz Beatz made claims that he introduced America to Afrobeat stars, Burna Boy and Wizkid. He also made even bolder claims regarding his impact on bring Afrobeats to the U.S. audience.
“See, the key thing that you said was you got on a plane and you went to Ghana and now you’re stuck on Afrobeats,” he said to the outlet. Swizz Beatz continued, “I introduced Wizkid to America. I was the first person to play his song.” Not only that, the super producer noted that he and his wife, Alicia Keys, even danced to Wizkid on a trip. Furthermore, Swizz went into more detail about his impact on introducing Afrobeats to America. “[I was the] first person to bring Burna Boy to the States,” he told Speedy and the gang.
Swizz Beatz Makes Bold Claims
Additionally, Swizz Beatz mentioned, “Actually, he had a Ruff Ryders bandana on and I introduced him on the stage.” The Ruff Ryders producer also noted how the Afrobeats sound is piercing through and how he’s trying to keep the momentum going. “It’s piercing through, by the way. People are more open-minded — they just need the right entry point,” Swizz added. While Swizz Beatz might’ve thought he was showing love for the global success of Afrobeats, others had mixed feelings.
Godwin Tom, managing director of Sony Music Publishing, Nigeria, responded in a tweet detailing Wizkid’s success from his eyes. “Here is a story for you… @MI_Abaga put Wiz on his groundbreaking album ‘Talk About It’ and properly introduced him to the market,” he began. While going into even more detail about the Afrobeats artist’s rise to success he also gave thanks to Swizz and Akon for showing love. However, he didn’t want a false narrative being spun either. “We are making a mistake in allowing others tell our stories and soon we won’t have a story or history and guess what… these videos with Swizz and Akon will be referenced in America,” he tweeted. Is Godwin Tom right? How did you stumble upon Afrobeats? Let us know in the comments!