Renowned Nigerian disc jockey Nonso Temisan Ajufo, better known as DJ Big N, has voiced deep concern over what he describes as a major decline in the Afrobeats genre’s global influence.
In a recent interview with Echo Room, the Mavin Records DJ said Afrobeats is currently at its weakest point in two decades, blaming both artists and industry executives for its slump.
According to him, many stakeholders compromised the authenticity of the sound in a bid to gain wider international acceptance, a move he believes has backfired.
“Afrobeats right now is at its worst position in the last 20 years,” he said. “The quality of music dropped, and the originality dropped. You can’t sell foreign genres to foreign audiences. Whatever you want to export has to be original first.”
DJ Big N argued that the attempt to imitate foreign styles has watered down the genre’s core appeal, leading to a noticeable drop in demand and global interest.
He also criticized the growing trend of overpricing within the industry, saying many Nigerian artists now charge unsustainably high fees, even in local markets.
“A lot of Nigerian artists are no longer affordable, even at home,” he lamented.
The DJ urged artists and record labels to reconnect with the roots of Afrobeats and focus on originality and quality, warning that failure to do so could further weaken the genre’s influence worldwide.
DJ Big N, a prominent figure in Nigeria’s music scene, has long championed the preservation of Afrobeats’ cultural identity, and his latest remarks add to a growing debate about the direction of the genre that once dominated global charts.
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