Ugandan music icon Bebe Cool has shared his insights on the evolving landscape of African music, particularly emphasising the global rise of Afrobeat.
Speaking during an interview with one of the local TV stations on the night of Friday, July 4, 2025, Bebe Cool highlighted the future of African music genres and the importance of adaptability in the face of international trends.
Bebe Cool, known for his contributions to Ugandan music and his role in promoting East African talent, spoke passionately about the necessity for artists to embrace and learn from the success of Afrobeat.
He pointed out that for a long time, countries like the United States of America and the United Kingdom (UK) have had their genres go global, but Africa lacked its own sound.
“It is important that we always acknowledge the new trends in our lives. What is going on is real. The US has had genres hitting the whole globe like rap, and the UK has had its genres, but in Africa, we have never had a global sound before. We now have Afrobeat taking over,” Bebe Cool said.
Bebe Cool on Afrobeat
He went ahead to note that when Afrobeat first blew up, a section of African artists fell off, arguing that it was a Nigerian sound.
According to him, Afrobeat would have been even bigger if all artists jumped onto it.
He further argued that artists need to accept that when someone is better than them, they are better off accepting and learning from them and that if the globe has accepted Afrobeat, artists should go ahead and do it.
“The thing is, we kind of, as artists, fell off because we were saying it is Nigerian, but we need that patriotism as Africans. We need to support each other. Imagine if all African artists jumped onto Afrobeat. Everybody would be proud. For me, I started to understand that I needed to accept that when someone is better than you, you are better off accepting and learning from them. If the globe has accepted Afro-beat, then go do Afro-beat,” he said.
