“I Introduced Wizkid, Burna Boy To American Audiences” — Swizz Beats
Afrobeats musicians Wizkid and Burna Boy from Nigeria were introduced to American audiences by Swizz Beats, a well-known American music producer, and his ex-wife, Alicia Keys.
On the audiovisual podcast Roundtable by Amazon Music, he announced this. Swizz Beats claimed that he played Wizkid’s music first at a time when the genre was not yet well-liked in the US.
He also discussed giving Burna Boy a chance to perform in front of an audience in the United States before he became well-known.
As he put it;
“I introduced Wizkid to America. I was the first person to play his song. Me and my wife [Alicia Keys] were on a trip and we danced to his songs.
“I was [also] the first person to bring Burna Boy to the States. I introduced him on the stage. When I was playing Fela Kuti, people thought I was being too African.
“And that how ignorant the energy was at that time. But I didn’t let that stop me from moving what I’m moving because it’s what it’s. It’s about education.
We [Americans] can’t be scared of the educational journey of something that sounds different or feels different,” he stated.