American rapper Fat Joe has claimed that Jamaica started Afrobeats, stirring backlash online. The statement came during a recent episode of the Joe And Jada podcast, which hosted Jamaican dancehall artist Buju Banton. "Jamaica started Afrobeats. Even though everything comes from Africa," Fat Joe said. Banton did not challenge the remark, instead discussing how Panamanian rapper El General helped pioneer reggaeton and its influence on other music styles. Afrobeats is widely understood to have originated in West Africa, with roots in Afrobeat, a genre created by Nigerian musician Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Prior to this podcast appearance, Banton had accused Afrobeats artists of borrowing from Jamaican reggae and dancehall without proper acknowledgment. In a 2024 interview on the Drink Champs podcast, Banton dismissed Afrobeats as lacking depth and predicted it would not last.
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