Nigerian singer, Jaywon, has stirred up conversation after insisting that both gospel and Afrobeats artists continue to borrow from the template of his 2012 smash hit, This Year.
The singer voiced his displeasure while calling out Billboard for leaving the track off its recently released list of the Top 50 Best Afrobeats Songs of All-Time.
According to him, no song on the chart carries as much cultural weight as This Year.
Taking to his X handle, Jaywon wrote:
“‘This Year’ by Jaywon had more viral moments and cultural impact than some tracks Billboard decided to rank. Trending since 2012 and still going strong. Tell me, who else has pulled that off? Hate is inevitable. Year after year, both gospel and Afrobeats acts copy the same vibe, yet we remain unshaken. Cry harder, I said it before, and I’ll say it again… No song on that list has more cultural impact than #Thisyear by Jaywon!!”
Billboard’s list, which has sparked wide debate, was topped by 2Face Idibia’s timeless classic African Queen. Wizkid’s Ojuelegba, Flavour’s Nwa Baby, Rema’s global hit Calm Down and CKay’s Love Nwantiti rounded out the top 5.
