Veteran Nigerian singer Innocent Idibia, famously known as 2Baba, has weighed in on one of Afrobeats’ most debated conversations, and his answer is already stirring reactions.
The African Queen hitmaker shared his thoughts during a recent appearance on The Mic On Podcast, hosted by Channels TV journalist Seun Okinbaloye. During the chat, Seun decided to put the music legend on the spot, asking him to choose the best among Burna Boy, Wizkid, and Davido.
Seun asked, “2Baba let me put you on the spot and you are generation ahead of these folks, Burna Boy, Wizkid and Davido, if you are to chose one of the music of these artistes which one will you choose?”
Caught in a tricky but familiar dilemma, 2Baba first acknowledged the consistency and excellence of all three stars, noting that he enjoys different songs from each of them. Still, after a bit of pressure, the veteran singer eventually made his pick.
“I have my favourite songs from all of them, but if I’m put on the spot, I think Burna is on top of the game right now, with all due respect to everybody.”
When Seun followed up by asking whether his decision was based on talent, artistry, or delivery, 2Baba took a step back to explain his perspective.
According to him, ranking artists purely by artistry is never straightforward, as every musician operates within their own unique sound and creative space. He also pointed out that music taste ultimately depends on the listener.
The singer was quick to clarify that his choice had nothing to do with money or commercial success. He admitted he had no insight into the artists’ earnings and wasn’t speaking from that angle at all. Instead, he said his opinion was shaped by general industry awareness and overall impact.
In his words:
“Artistry, like I said earlier, different people have different styles, so every artistes is a major in his field, so there is nothing like one signs better than the other, art is an individual one , each song is a different thing, if an artist does this painting now, the next one he will paint will be different, so that is how I see it, and different people will have different taste of what they want and like but I am going into a general aspect of this.
I don’t know their bank accounts, I don’t have any information about their personal successes, I can speak on that but from what I can measure from at least common sense and unserstanding of the music world, I think right now Burna Boy is on top of this chain not just in Nigeria, in Africa and in the world but everybody is fantastically well.”
While his comments may fuel fresh debates online, 2Baba’s message was clear: all three stars are thriving, but in his view, Burna Boy currently holds the edge on the global stage.
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