RZA Refutes Lil Duval’s Remarks That Afrobeats And Podcasts Are Taking Over Hip-Hop

Comedian and music artist Lil Duval recently sparked a debate following a few tweets he made about Afrobeats and podcasts ruining Hip-Hop “as we know it.”

Among those countering his thoughts was Hip-Hop icon RZA of Wu-Tang, who actually backed the genre and various Hip-Hop podcasts.

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On Feb. 2, the “Smile (Living My Best Life)” crooner tweeted out, “Seem like [Hip-Hop] has become more about podcasting instead of music now.” Two weeks later, he tweeted out, “Afrobeats might be the death of [Hip-Hop] as we know it.

In an interview with TMZ, the Staten Island icon debunked Duval’s statements with, “Afrobeats is Hip-Hop. They basically doing their own form of Hip-Hop just like Trap was Hip-Hop, just like G-Funk was Hip-Hop.”

While signing autographs he added, “It’s just their rendition. And you know what? They deserve a chance, just like the rest of us deserve a chance, for our music to be heard around the world, inspire, and feed families.”

Lil Duval and RZA’s thoughts on the West African music genre stems from the recent half-time show at the 2023 NBA All-Star Game featuring Burna Boy, Tems, and Rema. Afrobeats has become more popular over the years in the States, leading to its own category at awards shows and its own Billboard chart.

RZA also had a moment to speak on Duval’s thoughts about podcasts ruining the 50-year-old cultural movement that is Hip-Hop.

“Joe [Budden] is being successful, N.O.R.E he’s being successful they deserve that success — but at the same time right, we just did the New York State of Mind tour no algorithms no streaming [sold out Hollywood Bowl] and so many places,” the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer said.

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“Hip-Hop is embedded within this culture and nothing’s going to stop that, it’s only going to continue to grow and find other outlets and avenues,” he declared.

Following the hoopla made about Afrobeats and Hip-Hop podcasts, Duval further explained his original statements.

“I wasn’t saying hip hop is over i said ‘hip hop as we know it’ meaning like evolved into something bigger,” he clarified. “Meaning giving [Afrobeats] props. I don’t [know] how some took offense.”

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