‘I’m White and I do Afrobeats’ – examining language use, transnational culture flows and the politics of digital acceptance
Luca Zuccotti is a white musician from Manchester in the United Kingdom whose music genre is Afrobeats – a globalised genre from West Africa and especially Nigeria that has become a fan favourite, traversing the globe from red carpet events to nightclubs and topping music charts.
“With digital spaces affording viralising of content across and beyond borders, cultural productions and artefacts become fluid, appealing to a diverse audience, and sometimes picking up novel trajectories in their ‘new homes’. This study on digital spaces investigates the identification of non-African artistes who leverage the Afrobeats tag in their musical productions, oftentimes sampling and remixing popular songs while also producing their own songs in the genre. I perceive this appropriative reality – of ‘white’ bodies in Afrobeats – as a form of counter-flow and cross-cultural influence,” said Paul Ayodele Onanuga.
Onanuga, who was presenting the first STIAS public lecture of 2025, is a STIAS Iso Lomso Fellow. He is Associate Professor in the Department of English and Literary Studies, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria. His research interests revolve around linguistic practices in Nigerian Hip-hop Studies, New Media Studies, Nigerian queer discourse, and Computer Mediated Communication/Discourse Analysis. Onanuga is a member of the Editorial Board of Discourse Context and the Media and is widely published.
He explained that he is interested in the interrogation of the iconography of Afrobeats and how Luca Zuccotti through language use, authenticates the performance of Afrobeats in his productions. “I engage the consequent discourses that come to the fore when this artiste courts digital acceptance on Twitter,” he continued. “To this end, I explore the X (formerly Twitter) space of @OfficialLucaZ, interacting both with his self-representations as well as the feedback from commenters on his activities.”
He hopes his work can answer the following questions – how does Zuccotti navigate the Afrobeats space through his lyrical renditions and digital visibility; how do Nigerian fans perceive the ‘non-normative’ presence in the Afrobeats space and how is the identitarian ‘difference’ navigated; and, do these characterisation and representations count as appropriation in its politicised form or are they attestations to the interculturality and imminent hybridity of Afrobeats?
“Beyond the valid appropriation panic which echoes the exploitative colonial experience, I see the transculturality and transnationality of Afrobeats as indicative of its transformative power particularly within the context of contemporary socio-political upheavals,” he said.
He explained that traditionally transracial appropriation is usually white to non-white and that the typologies of appropriation are usually in four types – objects, content, style and subject – “with style and content the most applicable in the context of my work”.
“In appropriation there is always a dominant and non-dominant group. We know that the colonial powers blatantly stole and demonised the cultural products of their colonial subjects – with many ending up in museums in the Global North,” he said. “And there are still challenges in determining boundaries and in how people navigate this treacherous space.”
“Of course, globalisation has led to increased cultural overlaps and hybridity, and social media, in particular, results in increased imitation and adaptation,” he added.
About Afrobeats
Afrobeat originated in the 1960s and 1970s evolving from a blend of traditional Yoruba music, jazz, West African music (Highlife, Fuji), and funk. Musician and political activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti played a significant role in shaping Afrobeat in Nigeria. Afrobeats (with an s) refers to the contemporary music of, especially, West Africa. It’s not a single genre, but a collection of styles that emerged in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Afrobeats is influenced by Afrobeat, but also by other genres, such as hip-hop, dancehall, reggae, R&B, house and hiplife. Afrobeats has become the dominant musical expression of Africa in recent years, reaching global audiences through artistes like Wizkid, Davido and Burna Boy.
Although some saw early Afrobeats – in its iteration as Nigerian Hip-hop – as imitative of American Hip-hop, Onanuga explained that it leveraged afrocentricities and Nigerianisms. “It is thematically different and uses indigenous language (especially Yoruba and Nigerian Pidgin) and shared sonics. It has a polyrhythmic five-beat pattern percussion, includes ad libs and African scatting and is meant to be danced to. It’s about having fun and living life and, as such, has experienced an unstoppable rise.” It has also spurred global collaborations with artistes like Burna Boy, Wizkid and Davido working with Beyoncé, Cold Play, Chris Brown and Ed Sheeran. At the 2025 Grammy Awards in the Best African Music Category all but one nominee were Nigerians in the Afrobeats genre with the Grammy won by Tems, a Nigerian female musician.
Fully in this
So how does Zuccotti – a white man from Manchester fit into this space?
To answer his research questions about Zuccotti’s music, Onanuga is using a qualitative approach to interrogate the diverse ways Zuccotti inscribes Nigerian-ness in his performances and his self-represented digital visibility; and, to examine the interactivity between Zuccotti and Nigerian fans in navigating authenticity. To do this he uses an eclectic mix of representative data – ranging from music lyrics, X videos and commenters’ tweets.
He explained that Zuccotti flirted with different music genres before falling in love with Afrobeats. He has a Nigerian agent who Nigerianises his lyrics and indicates that his fans give him tips on lines to infuse in his lyrics.
“He uses local slang, locational references and naming strategies. This includes the use of pidgin for interaction with his followers and the posting of videos of him eating Nigerian food. He has said on social media: ‘I’m in this, fully in’ as well as ‘My mission is not to take but to help push Afrobeats’ and ‘I will stay and will always stay representing Afrobeats’,” explained Onanuga.
“He also reaches out to other Afrobeats performers seeking collaboration and the centring of African voices,” he added.
Onanuga explained that by his immersive positioning on social media Zuccotti has indexed himself as a member of the Nigerian community. “He also endears himself to fans by showing himself as interested in learning more and his familiarity with the Nigerian public space. This encourages a strong narrative of acceptance from his followers and fans.”
Of course, there are also counter discourses including appropriation and the fact that ownership of Afrobeats may become contentious. “This includes arguments like in-house rivalries among Nigerian Afrobeats stars may lead to usurping by external appropriators, Afrobeats music may be stolen and that Zuccotti’s positioning in Europe and being white will give him better access to opportunities in the music space than Nigerians.”
“But I think it’s important to remember that identity is not determined by race or skin colour but rather what people say and do,” said Onanuga. “Zuccotti says he loves and embraces the culture and sound. And there is mostly massive acceptance. It’s a celebration of the fact that culture is travelling and people who look different may find resonance within your culture.”
“Cultural appropriation is an inevitable result of globalisation especially on social networks and social media. It may result in a new identity for Afrobeats and the fusion will ensure continued dispersal and diversification. Cultural bonding is necessary for the emergence of new and imagined forms. Afrobeats is not fixed. It’s playful in extending its boundaries. It keeps evolving,” concluded Onanuga.
Michelle Galloway: Part-time media officer at STIAS
Photograph: SCPS Photography