I became less ambitious, I didn’t hustle hard like Davido – Orezi on fading out

Veteran Afrobeats star Orezi, in a recent interview on Trending on Hip TV, spoke on why is career took a downward turn.

According to him, he became less ambitious, too comfortable, and walked away from the competition.

“I became less ambitious, comfortable with where I am, and took myself out of the competition,” Orezi says on how he chose praying and living comfortably in London over pushing himself to continue competing at the top, unlike Davido, who he said hustles hard despite his success and wealth.

In the interview, Orezi also spoke about the state of Afrobeats, which he believes is losing its essence as the stars are trading the genre’s originality of he music built on party-starting songs for more laid-back tunes.

“Some people will argue that the sound has evolved, but the essence that we as Africans love to party and dance is missing. If you eradicate the dance part of Afrobeats for the viby sound, you’re killing Afrobeats,” Orezi said.

“If all the groovy Afrobeats songs are replaced with vibes, what will be dancing to in clubs and parties?” he added on the change in Afrobeats’ sonic direction.

Orezi’s claims are likely connected to the switch in the approach to Afrobeats music, which has grown to embrace more foreign elements in a bid to satisfy the needs of a growing global audience.

While the industry has consistently had mid-tempo music, the “Afrobeats to the world” era might have further amplified this type of music thanks to the success of Wizkid’s acclaimed Grammy-nominated album ‘Made In Lagos’.

Artists like Omah Lay, whose poignant pop music gained popularity in 2020, also popularised more somber tunes.

Orezi is one of Afrobeats’ most memorable hitmakers, and his stand speaks to the nature of Afrobeats during his time as one of the stars whose music defined the scene.

You can watch Orezi’s full interview on Trending below.