Does Music Really Have No Borders?

Does Afrobeats still describe a musical genre, or has it become an umbrella for nearly every globally visible African artist? AJ and Antonio discuss Ayra Starr’s StarrGirl, a controversial Dominican-Haitian collaboration, Erykah Badu’s return, and the Ghana-Jamaica connection on Junction.

0:00 – Afrobeats and the “urban music” comparison

0:28 – Does music really have no borders?

1:00 – The Dominican-Haitian collaboration controversy

3:00 – The history behind Haiti and the Dominican Republic

4:42 – Can music ever be apolitical?

9:35 – Is Ayra Starr’s StarrGirl really Afrobeats?

13:47 – What does traditional Afrobeats sound like?

15:42 – Why today’s biggest African artists sound completely different

17:48 – Is modern music becoming genreless?

20:04 – Erykah Badu returns with The Alchemist

22:22 – Junction connects Ghana and Jamaica

25:18 – This week’s playlist selections

25:53 – Where you’re from matters more and less