Nigerian Afrobeat artists Bnxn and Ruger talk about what their online beef was all about, how they made up, their new joint album called 'RnB,' what inspired them to make this joint album,' their connection to Afrobeat superstar Burna Boy, how much respect and love they have for Burna Boy, the global recognition and growth for the Afrobeat genre and more!
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00:00 It's more about the blend, the mix of both worlds.
00:03 Something like a very nice cocktail
00:05 that just embodies our strengths.
00:09 Hey guys, I'm Benson.
00:10 And I'm Ruga.
00:11 And you're watching Billboard News.
00:13 Hey, it's Tetris with Billboard News
00:26 and I'm sitting with two guys I don't think anybody would have thought
00:29 we'd see you guys sitting next to each other.
00:32 Benson and Ruga, what's up man?
00:33 What's good?
00:34 Everybody obviously knows you guys went through a little bit of beef
00:49 that you had going on.
00:50 So what do you guys think was the root of that?
00:51 Why did fans kind of create that moment?
00:54 You want to know the question?
00:56 I don't know. In Nigeria, the excessive stanship is real.
01:00 If you like an artist or you feel an artist is your fave,
01:03 you almost go to every extent to prove it in some sense.
01:06 So even if it means fighting somebody else that says otherwise.
01:12 That was kind of like the primary reason
01:14 because I think someone came at him
01:16 and then he responded to the person.
01:18 The response had me all in it and I'm like,
01:22 "How did I get in this?"
01:24 You know, it's that 50 cent meme where it's like,
01:28 "Me? Who me?"
01:30 That was basically it.
01:34 That little ego clash had a lot to play in that.
01:37 So it's like there was a back and forth of tweets and just chaps
01:41 and everybody just trying to prove a point.
01:44 I mean, listen, I know what you said about stans.
01:46 They will get people in a lot of trouble.
01:49 So you guys exchanged obviously some tweets back and forth.
01:51 Do you think the whole thing was blown out of proportion at the end of the day?
01:53 To a very large extent because it's like...
01:55 Some things that were said weren't necessary.
01:57 Yeah, if we probably didn't key into the...
02:00 If he didn't probably key into the clout of the fan,
02:05 I probably wouldn't have had to be responding to him.
02:08 You know, it's a lot of things that we just felt like,
02:11 "Yeah, it wasn't necessary."
02:13 If this didn't happen, that wouldn't have happened.
02:15 So yeah, it was kind of blown out of proportion.
02:17 And do you feel like it's a part to do with your sound?
02:19 Like basically comparing you guys,
02:21 thinking you're in like a similar zone?
02:23 Not really about being similar.
02:25 It's about like actually being in a generation
02:29 whereby we like kind of blew up properly at the same time.
02:34 You understand? We were going to the same shows at that time.
02:38 You understand? Our fans were there.
02:40 So if one is coming out, another one is coming out,
02:43 the fans will be like, "Hey!"
02:44 Or they boo the other person.
02:45 You understand? That kind of thing.
02:47 So that part played.
02:49 And you know, the fans will always get to you
02:51 no matter who you are at some point.
02:53 Everything that was said, most things that were said
02:55 were very unnecessary.
02:57 We're just being emotional, honestly.
02:59 Because the music is everything that we have.
03:01 So we have to fight for it.
03:03 You understand?
03:04 Without that fight, no, I don't think we would come in now
03:07 and even do this thing properly.
03:09 I think everything has a reason.
03:11 There's a reason behind everything.
03:12 And that's why we're here right now.
03:14 That's why this is a big project right now.
03:16 We get to leave fans, pick a check
03:18 At my favorite spots, that's where I twerk
03:20 We're happy you guys are here.
03:22 I mean, after all the Twitter fingers that happened,
03:25 who was the first to reach out to the other?
03:27 How did you guys decide to work together?
03:29 You know what's crazy?
03:31 I remember just sitting in the plane
03:33 when I was going to London.
03:37 We met there.
03:39 Like someone just tapped me, "What?"
03:41 I was on the plane, I was already sitting.
03:43 I was like, "What's even happening?"
03:45 I was just waiting for my flight to take off.
03:47 And someone just tapped me, "This guy!"
03:49 And I'm expecting anybody in this world.
03:53 And he tapped me.
03:55 But then I look over my shoulder and
03:57 I see Rewan, and I'm like...
03:59 So it's like, that moment is like,
04:04 is it fight or fight?
04:07 You're one of those people getting dragged off the plane.
04:11 I feel like, yeah.
04:13 We Nigerians, yeah, we could fight online.
04:18 But like, we don't really...
04:21 When we meet in person, I feel like
04:23 because the reason why most of us fight online
04:25 is because we don't get to meet each other.
04:28 But when we meet each other,
04:29 we see the kind of persons we are.
04:32 We see that we're just about the music.
04:34 It's not really about bad blood like that.
04:37 It's just music that's making all this happen.
04:40 And we're just real people at the end of the day.
04:43 We're still friends at the end of the day.
04:45 When I met him, I saw him, I was just coming,
04:47 I was just boarding, and I saw him and I tapped him
04:49 at the back of the head and I said, "Yo, what's up?"
04:53 Just that simple.
04:54 You're talking about a surprise.
04:56 I mean, you guys dropped the song,
04:57 but then a whole album you guys surprised your fans with.
05:01 So how do we get from, "Hey, this is going to be a collab,
05:03 we're just going to do a track together,"
05:05 to making a whole project?
05:07 That's how big artists are supposed to do.
05:11 You understand?
05:12 And because when two artists like us come together,
05:16 it's sending a message to everyone, you understand,
05:19 around the industry, whether Nigeria, America, London,
05:22 wherever, that working together actually pushes
05:27 the sound farther, you understand?
05:30 Just like for Afrobeats right now,
05:32 many of us don't really work together.
05:33 People don't drop joint projects like that.
05:36 But this project actually is taking us to another level,
05:40 whether you like it or not.
05:42 Yeah, it's the first time in Afrobeats,
05:43 I feel like this has ever happened where you've got
05:45 two rival artists to come together on a project.
05:48 It's never been done.
05:49 But now, you're in the studio,
05:50 so talk to me about the creative process.
05:52 Did you guys work separately, together?
05:54 How was the writing and preparing the record?
05:57 It was seamless, if anything, I can say.
05:59 We wanted a collaborative effort,
06:03 something that felt genuine and at the same time
06:09 fit for each other's persona.
06:12 The producers, shout out to Blaze and Kook,
06:16 we've worked with the producers individually before.
06:20 So it's like, Kook was more of Ruga's producer,
06:24 and Blaze used to really work with me a lot, you know?
06:28 So it's like, okay, we're going to share ideas
06:32 of what we've already done with these producers,
06:35 and let's see what we kind of connect with,
06:37 which songs we connect with.
06:39 We're bouncing off each other's energies, you feel me?
06:43 Switching lyrics to fit his persona,
06:47 writing lyrics that are not usually my type of thing,
06:52 and then to suit what he's saying.
06:55 So it was a very seamless and collaborative effort.
07:01 It took just three days.
07:03 Three days?
07:04 You recorded the whole album in three days.
07:07 Three days, we are too bad.
07:09 That is wild, that's bad, my friend.
07:12 And I mean, I love the title of the project, R&B,
07:14 so tell me what was the overall theme?
07:16 When you look at the project as a whole,
07:18 what do you feel like is the heart of R&B?
07:20 The soul of R&B.
07:22 I feel like it's two different flavors
07:28 well blended together to make something great.
07:31 The real core of the project, the name,
07:36 the thought process of how all the songs are coming about is--
07:41 So R&B, which is Ruger and Benson,
07:44 could also be rhythm and blues,
07:45 could also be R&B the way you call it as the genre,
07:50 but it's more about the blend, the mix of both worlds.
07:54 It's like, if you listen to his music,
07:56 he has a style of delivery, a style of lyricism, you know?
08:06 So it's like, if you listen to me too,
08:08 I have my own style of delivery, my own style of lyricism,
08:11 my own pattern, I do my thing.
08:14 So this was more of a mix,
08:18 something like a very nice cocktail, you know,
08:22 that just embodies our strength.
08:26 If you think you heard Ruger, that was this amazing,
08:31 you don't know what you're about to listen to,
08:34 that type of vibe.
08:35 Yeah, there's so much I'm excited about.
08:40 So you talk about a good cocktail,
08:41 what's your favorite ingredient?
08:42 What's your favorite track on the project?
08:44 Hmm, the first one.
08:48 The first one, man,
08:49 it's just 'cause it keeps me in a good mood.
08:52 The title's "Obebe."
08:53 It just makes me feel good,
08:54 it makes me feel like dancing.
08:55 What about yourself?
08:57 The last one.
08:58 Ah, see, the first track and the last track.
09:02 What is it you love about the song?
09:03 Just the honesty in the...
09:08 In making the song and also the lyrics,
09:10 the honesty in the lyrics.
09:12 It's just that we're just pouring our heart,
09:15 the same thing, not done.
09:17 Real time.
09:18 Shout out to all the beautiful ladies in the house.
09:20 Yes.
09:21 And then you guys did this project in three days.
09:23 That's obviously a lot of pressure, a lot of work.
09:25 Did you guys ever butt head?
09:27 Did the rival leave Twitter and make it to the studio?
09:30 Did you guys ever disagree on a track?
09:32 Nah.
09:33 There was never that.
09:35 I guess it was seamless.
09:36 Seamless, like it was a very sweet session.
09:39 The days that we had to learn,
09:41 'cause it was like,
09:42 the only reason why we couldn't do it in a day or two
09:45 is 'cause we had to go and type a vibe.
09:48 So it's like, it was a very seamless process.
09:52 Everybody understood what they were there for
09:56 and we brought our A game.
09:58 100%.
09:59 And you were talking earlier about fans
10:01 and kind of how they are so involved in you guys' career.
10:04 What do you think will surprise your fan bases
10:06 about this project?
10:07 Everything.
10:08 The fact that I'm jumping on his wave
10:12 and he's jumping on my wave
10:14 is going to surprise them
10:15 because they always think that,
10:16 "Oh, there's this thing they say,
10:18 "Rugat can't jump on Buju's wave
10:20 "or Buju can't jump on--
10:22 "Buju can't do what Ruga does."
10:24 "Buju can do what Ruga does
10:26 "and Ruga can do what Buju does."
10:27 What do you say?
10:28 I remember I was in the club
10:29 and I went to see Burner Boy
10:31 and we were just partying
10:32 and then I kind of stopped him 'cause he's my OG.
10:35 So I'm like, "Yo, Burner, I'm doing this thing with Ruga."
10:38 And the look on his face was like--
10:42 So it's like, "Do you want me to do it?"
10:46 And he's like, "Yeah."
10:49 And I'm like, "Yeah."
10:51 And he says,
10:54 "I don't want you to miss out on an opportunity
10:56 "or something that could actually mean something
10:59 "for your career just because I wouldn't do it
11:03 "'cause it's something I wouldn't do.
11:05 "I wouldn't not necessarily say you shouldn't do it
11:09 "'cause I mean, I want the best for you.
11:11 "This is something that could change the landscape
11:14 "of how everything is."
11:16 Yeah.
11:17 That's what I said, yeah.
11:18 And I think I understand why Burner would say that
11:21 because we're young, they have gone too far.
11:24 You understand?
11:25 They might be like, "Ah, this thing that we didn't do
11:27 "when we were young, these young people want to do it
11:30 "and they're going to support it."
11:32 I hope, like, definitely.
11:34 Let's believe it.
11:35 I mean, if you had Burner shook,
11:36 you'd definitely have the fans shook.
11:38 The look on his face showed me everything,
11:40 that everybody else isn't going to think this is possible.
11:43 So when he sees it, it's like, "Rah!"
11:45 Yeah, we got to talk a little bit more about him later,
11:48 but now I want to know that you've got the project done,
11:50 you've released it out to the world.
11:52 Are we going to see you guys perform together?
11:54 Like, are we going to tour?
11:55 When can we see the album live?
11:56 I really look forward to a tour.
11:59 It's something people have not seen in a long time.
12:04 Nigerian is this and African is this.
12:07 Artists from America, they tour together.
12:10 Lil' Doug, Drake, everybody, like, they do that together.
12:13 Afrobeat artists, we have, like, big egos and all of that,
12:18 and we're giants on our own.
12:20 We can do it on our own and all of that.
12:22 No-one is actually doing that,
12:24 but this will be a different phase, a different story.
12:27 And, you know, everyone likes a good story.
12:30 You understand?
12:31 This story is going to last for a lifetime.
12:34 Talk a little bit about both of your, like,
12:36 individual careers, because you both had amazing careers
12:38 before you even got together.
12:39 When did you know, like, this is what I want to do?
12:41 I had my own epiphany while I was doing, like, IT.
12:45 This was, like, 300 level, like, university, third year.
12:49 It was just the whole concept of listening to people on SoundCloud,
12:53 like, artists on SoundCloud who were my age,
12:56 and it's like, these guys are doing this thing
12:58 and it's amazing, and they have their little fan base.
13:01 I like it, the freedom that they have
13:04 to even make music, because I love music a lot.
13:08 And I'm sitting there in the office, you know,
13:11 and my boss could just call me, like,
13:13 "Yo, I need these papers," and I'm like, "Rah!"
13:16 "You bought them yourself some papers?
13:17 Do you know what I could be doing?"
13:19 And I'm like, "OK, I need to find a way to own my space,
13:26 be the centre of my life," you know?
13:29 So that's the more reason why I was like,
13:32 "I need to take this music thing seriously,"
13:34 because I've been singing for a while,
13:36 in the choir, in the school,
13:39 Violet Dutry Services, all these things.
13:42 So it's like, that period is like,
13:45 I'm going to focus on my writing and start recording.
13:48 I did focus on my writing, like, better my writing,
13:52 better my skills, and started recording,
13:55 put out my first record in, like, 2018,
13:58 dug it, dug it, dug it out, 2019,
14:01 find my way in, you know, it's just something.
14:04 Ruger, you started off, like, posting freestyles on Instagram.
14:13 What advice would you give to, like, a young person now
14:24 that's out trying to come up just like you did?
14:26 Take a risk. I don't know, me, I took a risk.
14:29 I took a very big risk because after...
14:32 Because my family, my dad is a civil servant, you understand?
14:36 So he was so big on education and all of that, you know.
14:39 He got into the university, I didn't get into the university.
14:42 I came, after high school,
14:44 I tried to get into the university, like, four times.
14:46 Ruger Gerson.
14:48 The fourth time, yeah?
14:52 After I tried, I didn't see my name.
14:54 I just came home and I told my dad,
14:56 "I'm not doing this thing again.
14:58 "I'm not doing this thing again."
15:01 Then I've always loved music
15:03 because when I knew I wanted to do music was back in high school.
15:08 I used to be very serious from the first year
15:11 to, I think, the fourth year.
15:14 Then the fifth year, I guess, I stopped being serious.
15:18 I started sitting at the back of the class.
15:20 Short, but I was sitting at the back of the class.
15:23 And this guy, my seat partner, would just be...
15:26 He plays, he beats the table, and I'd just be singing.
15:30 So there's this song that we made together
15:33 and it was, like, viral in the school.
15:36 It was like, we have not put it out,
15:38 but we just sang it in the class and it spread round.
15:41 I could just be walking by and I'd see someone
15:44 washing their clothes and singing that song.
15:46 So I knew that I can actually write and I can make music.
15:50 # See my man got a girlfriend
15:52 # Oh, what, what if I, what if I, what if I, what if I go? #
15:58 You guys have taken this emotion, this genre, it's worldwide now.
16:02 It's bigger than ever. It's obviously even bigger here in the US
16:05 than it's been the new Grammy category
16:07 and everything that's happened with Afrobeats.
16:09 So what do you feel it is about the movement, the sound,
16:12 that has now become such a big deal in the United States?
16:15 It's a happy sound. Afrobeats is happy.
16:18 Afrobeats is dancing.
16:20 Afrobeats is lyrics. Afrobeats is just joyous.
16:24 # I got no necessary
16:26 # But I got fight if it necessary, huh #
16:29 Happiness always wins at the end of the day
16:31 because everyone wants to be happy.
16:33 Why do you feel like when you go to all these festivals,
16:36 it's Afrobeats that is really buzzing?
16:38 Because you see them, even the people that don't really know the song,
16:41 see them raising their hands like this and just, like, vibing
16:45 because it just screams happiness.
16:48 You understand? Afrobeats is just like that.
16:51 And it will continue to be like that for a very long time
16:54 and that's what is going to sell Afrobeats to every part of the world.
16:58 And it has already done it already.
17:00 You can see what is happening, the Grammys and everything.
17:04 We are up there, definitely.
17:07 I feel it's still a growing genre.
17:10 It's everywhere, but we're still aiming for that domination fully.
17:15 I wasn't really banking on the Afrobeats category at the Grammys, though.
17:19 I still feel like they still don't get it to that level yet, you know,
17:24 and it's still going to get there.
17:26 I appreciate the level Afrobeats is.
17:28 It's giving us a whole lot of exposure.
17:31 What I want is for the labels or the people
17:35 that are trying to come over there to invest or get artists over
17:39 are coming right and coming correctly and not coming on some...
17:43 These are people we could exploit.
17:45 - To respect us. - You know?
17:47 So that's why I'm saying Afrobeats is still very much growing.
17:52 It's only till now that we started seeing contracts
17:55 with a million dollars on there, you feel me?
17:57 But if you come to America, you're hearing that's the first thing
18:00 they're giving to someone with 20 million streams on Spotify.
18:05 It doesn't necessarily balance.
18:07 And now that you feel like this whole conversation is happening,
18:10 do you feel like more pressure from the big global conversation of Afrobeats
18:14 or are you just happy to be a part of the movement?
18:17 I mean, I'm enjoying my time.
18:19 I get to be in places where I'm spreading the music.
18:22 I say music has put me in different places
18:24 whereby I didn't necessarily think I was ever going to be at.
18:27 I say that's the power of music, not what Afrobeats is doing.
18:31 It's what music is, really.
18:33 Anywhere that people are connecting, they connect.
18:36 I'm happy to be here at the same time, you know,
18:39 because where else would I be?
18:42 Speaking of the movement, you know, Burner Boy, obviously a big part of it.
18:50 You guys have both had relationships with him,
18:52 whether opening for him or even having him mentor.
18:54 So how has it been to have his kind of blessing
18:56 in the Afrobeats movement and work with him as well?
18:58 The first time I met Burner Boy, I don't know, I was very scared.
19:02 I didn't know what to actually expect
19:06 because I didn't meet him even until 2021 when I opened for him.
19:12 I haven't even met him at that time.
19:14 And I didn't meet him until after I finished performing.
19:21 And when I met him, I just saw, like,
19:24 it was just somebody that has worked so hard
19:28 to just put Afrobeats on the map.
19:32 [Music]
19:34 I don't care if they give him his flowers or not,
19:40 but we from Nigeria, we, the youngins in this game,
19:47 we know what he has done.
19:50 Performance-wise, again, you see his performances
19:53 and you say, "Okay, I want to infuse this also."
19:57 Before Burner Boy started doing this live band thing for real, yeah,
20:02 taking his band to different places in the world,
20:05 most Afrobeats artists would just go on stage
20:08 and just bounce with the DJ and all of that.
20:12 But he started with a band and went on stage.
20:18 He's taking, like, a 30-man band on the stage,
20:22 just making Afrobeats very enjoyable.
20:25 Because whether you like it or not, live music is sweeter.
20:30 Oh, always.
20:31 So when we saw that, everyone said,
20:35 "We have to change. Whatever it is, this man is setting a standard."
20:41 [Music]
20:43 Debido is a leader.
20:47 Many people are following in his footsteps, too.
20:50 Wizkid is a leader.
20:51 Many people are following in his footsteps.
20:53 So you just choose who you are going to follow.
20:55 Who Burner is, to me, is unspeakable.
20:58 In the American terms, they say he's him.
21:01 But he really is him.
21:03 When Burner finally got in or kicked in the doors of demand,
21:08 there was a need to replicate that,
21:12 that true African feel,
21:14 whereby you have the band to represent the real sound,
21:19 to give you a real feel of what it is to really enjoy music.
21:25 That's why you have the shekere, you have the gongon,
21:28 you have the sax, you have the conga.
21:31 You have everybody playing to give you the real African elements
21:36 and the true sounds.
21:37 Not only Burner himself, Mfali, Pupa, different people
21:43 infuse different instruments to give you a different feel in their shows.
21:48 But what makes him stand out is he did this so impeccably.
21:53 You can't call fault.
21:55 You can't call...
21:57 You see a professional at it.
22:00 You see, like...
22:01 When you see him, you see a doctor, an engineer type of level.
22:05 A real pro.
22:06 Every time I see him, I just see glory in some sense.
22:11 You guys see all your own glory now as well.
22:14 From your solo projects to this new project together,
22:17 you guys are killing it.
22:18 Thanks so much for hanging out at Billboard.
22:20 - Thank you so much. - We appreciate y'all.
22:21 - You're welcome, Tetris.
22:23 (upbeat music)