Nigerian singer Jaywon has accused both gospel and Afrobeats artistes of borrowing from the style of his 2012 hit single This Year, insisting that the track’s cultural impact has been underestimated.
He made the statement on Thursday while criticising Billboard for excluding the song from its recently published list of the Best Afrobeats Songs of All Time.
Jaywon argued that no track on the ranking has left a deeper mark than This Year, which he said has retained its relevance for more than a decade.
On his X handle, he wrote: “‘This Year’ by Jaywon had more viral moments and cultural impact than some tracks Billboard decided to rank. Trending since 2012 and still going strong. Tell me, who else has pulled that off? Year after year, both gospel and Afrobeats acts copy the same vibe, yet we remain unshaken.”
He further stressed: “Cry harder, I said it before, and I’ll say it again. No song on that list has more cultural impact than #ThisYear by Jaywon!!”
Billboard’s list placed 2Face Idibia’s African Queen at number one, followed by Wizkid’s Ojuelegba, Flavour’s Nwa Baby, Rema’s Calm Down, and CKay’s Love Nwantiti.