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