From studio to skyline, Afrobeats in line for unprecedented greatness — PuffyTee

By Oluwatobiloba Zeal-Adepetu Kumoye 

  

  

  

World famous, singer-songwriter, producer and hit maker, PuffyTee has tagged this year as the year of unprecedented greatness for Afrobeats on the globe.

He gave his verdict in an exclusive interview with FIRST ZEALMEDIACAST BLOG's Oluwatobiloba Zeal-Adepetu Kumoye as he paused to measure the distance afrobeats has travelled in 2025.

One of the initiatives that tickled his fancy is the Next Afrobeats Stars program that took the continent by a storm.

He lauded and celebrated the Next Afrobeats Stars initiative, describing it as the platform for innovation in the music industry.

In his words, the Next Afrobeats Stars initiative was the icing on the cake of the year that transformed raw talent into visible, market-ready stars.

PuffyTee added that the event transformed, schoolyard songwriters into industry pipelines. 

“We started with a belief, that the next voice of Afrobeats is not hiding, it’s only waiting for a stage. Next Afrobeats Stars gave them that stage. Watching that glow turn into a spotlight felt like watching a new skyline rise.”

He showered praises on the figures behind the headline competition: Ultima Studios, MTN, OneRPM, the mentors who stayed late in the studio, the managers who hustled, and the fans who streamed, shared and sang along.

Despite this phenomenal wins, PuffyTee described this as the fringes of what is to come.

“What we achieved was beautiful, but it isn’t the finish line. It’s the stepping stone of something bigger.”

He stated that with rate at which the genre is spreading is going to rise to a level “never witnessed before,” a global melody that will not only sound familiar in Nigeria and London, but set the soundtrack in Tokyo, São Paulo and beyond. 

“We’re building an ecosystem now: artists, tech, sync deals, international producers, and festivals that will carry Afrobeats into rooms it’s only dreamed of,” he said.

He also had some pleasant words for the new kids on the block, Ayo Benzi, Dave Cash and Tunnexz.

“These artists are not just new faces, they are the next touchbearers of Afrobeats.”

He beckoned on other stakeholders, well-meaning individuals with deep pockets and kind heartsto build on the success story the Next Afrobeats Stars has created, stressing that only then can Afrobeats achieve greatness.