Duncan Mighty Insists Port Harcourt Artistes Built the Foundation of Afrobeats

A wave of reactions has trailed Duncan Mighty’s latest remarks after the Port Harcourt-born singer asserted that he and other stars from the city laid the groundwork for today’s Afrobeats sound.

The music icon, in a recent sit-down with Hip TV, told PulseNets that Port Harcourt artistes — including himself, Timaya, Burna Boy, and Omah Lay — have shaped Afrobeats so deeply that the city’s rhythm, slang, and artistic character have become embedded in the genre’s evolution.

According to him,

“In nearly every Afrobeats track today, you can catch the Port Harcourt influence — especially the Ikwerre slangs. It’s hard to find any Afrobeats song now without a sprinkle of Port Harcourt in it. The flavour is everywhere.”

Duncan Mighty further insisted that the collective sonic identity that emerged from the city is central to what the world celebrates as Afrobeats today. He explained,

“I, Burna Boy, Timaya, Omah Lay — and the Port Harcourt sound itself — contributed to the foundation of the modern Afrobeats movement.”

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PulseNets learnt that his comments have stirred mixed reactions across social media, with some listeners agreeing that Port Harcourt has undeniably influenced the genre, while others criticised the singer for what they described as an “overstatement” of the city’s role in shaping Afrobeats.