Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Damini Ogulu, aka Burna Boy, has lamented that most of his compatriots don’t believe he is on the same level as American music stars.

The singer said his forthcoming album, “I Told Them...,” is his flippant response to naysayers who have attempted to discredit him, both at the beginning of his career and now.

He stated this in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

The self-styled “African Giant” bemoaned how Nigerians often rate up-and-coming American rappers above him.

He said, “To this day, there are many Nigerians who can tell you about an American rapper who just started their career, and they’ll say they’re bigger than Burna Boy. They don’t understand it. They’ll say, ‘There’s no way someone who talks like me can even be on the same level as an American artist.”

Burna Boy said American songs used to dominate Nigerian media houses’ playlists, but that has changed thanks to the explosion of afrobeats.