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Claim: A viral video shows US rapper Jay-Z ranking his top three Nigerian artistes as Davido, Burna Boy and Wizkid, explaining why he prefers them over other African musicians.
Verdict: False! The video has been digitally manipulated, likely using AI tools. There is no credible evidence that Jay-Z made such statements.
Full Text
A video circulating widely on Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok claims to show American rapper and music executive Jay-Z ranking his top three Nigerian singers as Davido, Burna Boy, and Wizkid.
In the clip, Jay-Z appears seated during an interview, where he allegedly explains his preference for the trio and comments on Ghanaian professional singers.
He is quoted as saying Davido ranks first due to his “impact, consistency and work ethic,” Burna Boy second for his “global sound and Grammy validation,” and Wizkid third for his “timeless hits and cultural influence.”
He further claims that Ghanaian artistes are “still chasing” the level of these Nigerian stars.
On X, a user with the handle @UR_HIGHNES shared the video on December 2, amassing over 419,000 views, alongside hundreds of comments, reposts, and likes.
He wrote: “Is this real Jay-Z?? Or is my eyes paining me…?? 50cent also said Davido is the biggest Afrobeats artist of all time, now this video? Wow, Davido to the world, joor.”
On Facebook, an account named King of prank backup uploaded the same video with a caption suggesting Jay-Z had deliberately researched and endorsed the artistes.
The caption read,
“Jay-Z on His Top African Artists with Hit Songs. In a viral video, Jay-Z listed his top African artists, mentioning only three names: Davido, Wizkid, and Burna Boy. He made it clear that these artists are constantly pushing African music to the world, never giving the global stage a rest. According to him, they are fighting hard to ensure that Africa is heard worldwide through their powerful and globally recognised songs. Jay-Z, being one of the biggest music icons in the world, would not make such a list lightly. Before naming these three African giants, it’s clear that he did his research. And truly, these artists are not sleeping—they have built strong musical legacies. Even years from now, people will still vibe to their songs. Nigeria is proudly carrying Africa to the world through great music.”
The clip also gained traction on TikTok, where an account named tarrmie recorded about 599,000 views, while on Instagram, a user identified as bigsmart__, with over 304,000 followers, shared the video claiming Jay-Z described Davido as Africa’s number one artist.
Given the high potential for misinformation, DUBAWA investigated the claim.
Verification
Using Google reverse image search, DUBAWA traced the original footage to an episode of Hart to Heart, a talk show hosted by comedian Kevin Hart. The interview featuring Jay-Z is from Season 2, which premiered on July 13, 2022, not 2025 as implied by the viral posts.
The viral clip was first uploaded on TikTok by the account tarrmie, also known as “Tarrmie The AI Guy,” which hosts several other fabricated and AI-generated videos. Crucially, the original interview contains no discussion of Nigerian or Ghanaian artistes, nor any ranking of African musicians.
Furthermore, no credible media outlet, local or international, has reported Jay-Z making such remarks. Given Jay-Z’s global influence, any genuine statement of this nature would have attracted widespread coverage, particularly within Nigeria and the African diaspora.
DUBAWA’s analysis shows the video was digitally altered using artificial intelligence tools that can generate realistic speech, facial movements, and audio, falsely attributing statements to public figures.
Conclusion
The claim that Jay-Z ranked Davido, Burna Boy and Wizkid as his top Nigerian artistes is false. The viral video was manipulated using AI and does not reflect any real statement made by the rapper.
