Afrobeats

This article is about 21st century genre and overarching term for West African pop music. For the 1960s/1970s genre made by artists such as Fela Kuti and Tony Allen, see Afrobeat. For the British genre popularised by J Hus, see Afroswing.

Afrobeats
Stylistic origins
Cultural origins2000s Ghana / Nigeria
Derivative forms
Subgenres
Fusion genres
Other topics

Afrobeats, not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing, is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora[1][2] that initially developed in Nigeria, Ghana, and the UK in the 2000s and 2010s. Afrobeats is less of a style per se, and more of a descriptor for the fusion of sounds flowing majorly out of Nigeria. Genres such as hiplife, jùjú music, highlife, azonto music, and naija beats, among others, were amalgamated under the "Afrobeats" umbrella.[3][4][5][6]

Afrobeats is primarily produced in Lagos, Accra, and London. Historian and cultural critic Paul Gilroy reflects on the changing London music scene as a result of shifting demographics:[7]

We are moving towards an African majority which is diverse both in its cultural habits and in its relationship to colonial and postcolonial governance, so the shift away from Caribbean dominance needs to be placed in that setting. Most of the grime folks are African kids, either the children of migrants or migrants themselves. It's not clear what Africa might mean to them.

In his earlier book, The Black Atlantic, Gilroy rejects the notion that Black culture and music can be bound to one geographical region.[8] Afrobeats exemplifies this syncretism as a transnational genre that since 2019 has received international attention.[9] David Drake writes about popular Nigerian music noting it is "Picking up on trends from the U.S., Jamaica, and Trinidad, they reimagine diasporic influences and—more often than not—completely reinvent them."[10]

Afrobeats began to experience widespread global mainstream acclaim in the late 2010s, with artists achieving success across Africa, Europe, and North America.[11] In response, it has been referred to as one of Africa's 'biggest cultural' or 'musical' exports.[12][13]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Khan-2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Drake-2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "The Evolution of Afropop". Red Bull. Archived from the original on 24 August 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  4. ^ Adu-Gilmore, Leila (2015). "Studio Improv as Compositional Process Through Case Studies of Ghanaian Hiplife and Afrobeats". Critical Studies in Improvisation. 10 (2). doi:10.21083/csieci.v10i2.3555. ISSN 1712-0624.
  5. ^ "Afropop Worldwide | Jesse Shipley, Part 1: Pan Africanism and Hiplife". Afropop Worldwide. Archived from the original on 25 August 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Sound Culture Fest's Afro-Caribbean Rhythm Mission: 'This Goes Deep Into Roots'". www.villagevoice.com. September 2015. Archived from the original on 25 August 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  7. ^ Hancox, Dan (28 December 2013). "It's Called Afrobeats And It's Taking Over London". Vice. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019.
  8. ^ Gilroy (1993). The Black Atlantic. Verso. p. 16. ISBN 9780860916758.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Scher-2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Drake. "Pop Music's Nigerian Future". Fader. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  11. ^ Osha, Sanya (31 March 2022). "2022 Grammys: what Fela Kuti has to do with West Africa's growing pop fame". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  12. ^ Al Jazeera Staff. "Q&A: Afrobeats is 'one of Africa's biggest cultural exports'". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  13. ^ "The story behind West Africa's huge musical export". Red Bull. 12 March 2020. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.