Afrobeats
What is Afrobeats music known for?
How does Afrobeats differ from Afrobeat?
Who were key figures in the development of Afrobeats?
What role did Alex Okosi play in the rise of Afrobeats?
How did Afrobeats achieve cross-cultural impact?
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Afrobeats, style of West African music that emerged in Nigeria and Ghana in the early 2000s and that is known for its fusion of African and Caribbean influences, including highlife, dancehall, Naija beats, and soca. Afrobeats music is upbeat, with danceable rhythms that typically feature syncopated, high-energy percussion and deep bass lines.
Afrobeats is distinguished from Afrobeat, which was introduced in the mid-1960s by Nigerian musician and activist Fela Kuti. Kuti fused traditional Yoruba music with American jazz, blues, and funk, and the lyrics incorporated commentaries about political and social issues. By contrast, Afrobeats features a more modern, commercial sound and lyrics that often are about experiences with love, identity, success, and partying.
Development
Afrobeats developed organically over time from the blended sounds of music being produced by various artists in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Those at the forefront of Afrobeats included producer OJB Jezreel (Babatunde Okungbowa) and singer-songwriter 2Baba (Innocent Idibia, formerly known as TuFace or 2Face Idibia). The pair helped bring attention to the genre with the 2004 release of Face 2 Face, which became a hit in Nigeria and rapidly gained popularity across Africa. Its single “African Queen” ranks as one of the first major Afrobeats hits. The album earned 2Baba an MTV Europe Music Award for best African act in 2005; some two million copies of the album were eventually sold.
Nigerian media executive Alex Okosi played a pivotal role in launching MTV Base Africa in 2005—the first MTV-branded channel dedicated to African music—which became one of the biggest catalysts for the global rise of Afrobeats. Okosi, who was working with MTV in London at the time, used his deep understanding of African music and youth culture to pitch the idea of a pan-African music channel. The first music video to air on MTV Base was 2Baba’s “African Queen.” With the airing of music videos by other West African artists as well, Afrobeats gained widespread recognition and appreciation.
In April 2011 an Afrobeats radio program was launched by London-based Choice FM. The program, which featured music by artists such as D’banj, P-Square, and 2Baba, introduced Afrobeats to mainstream radio in the United Kingdom. DJ Abrantee (Abrantee Boateng), who spearheaded the program’s development, coined the word Afrobeats to describe the style of music and played a critical role in its popularization.
Cross-cultural impact
In 2016, with the release of the single “One Dance” by Canadian rapper Drake (Aubrey Drake Graham) and featuring Nigerian singer Wizkid (Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun) and Filipino singer Kyla (Melanie Hernandez Calumpad), Afrobeats expanded its reach into cross-cultural collaborations and broke new ground on the charts. Indeed, the single topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 10 weeks, making Wizkid one of the first Nigerian artists to top the chart. Other collaborations between African and Western pop artists that have helped Afrobeats music broaden its fan base include those between Fireboy DML (Adedamola Adefolahan) and Ed Sheeran, Burna Boy (Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu) and Sheeran, Amaarae (Ama Serwah Genfi) and Kali Uchis (Karly-Marina Loaiza), and Davido (David Adedeji Adeleke) and Clean Bandit.
Afrobeats has become a unifying and empowering impetus among African communities, fostering a sense of cultural belonging and pride, as well as serving as a bridge that draws diverse cross-cultural listeners. As such, Afrobeats artists continue to challenge the status quo and incorporate fresh sounds and perspectives into the style.
