Afrobeats is not Afrobeat Music

Did you know Afrobeat and Afrobeats are two entirely different genres of music?

Learn about African music origins and at the end of this article, I’ve listed links to my weekly updated

Afrobeats playlist; I do hope you enjoy it!

Afrobeat is a genre of music that involves the combination of elements of West African musical styles,

for instance, Fuji, and highlife with American funk and jazz influences, with a focus on chanted vocals,

complex intersecting rhythms, and percussion. The term Afrobeat was coined in the 1960s by African

music legend Fela Kuti who is responsible for pioneering and popularizing the style

both within and outside Nigeria.

In more recent times, Afrobeats music also known as Afropop and Afrofusion is an umbrella

term for contemporary pop music made in West Africa and the diaspora and it originally started in Ghana,

Nigeria and the UK in the 2000s and 2010s

Afrobeat, the 60s music, was more instrumental – this Afrobeats sound is different, it's intertwined

with things like hip-hop and funky house, and there's more of a young feel to it

To unify all the different dynamics and give a name to the innovative sounds that were now branching

off from hiplife, in 2011 UK DJ Abrantee called the popular music “Afrobeats.”

Over the past decade, a new generation of Nigerian pop stars, like Davido, Wizkid, Niniola, and

Tiwa Savage have seen the sounds of their Afrobeats music win fans far beyond Nigeria’s shores.

The country’s music stars are selling out concert venues in London, New York, and Paris; and

hosting and performing at major music concerts/festivals.

Afrobeats has also made inroads at the world’s largest music labels. In the past two years,

Sony and Universal Music have both set up shop in Nigeria, signing up several Afrobeats stars

to publishing and distribution deals.

If you love Afrobeats here are links to my playlists available on Audiomack{7k Plays},

Apple Music >50 listeners and Spotify{7,461 followers}. I promote upcoming artists on

these platforms as well, feel free to contact me for promotions.

UK Headnut