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Afrobeat: 1970 – Jazz History Tree. (2018).

https://www.jazzhistorytree.com/afrobeat-1970/

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The musical genre Afrobeat originated in the 1960s and 1970s as a blend of traditional Yoruba music with jazz, West African music (Highlife, Fuji) and funk. Afrobeat was created by the Nigerian legend, Fela Kuti, who was achieved acclaim for his musical talent and involvement in post- colonial African politics.

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Afrobeat originated in the 1960s and 1970s as a blend of traditional Yoruba music with jazz, West African music and funk. It was said to be created by Nigerian legend, Fela Kuti. His recordings from 1970s made an impact on the Nigerian music scene, then gained popularity later around the globe. Fela was said to be inspired by the Black Power movement and the Black Panther party. His lyrics were often infused with social commentary, political critique and Nigerian proverbs. (JazzHistoryTree, 2023)

After Sandra Smith, a singer and former Black Panther, introduced Kuti to writings of many activists such as Martin Luther King Jr and Angela Davis, Fela changed from playing African music and incorporated Funk and Soul. Then, many African American jazz musicians have been attracted to Afrobeat. This had impacted producers and musicians like Brian Eno and David Bryne who credited Fela Kuti as an essential influence.

Even after Fela Kuti had passed away, his sons, Femi and Seun Kuti carried on their father's legacy. Femi took Fela's band, Africa 70 and rebranded it to Egypt 80. Songs like Know Better and Fire Dance were then released by them. (Richard Pallardy, 2023)

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Doran, J. (2016, May 5). Fela Kuti – 10 of the best. The Guardian; The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/may/05/fela-kuti-10-best-songs

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Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti was born on 15 October 1938 in Abeokuta, Nigeria to influential upper middle-class parents. His mother was one of Nigeria's leading feminists and a prominent anti-colonial protester while his father, a preacher, was the first president of the Nigerian Union of Teachers. They planned careers in medicine for their three sons (and Olikoye Ransome-Kuti would go on to become the Nigerian health minister) but Fela, a rebel from the outset, switched courses within days of arriving in London to study. While he was attending Trinity College of Music between 1958 and 1961 he formed the Koola Lobitos. He led this highlife-influenced jazz band, as a trumpet player, taking full advantage of the underground London craze for African dance music in the 1960s.

Fela's musical awakening happened over several years and in a handful of countries. After learning his chops in the UK, he started formulating his own sound while gigging in Ghana and Nigeria. But things really started to take shape during an otherwise ill-starred tour of America in 1969. It was during a stop at Los Angeles that he first met Sandra Smith, an African-American civil rights activist who had spent three months in jail after assaulting a police officer at a Black Panthers rally. It was through meeting her that he first began to think in an Afro-conscious way. As he told the journalist Carlos Moore: "Sandra gave me the education I wanted. She was the one who opened my eyes ... She talked to me about politics, history ... she blew my mind really." While reading her copy of Malcolm X's autobiography he realised that he wanted to play African music, and the "Fela Kuti sound" was finally born. Smith was the inspiration for this track: Kuti had been wearing out his welcome at her family's house, running up phone bills, wrecking cars, draining resources and making little headway with his music. Towards the end of his elongated American misadventure he debuted My Lady Frustration in a nightclub. The response, finally, was rapturous.

Fela Kuti ... Appearing on the the Channel 4 show The Tube. Photograph: ITV/REX

3. Ye Ye De Smell (live with the Africa '70 and Ginger Baker)

Fela Kuti was playing with the Koola Lobitos in London's Flamingo club in the mid 60s when he first met Ginger Baker. The pair got on and when the drummer flew out to Lagos in 1970 and heard Afrobeat playing on Nigerian radio, he decided to hook up with the horn player. (Baker would go on to fall in love with Lagos and its musical culture to the extent that he built a 16-track studio called Batakota there, despite there being a war raging at the time.) Later that year Baker flew back to London with Kuti and his group, Africa 70. They played a collaborative gig at Abbey Road in front of 150 guests which would get released by EMI Nigeria as Live!. The four-track album is, by any sane standard, one of the greatest live documents of all time and features not one but two of the era's most brilliant drummers (Tony Allen being the other).

Live! should have been the start of a beautiful creative partnership. Other recordings were discussed and a joint tour was booked, but when a pal of Kuti's was discovered by officials at Heathrow with a large amount of marijuana hidden in a drum and carrying only Ginger Baker's address, Baker was immediately arrested. The subsequent fall-out led to Baker's daughter getting expelled from private school, and the plans for the group fell apart.

After Fela returned to Nigeria from the US, his career quickly gained traction. In 1970 he formed a commune called the Kalakuta Republic and set up a recording studio. He also founded a nightclub in the Empire Hotel, changing the name from the Afro-Spot to The Shrine in 1971. His fame grew and he used his platform at The Shrine to promote resistance to dictatorship and pan-African socialism. He also awarded himself a new name, Anikulapo, which translates as "the one who carries death in his quiver", to replace his colonial or slave name. (His grandfather was the Reverend Canon JJ Ransome Kuti, a pioneer of the Yoruba Christian Church who composed religious hymns. Sensing his talent, missionaries took him to England to make recordings for EMI and gave him the name of Ransome.)

Roforofo Fight was the first Fela Kuti song I heard when I moved to London in the mid 90s, which seemed to be in the grips of a mini-Fela revival at the time. It certainly never seemed to be off the decks at Bar Rumba during Gilles Peterson and James Lavelle's riotous Monday night session, That's How It Is!. Tony Allen's galloping but intricate beat is only possible when all four limbs are locked into completely independent patterns, which caused Kuti to comment that having Allen was like having four drummers in his band. The thunderous drums lay the groundwork for a glorious battle of alto, tenor and baritone saxophones.

This record is DJ gold dust. The groove is introduced for just a few tantalising bars before it is replaced by Fela's sax, vamping magisterially and teasingly on its own, and then hitting the melody line over a crisp snare beat. And just as you're starting to wonder what the hell is going on - at 2:23, the same point most other singles are looking at their watches and considering buggering off - the song proper suddenly kicks in with a brutally effective bass line. It's hard to comprehend how anyone could make such life-affirming, inspirational and joyful music for over a quarter of a century while enduring constant violence, harassment and oppression at the hands of the state. But part of his music's effectiveness came from the fact that it often consisted of a militant message couched in uplifting form. Kuti's lyrics were the iron fist in the velvet glove and the fact that he mainly chose to sing in pidgin English was one reason he became so popular not just across Nigeria but in other African countries, too.

The very literal story behind Expensive Shit is mind-boggling to the extent that it would be funny were it not so depressing. In 1974 the police grew tired of just targeting Kuti's shows at The Shrine and started raiding the Kalakuta commune where he lived with his band, his many wives and his entourage. A lot of grass was being smoked there, which offered an easy excuse to bring Kuti into custody. But during the second big raid on his house, and in the absence of any drugs, the police resorted to planting some on him. At least, one officer tried to when the saxophonist grabbed the joint off him and ate it. After failing to persuade a doctor to pump his stomach to retrieve the spliff, the powers that be decided to lock him up and wait for their evidence to re-emerge naturally. Unbeknownst to his guards, Kuto waited each night until they were asleep and passed waste into a communal bucket but then complained of constipation to them when they awoke the next morning. Three days later, the entire police station was mystified when he "finally" decided to go and passed a drug-free stool into a pail under their watchful eyes. Kuti not only got to walk free by he also got to cock a snook at his jailers with this satirical track the following year. But his luck with the authorities would not hold out.

Anyone using the word "complicated" to describe a male musician who looks down on or is violent towards women is, at best, indulging in some kind of dishonest and slightly grubby special pleading. You only have to listen to the sardonic Lady and the frankly appalling Mattress or read Kuti's officially sanctioned biography, This Bitch of a Life, to realise he had a problem with women. He used open-palmed slaps to sort out quarrels between his many wives and to end arguments with them. He was brought up to see violence as a legitimate domestic strategy by his parents, who both beat him viciously - his mother worse than his father - during his childhood. By the time he was an adult he clearly thought that women were inferior and needed to be dominated by men. There is no doubt, in my mind at least, that Fela Kuti was a misogynist.

It does need to be said, however, that this wasn't a view generally held by his wives; many of whom found a chance to pursue artistic ambitions and enjoy freedoms as part of the Kalakuta Republic that they wouldn't have otherwise been offered. To ignore Kuti's attitude towards women is wrongheaded, but to paint him as the sole or primary villain in his own narrative - given the physical persecution he and his wives suffered from the Nigerian authorities - is equally disingenuous.

Fela Kuti ... African music, filtered through jazz and funk. Photograph: John Wildgoose/taken from picture library

No Agreement is not only Fela Kuti's best track but one of the greatest pieces of dance music ever recorded. It is a masterclass in composition built from the most basic of building blocks. It's a loose-limbed funk banger but also feels analogous to a techno track: slowly building, receding and then slowly building once more. The pared-down rhythmic and melodic lines slowly click over a quarter of an hour, like cog teeth biting together in some gloriously complex clockwork machine. The muscularity of the groove only properly asserts itself for brief moments during the track, as befits musicians who truly understood the concept of delayed gratification. It's a rough and ready recording and a glorious track. The Afrobeat sound Kuti developed with Tony Allen found its strength through diversity: rather than being a pure African invention it was heavily influenced by the popular, radical music of black America, notably the funk of James Brown and jazz. Ghanaian and Nigerian highlife can also be heard high in the mix, as well as traditional west African ritual music. Despite the clear links to Kuti's African heritage this was a very modern style of music and he certainly had a very progressive attitude towards his art; he considered tracks to be "finished" once they were recorded and never revisited them again.

More than his best friend and longtime collaborator JK Braimah; more than the inspirational co-creator of the Afrobeat sound Tony Allen; more than the woman responsible for his political epiphany, Sandra Smith; the most important and influential person in Fela's life was his mother, Funmilayo. During a particularly severe military raid on the Kalakuta compound in 1978, sparked off by the massive anti-military hit single Zombie, the 77-year-old was thrown from a third-floor window by drunken soldiers. She did not recover from her injuries and died three months later after lapsing into a coma. The following year, on Nigerian Independence Day, 1 October 1979 - General Olusegun Obasanjo, the dictator who had made Fela's existence such a misery, was due to bring 13 years of military rule to an end by handing over power to Shehu Shagari. On Obasanjo's last day in office, Fela and his wives carried his mother's coffin to the gates of the Dodan Barracks, where Obasanjo lived. After shots were fired and following a tense stand-off at gunpoint, they were eventually allowed to leave the casket at the gates. It was a remarkable act of defiance, even in a life characterised by many such actions. But his mother's death signalled a huge change in Kuti's life. After a decade spent in direct conflict with Nigeria's establishment, he was wounded permanently by her loss.

His own resolve to resist politically never left him. As his biographer Carlos Moore said: "Until his last breath, Fela was a proud thorn in the flesh of every military or civilian despot that occupied the revolving presidential chair in Nigeria, a distinction that made his position nearly untenable." But during the 80s and 90s every other aspect of his life started to erode. His music became more introspective and sombre, and he began to suffer from depression, talking openly about suicidal impulses. His physical health began to suffer drastically after he contracted Aids - a condition he steadfastly refused to acknowledge he had right until his death in 1997. And all the time, the beatings, the arrests and the imprisonments continued unabated.

It has long been a favourite theme of dystopian fantasy that the only true escape available to the subjects of oppressive dictatorships is the one offered by madness. By the early 1980s, Fela Kuti was fully engaged in a spiritual project to make himself completely invulnerable to death by the use of both traditional and newly invented magic rituals. His new belief system included spiritually bulletproof cloaks, UFO contact and chicken sacrifice. Paranoia and confusion became the order of the day among his inner circle.

It would be wrong to say that all, or even most, of Fela's music after this point was bad; in fact a lot of it has great merit. By the late 80s he had rejected the term Afrobeat, preferring to think of his work as African classical music and his output became less ecstatic.

But I'm going to end on another personal favourite, Africa, Center of the World, the B-side to the Roy Ayers collaboration 2,000 Blacks Got to Be Free, recorded in 1980 when his belief in pan-Africanism was still firm, clear-sighted and hopeful.

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A look back over a seminal career that encompassed political dissidence, UFO contact, chicken sacrifice - and some of the greatest dance music ever recorded

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Download Premium Royalty Free Afrobeat Music - PremiumBeat. (n.d.).

Www.premiumbeat.com. https://www.premiumbeat.com/royalty-free/afrobeat

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Download Premium Royalty Free Afrobeat Music - PremiumBeat

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PremiumBeat’s library features high-energy, royalty-free Afrobeat music to enliven your next YouTube video, dance party, and more.

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(2023). Giglifepro.com.

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https://giglifepro.com/articles/afrobeat

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Afrobeat emerged in the late 1960s, led by Fela Kuti, who was experimenting with various contemporary music styles with his bandmate, drummer Tony Allen at the time. The music is a complex mixture of jazz, funk, highlife, and traditional African and Nigerian chants and rhythms. It contains elements of psychedelic soul and has similarities to James Brown's style of composition.

Afrobeat is frequently confused with Afrobeats which is more of an umbrella term for the popular music and fusions of sounds flowing out of West Africa and the diaspora rather than a specific genre.

Learn more about the history, the rise, and the notable artists of this genre below.
The Birth and The Elements
Afrobeat is a music genre that involves the combination of elements of West African musical styles such as fuji music and highlife with American jazz and later soul and funk influences, with a focus on complex intersecting rhythms, percussion, and Nigerian, African chanted vocals.

The term "Afrobeat" was coined in the 1960s by Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Fela Kuti, who is credited with pioneering and popularizing the style both within and outside of Nigeria.

Politics is essential to Afrobeat, since founder Kuti used social criticism to pave the way for social change. His message can be described as confrontational and controversial, which can be related to the political climate of most of the African countries in the 1970s, many of which were dealing with political injustice and military corruption while recovering from the transition from colonial governments to self-determination.

Distinct from Afrobeat is Afrobeats - a sound originating in West Africa in the 21st century, one that takes in diverse influences and is an eclectic combination of genres such as highlife, hip hop, house, jùjú, ndombolo, R&B and soca. The two genres, though often conflated, are not the same.

Afrobeat stemmed from Highlife, which began in Ghana in the early 1920s. During that time, Ghanaian musicians incorporated foreign influences like the foxtrot and calypso with Ghanaian rhythms such as osibisaba (Fante). Yoruba percussion and vocal traditions were incorporated as well. Fela Kuti, along with his band, are credited with pioneering and popularizing the style both within and outside of Nigeria during the 1970s.

During 5 years from 1970 to 1975, Kuti and Allen's band established and played as residents at Afrika Shrine club while Afrobeat thrived among Nigerian youth. As the genre spread throughout the African continent many bands took up the style. The recordings of these bands and their songs were rarely heard or exported outside the originating countries but many can now be found on compilation albums and CDs from specialist record shops.

Afrobeat's influence has spread far beyond Nigeria's borders, with artists from France, the United States, Canada, Brazil, and other countries picking up the genre and gaining large followings around the world.

Cover image credit: Antibalas by Phrazz

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Everything you need to know about Afrobeat.

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Kuku, Z. (2022, October 25). The Changing Sound of Afrobeats. The Republic.

https://republic.com.ng/nigeria/afrobeats-and-its-current-landscape/#:~:text=Afrobeats%20has%20evolved%20from%20its,which%20was%20released%20in%202020.

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Masterclass. (2021, July). Guide to Afrobeat Music: A Brief History of Afrobeat

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/afrobeat-music-guide

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Mohammed, O. (2021, April 9). The Impact of Digital Technology on Africa’s Music and Movies Industry. Ominira Initiative.

https://ominirainitiative.org/the-impact-of-digital-technology-on-africas-music-and-movies-industry/

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There was a time when Africa's entertainment industry was solely hinged on official release of movies through CD and Video cassette distribution companies before it would reach a household. A Nigerian movie could take months before it circulates throughout the country and the better part of a year to reach at least two to three neighbouring countries. Digital technology and streaming platforms like YouTube and Netflix have made it easier to access African movies at regional and continental level.

Same process of distribution is also evidenced in the African music industry which was making it harder for artists to get royalties on their intellectual property. But with digital technology access, streaming platforms and social media, artists are now getting more recognition for their works and monetary compensation is no longer a problem.

Digital technology's impact on Africa's music and movies industry has been tremendous, considering some of the highlights discussed below.
Connecting Talents and Products
Social media has bridged the gap, making it easy to have swift access to products. This is the case for music and movies too.

The increased demand for African music around the world has led to partnerships between African artists and international music producers and artists. In 2019, music artists and producers from Africa worked on The Lion King: The Gift, the soundtrack album by Beyoncé, a successful project in its own right that amplified Afrobeat tune on a global level.

Not only that, international recording and distribution companies like Universal Music Group, Sony Music, Warner Music Group and Empire have signed African artiste to help promote their art and reach a wider audience. Many African actors and actresses have gone mainstream, featuring in Hollywood blockbuster movies and soap operas.
Streaming Platforms
This is the hallmark for African entertainment industry as we have moved away from the number of physical albums sold to digital music streams on platforms like Deezer, Boomplay, Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. Chart data for music streaming has been the new parameter to measure success of African music, something that was not possible in 2013, documented in a New York Times piece.

African movies have become mainstream contents on Netflix, as the production company bought the right from the original producers. DStv's Africa Magic, IrokoTV and Netflix have had to partner with African producers to produce original movies to meet up with the teeming demand for movies and series from the continent.
Creatives and Technological Access
African creatives do not need to produce movies or make music and wait for cinema screenings or album listening parties to make their projects available. NdaniTV, The Naked Convo, Accelerate TV are online TV channels popular on YouTube for African short series. Pay TV has also been another instrumental factor in enhancing outreach of Africa's movie and music industry with platforms like DStv, GOtv and others.

Also, artists have exclusive rights and get royalties for music videos shared on their YouTube channels. Online content creators and filmmakers have independence of decision on how to release their projects, as it is no longer restricted to cinemas and film festivals.

Not to forget, digital technology has led to the invention of different techniques and software for music and movie production used by creatives to produce content.
Economic contributions and Investments
A 2016 IMF report revealed that movies contributed 1.42 percent of Nigeria's GDP. South Africa's music industry was estimated to hit $178m in revenue in 2020 while that of Nigeria is estimated to rise to US$73 million in 2021. Not forgetting that, Nigeria's creative industry is one of the largest employers of labour. All these have happened as a result of increased adoption of digital technology in the creative industry.

Also, Africa's entertainment industry has become the next best thing for investors to put their money. A serial bootstrapper and venture capitalist, Kola Aina shared a tweet stating that investors no longer care about ethnic boundaries as data has shown that investing in movies will certainly earn you a return in investment, judging by box office figures of some African movies.

Asides that, Africa has bankable musical acts now, judging by the recognitions and awards garnered by Afrobeat legends like Burna Boy and Wizkid, in recent times. All of which was made possible by the collapse in distribution, production and access due to digital technology.

Though digital technology has helped African entertainment industry solve the problem of piracy, it would be quite laudable if it can help to resolve the lingering issues of homegrown distribution networks and ineffective property laws.
This article conveys the views of the author and not necessarily that of Ominira Initiative.
Photo by Muhammadtaha Ibrahim Ma'aji on Unsplash

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The Impact of Digital Technology on Africa's Music and Movies Industry

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There was a time when Africa's entertainment industry was solely hinged on official release of movies through CD and Video cassette distribution companies before it would reach a household. A Nigerian movie could take months before it circulates throughout the country and the better part of a year to reach at least two to three...

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Osiebe, G. (2022, March 31). From Nigeria to the world: Afrobeats is having a global moment. The Conversation.

https://theconversation.com/from-nigeria-to-the-world-afrobeats-is-having-a-global-moment-179910

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Another Grammy Awards season and there is a growing list of African nominees. For African music enthusiasts, it is heartwarming that recognition is being accorded to practitioners in the Afrobeats space.

Afrobeat and Afrobeats, although related, are quite distinct. Afrobeats is the genre that emerged when West African pop music became cool. Its origins coincide with the media liberalisation that accompanied the "final" wave of democratisation in Africa from 1999. More than this, it is a convenient term for Europe to refer to music coming out of Africa, distinct from Euro-American pop.

Afrobeat, on the other hand, is what Nigerian music icon Fela Anikulapo-Kuti called his invention, which blended jazz, funk, psychedelic rock and traditional West African chant and rhythms in the early 1970s. Afrobeat typically bears messages of liberation.

There is a relationship between Afrobeats and Afrobeat; indeed, an overlap between Fela's music, lifestyle and message and today's Afrobeats practice.

West African musicians (like King Sunny Ade, Femi Kuti, Seun Kuti and Rocky Dawuni) have been nominated for or won ( Angelique Kidjo) Grammy Awards for several years. But it took an album richly intertwined with Fela's essence for an Afrobeats artist to earn the same.

Burna Boy 's African Giant (2019) paved the way for Afrobeats at the 62nd Grammy Awards in 2020 through a nomination for Best World Music Album. Afrobeats eventually had its big moment a year later at the 2021 Grammy Awards where his Twice as Tall (2020) was named Best Global Music Album.

The nomination of Wizkid 's Made in Lagos (2021) for the same category this year makes it the third time in succession that Afrobeats is being recognised at the Grammys. Wizkid's Essence, featuring Tems, is also in the reckoning for Best Global Music Performance.

Afrobeats is having a big transnational and transatlantic moment, and I've considered some of the factors driving it.

The diaspora

Pop musicians from other parts of the continent have been making music under the Afrobeats banner, but it is the Nigerians Wizkid, Davido and Burna Boy who have each sold out The O2 arena in London or the Accor Arena in Paris. Undoubtedly, Nigerian artists are the trailblazers of the Afrobeats movement.

Nigeria's over 200 million-strong population comprises a middle class that ranks among the world's most migrated. There are Nigerian populations in many parts of the world, owing to the country's infrastructural challenges and high level of unemployment. Artists are not exempt from this exodus, although success can give them the means to return home.

Consequently, contemporary Nigerian culture - Afrobeats included - is a culture very much on the move. If the artists are not between cities, the consumers are. Members of the Nigerian diaspora are enthusiastic about the experience of a concert with their favourite Afrobeats stars.

A similar logic extends to the culture of downloads and streams. While streaming is unaffordable for many in Nigeria, the diaspora Nigerian is able to afford streaming. So, the poor state of Nigerian infrastructure actually promotes the evolution and propagation of Afrobeats.

Dance videos

Related to this is the culture of dance videos - challenges and general routines - orchestrated by Afrobeats artistes across social media platforms that have contributed greatly to the unprecedented global rise of Afrobeats.

The explosion of these dance videos on TikTok, for example, demonstrates that language is no barrier to the acceptance and popularity of the music. CKay's Love Nwantiti (2019) became the most Shazamed song in the world thanks to the love it garnered on TikTok. ( Shazam is an app that identifies songs.) At the height of its popularity, TikTok and Instagram users were making more than 10 million videos a week using the song.

More recently, Finesse (2022) by Pheelz and Buju also emerged among the most Shazamed songs in the world.

Collaborations

The collaborations by Afrobeats artistes with the biggest music stars in the world have made for further global exposure.

For The Lion King: The Gift (2019), US star Beyoncé did the unprecedented by enlisting the services of numerous Afrobeats stars, including Wizkid and Burna Boy. Her Brown Skin Girl featuring Wizkid won Best Music Video at the 2021 Grammys.

A Grammy nominee again this year, the multilingual Angelique Kidjo from Benin is a past winner on four occasions. She cannot be said to be an Afrobeats artist. Yet her recognition of the genre means that she has had to co-opt some of its brighter stars in her most recent work.

Kidjo's latest album, Mother Nature (2021), nominated for Best Global Music Album, features a host of Afrobeats stars including Burna Boy, Mr Eazi, Rexxie and Yemi Alade. Kidjo's choice of direction is testament to the growth and recognition that Afrobeats has recorded recently.

Radio play

The category of Best African Act was introduced at the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2005 while the Best International Act: Africa premiered at the 2011 edition of the BET Awards. These were landmarks pointing to an African pop music unable to be confined within Africa anymore. They also represented an improved opportunity for high profile exposure. In 2012, meanwhile, D'banj's Oliver Twist charted at No. 9 on the UK singles chart and at No. 2 on the UK R&B chart, making it the first Afrobeats song to so do.

The sustained success of Afrobeats songs in the UK and in continental Europe eventually led to the launch of the UK's first Afrobeats music radio station, The Beat London 103.6 FM, in 2016. It presents Afrobeats as a major genre rather than a side offering.

To date, the most streamed song of all time is One Dance, an Afrobeats song by Drake, with a cameo from Wizkid which has surpassed 2 billion streams on Spotify. This is a reflection of the boost Afrobeats artists stand to get from working with American pop stars.

Wizkid's Essence, featuring Tems, charted in the top ten of the Billboard 100 after a remix with Justin Bieber. In order to rank the top 50 Afrobeats songs in the US based on streaming, airplay and physical sales, Billboard is partnering with festival company Afro Nation, this year, to launch America's first ever Afrobeats chart. This buttresses Afrobeats as the fastest growing genre in American pop culture.

In the words of Afrobeats star CKay, Afrobeats is the new pop. It's the next sound that consumers and major labels are looking for. Afrobeats is a conglomeration of many influences from hip-hop, R&B, reggae, fuji, juju, apala, galala, konto, lamba, makossa, soukous, amapiano etc. The core of this music is the percussion, the aggressive drums, snares, shakers and the sometimes chaotic sound mixes.

Global acceptance

Musicians typically desire to have a global reach. The importance of America as the world's entertainment capital guarantees that for the average artist, acceptance in America is tantamount to global acceptance. The Grammy Awards represents the ultimate recognition in music. The categories of Best Global Music Album and Best Global Music Performance thus represent the best opportunities for many artists from outside the US to reinforce their global success.

The quest for global relevance of the Afrobeats movement is further signposted by the announcement that the next edition of The Headies - an awards show dedicated to celebrating excellence in Afrobeats - is scheduled to be held in Atlanta, Georgia, later this year. It is the first time in 15 editions that the annual awards show will be held outside Nigeria.

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From Nigeria to the world: Afrobeats is having a global moment

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Afrobeats emerged when West African pop music became cool. It has been boosted by the diaspora, big name collaborations and American culture.

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Pond5. (2023, September). What is Afrobeat Music? Pond5 Blog.

https://blog.pond5.com/80280-what-is-afrobeat-music/

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Afrobeat is a vibrant and captivating music style created by the legendary Nigerian musician Fela Kuti in the late 1960s to early 70s. Afrobeat is a blend of highlife, jazz, funk, and traditional African rhythms with a distinct and political feel. The driving logic behind Afrobeat is its capacity to speak to social issues, which elevates it above simple music and makes it an effective weapon for activism and social change.

It's interesting to note that there is another musical genre called Afrobeats. But despite the similarities in their names, Afrobeat and Afrobeats are two distinct genres. While Afrobeat has its roots in the 1970s, Afrobeats is a 21st-century sound from West Africa that combines hip-hop, house, jùjú, ndombolo, R&B, and soca.

History of Afrobeat

There is an inextricable link to Fela Kuti's life and legacy and the history of Afrobeat. The Nigerian musician and political activist laid the groundwork for the genre with his band Africa '70. He used Afrobeat to criticize Nigeria's oppression, corruption, and social injustices by fusing several musical genres. Although Fela's music and activism caused conflicts with the Nigerian government, his legacy of resistance persists. Fela's children, Seun Kuti and Femi Kuti, carried on the Afrobeat lineage after their father's passing in 1997, ensuring the genre's continuing influence.

Afrobeat's distinctive elements

Several key characteristics define the unique sound of Afrobeat music.

Complex rhythms: Afrobeat is renowned for its deep, complex rhythms. It creates polyrhythmic patterns that are captivating and energizing by fusing traditional African percussion instruments with contemporary drum sets.

Horn sections: Horn sections, frequently made up of trumpets, saxophones, and trombones, are a vital part of Afrobeat. These horns usually play melodic lines.

Long and extended song structures: Afrobeat songs frequently contain lengthy instrumental passages and repeating patterns. Such arrangements allow musicians to display their talent through improvisation.

Afrobeat lyrics: The verses frequently touch on social and political topics and spread the word about injustice, repression, and corruption. The lyrics are profound and thought-provoking.

Fusion of genres: Traditional African music, jazz, funk, highlife, and Western influences are all included in the ingredients of Afrobeat.

Influence of Afrobeat and Where Can You Hear It Now

From collaborations with jazz legends to its integration into global music, Afrobeat's impact has spanned decades and continents. Afrobeat is also a major source of inspiration for many musicians worldwide, who incorporate it into their own distinctive styles.
The "father of Afrobeat drumming," Tony Allen, was instrumental in creating the genre's sound with his avant-garde drumming technique.

Fela's sons, Femi and Seun Kuti have carried on their father's legacy by spreading his social change and resistance messages. Femi took over Fela's band, Africa '70, and rebranded it to Egypt '80 before launching his own group Positive Force. He has also collaborated with well-known singers like Common and D'Angelo, which expanded Afrobeat's appeal to a worldwide audience.

Modern bands like Antibalas and Kokoroko have revived Aftrobeat by staying faithful to the genre's roots while adding their own contemporary touches.

In 2009, the music label Knitting Factory Records (KFR) produced the Broadway musical Fela!, based on Kuti's life and music. The play has been nominated 11 times for Tony Awards, winning three categories: Best Costumes, Best Sound, and Best Choreography. Fela! was on Broadway for 15 months and was produced by music industry notables Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith.

The "Festival de Afrobeat Independiente" (FAI) is a recurring event in Buenos Aires, featuring performances by both regional and renowned Afrobeat acts.

3 Tips on How to Use Afrobeat Tracks in Your Creative Projects

1. Afrobeat is political. When choosing to use Afrobeat in your project, it would be wise to ensure your project honors (at least not betrays) the legacy of Fela Kuti and his socially conscious messages.

2. Africa In Her Beauty (Afrobeat) is a great example of an upbeat track that would showcase the natural landscapes of an African setting.

3. Imagine a crime comedy with the backing track Afrobeat Fusion Loop Trumpet for a unique fusion of genres. Just don't forget to refer to tip one.

In the words of Fela Kuti, "The music of Africa is big sound: it's the sound of a community." Give your next project a big sound. A Pond5 music subscription gives you access to original Afrobeat tracks, including the ones featured here.

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Afrobeat music is a blend of highlife, jazz, funk, and traditional African rhythms that speaks to social issues, activism and change.

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Artists uses afrobeat as a cultural movement to reflect political, social and economic realities. Many African listeners can also feel proud while listening to afrobeat songs as it proudly showcase their culture, heritage and traditions to the world.

For modern afrobeat, I like their accent and way of pronouncing certain words. It may sound melodic as it blends well with the music. There are more and more artists who are not from Africa but still follow their way of speaking and pronunciation. This may seem to me like the unique and distinctiveness of Afrobeat comparing to other music genres.

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The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica (2014, March 12). Fela Kuti | Afrobeat Pioneer, Nigerian Activist. Encyclopedia Britannica; Encyclopedia Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fela-Kuti

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Fela Kuti, (born October 15, 1938, Abeokuta, Nigeria-died August 2, 1997, Lagos), Nigerian musician and activist who launched a modern style of music called Afro-beat, which fused American blues, jazz, and funk with traditional Yoruba music.

Kuti was the son of feminist and labour activist Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. As a youth he took lessons in piano and percussion before studying (1959) classical music at Trinity College London. While in London, he encountered various musical styles by playing piano in jazz and rock bands. Returning to Nigeria in the mid-1960s, he reconstituted Koola Lobitos, a band with which he had played in London. The Afro-beat sound emerged from that group's experiments.

Following his 1969 tour of the United States, where he was influenced by the politics of Malcolm X, the Black Panthers, and other militants, Kuti's music became increasingly politicized. He exhorted social change in such songs as "Zombie," "Monkey Banana," "Beasts of No Nation," and "Upside Down." Fela (as he was popularly known) and his band, which was known variously as the Nigeria 70, Africa 70, and later the Egypt 80, performed for packed houses at the early-morning concerts that they staged at Fela's often-raided nightclub in Lagos. The firebrand singer, who gyrated over the keyboard as he sang in English and Yoruba, struck a chord among the unemployed, disadvantaged, and oppressed. His politically charged songs, which decried oppression by Nigeria's military government, prompted authorities to routinely raid his club, looking for reasons to jail him. Near there he also set up a communal compound, which he proclaimed the independent Kalakuta Republic. As head of the commune, he often provoked controversy and attracted attention by promoting indulgence in sex, polygamy (he married 27 women), and drugs, especially marijuana. A 1977 raid on the complex by Nigerian authorities resulted in his brief incarceration and the death of his mother the following year due to complications from a fall. In exile in Ghana in 1978, he changed his name from Ransome to the tribal Anikulapo.

In 1979 Fela formed a political party, the Movement of the People, and ran unsuccessfully for the presidency of Nigeria. Five years later he was jailed for 20 months on charges of currency smuggling. Upon his release, he turned away from active political protest and left his son, Femi, to carry the torch of Afro-beat music. Fela was jailed again in 1993 for murder, but the charges were eventually dropped. He died as a result of complications from AIDS.

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Fela Kuti | Afrobeat Pioneer, Nigerian Activist

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Fela Kuti, Nigerian musician and activist who launched a modern style of music called Afro-beat, which fused American blues, jazz, and funk with traditional Yoruba music. Kuti was the son of feminist and labour activist Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. As a youth he took lessons in piano and percussion

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How has it evolved? Where can these changes be seen?

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How has it evolved? Where can these changes be seen?

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When we hear the word "Modern Afrobeat", it is most likely referring to contemporary interpretations and fusions of the traditional Afrobeat sound.

Afrobeat has evolved from its distinct beat and song structure to a much more fluid style of music, which incorporates different genres to create new sounds. An artist we can use as an example is Wizkid. He is a Nigerian singer and songwriter, who is also known for working with Drake in the single “One Dance”. He released his first studio album Superstar in 2012 and his Made in Lagos album, in 2020.

These 2 albums have different bodies of work, “Superstar” had nostalgic, up tempo and catchy songs, “Made in Lagos” had more melodious songs with a softer tempo. This shows the fluidity afforded to artists within the current Afrobeat space. “Made in Lagos” shows his versatility as he explores the fusion between Afrobeat and other genres, like reggae and R&B. (Zainab Kuku, 2022)

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Some common Afrobeat characteristics include large bands. The afrobeat recordings of Fela Kuti and songs from Femi and Seun feature a large orchestra-style band. The brass and rhythm section can be sizable. Africa 70, which was the band Fela Kuti was in, often featured two musicians on bass and two baritone saxophones while two guitars handled the melody. Afrobeat songs are typically sung in West African languages, thought Kuti sang in both English and Yoruba. A few of Fela's most famous songs are It's Highlife Time, My Lady Frustration and Ye Ye De Smell. (John Dorran, 2016)

Songs usually have complex and repetitive rhythms. Afrobeat creates polyrhythmic patterns that are captivating by fusing traditional African percussion instruments with contemporary drum sets. It also contains lengthy instrumental passages and repeating patterns. This kind of arrangements allow musicians to improvise which is common in Afrobeat. (Sarah McCarthy, 2023)

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Afrobeat has played a significant role in empowering African culture and identity. For many years, Africa was often misrepresented or overlooked in mainstream media. However, afrobeat’s rise has brought about a renaissance in cultural representation. African artists proudly showcase their heritage through their music, fashion and visual aesthetics, challenging stereotypes and promoting diversity of African culture to the world. (Masterclass, 2021)

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I believe technology has a huge impact on Afrobeat..

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I believe technology has a huge impact on Afrobeat..

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Technology had changed afrobeat throughout the years. Comparing to traditional afrobeats, big bands are no longer needed as modern afrobeat songs can be done using softwares. Technology also allows producers and songwriters to corporate globally. (Olakunle Mohammed,2023)

Getting access to traditional afrobeat songs is limited to physical records and live performances. Distribution of it was often between regions or reliant on importation. Technology and streaming platforms have made it easier for African stars to be discovered by global audiences. Since its launch in Nigeria in 2015, Boomplay Music has become Africa’s largest music streaming and download service with 75mn monthly active users and an impressive catalogue.

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With traditional afrobeat, we can see how it was created and used back then. With its many instruments, we can understand why traditional afrobeat was popular. After many years, it has been influenced by other genres as it was spread to foreign countries. As time goes by, Afrobeat has changed into a genre that is enjoyed by many different countries and different generations.

Afrobeat is constantly evolving till today. Whether it is traditional or modern afrobeat, it still deserves all the credits and praises. Although i believe that very few people from the younger generation will enjoy traditional afrobeat, they have to understand that without traditional afrobeat, there would not be modern afrobeat too. Like all the other world genres, it is always evolving and changing, so we have to cherish every single one of them.

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Afrobeat artists have orchestra dance challenges and general routines across social media platforms, this had contributed greatly to the global rise of Afrobeat. This shows that language is no barrier to the acceptance and popularity of the music. (Garhe Osiebe, 2022)

Many of the Afrobeat songs have music videos so this may attract more audience from around the world. Everyone has access to the music from wherever.

A famous movie that has a lot of Afrobeat songs in the soundtrack is Marvel’s Black Panther. The 19 track project features 40 international artists from Nigeria to South Africa. The album’s track featured Afrobeats artists including Burna Boy, Tems, Fireboy DML, Rema and Ckay. The producer of the album, Ryan Coogler mentioned that he wanted the songs to be connected to the story, to feel grief and celebration. (Anthony Udogba, 2022)

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The category of Best African Act was introduced at the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2005. These show that African pop music is not just confined within Africa anymore. The success of Afrobeat songs in the UK and in Europe led to the launch of UK’s first afrobeat music radio station, The Beat London and it presents Afrobeat as a major genre rather than a side offering.

To date, the most streamed song of all time is One Dance, an Afrobeat song by Drake with a cameo from Wizkid which has surpassed 2 billion streams on Spotify. This can show that Afrobeat artists can work well with American pop stars. (Garhe Osiebe, 2022)

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Differences between traditional and modern afrobeat songs

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Differences between traditional and modern afrobeat songs

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I have realized that a lot of the modern afrobeat songs have been influenced by western elements. For example, synthesizers, 808s and other special sound effects that was made popular by western music.

Comparing to traditional afrobeat artists who are usually in bands, modern afrobeat artists mostly work alone. Examples can be Wizkid, Burna Boy and Ckay. Modern songs are also typically about romance or love, whereas traditional songs touched more on serious topics, like political and cultural related.

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Udugba, A. (2022, November 4). Afrobeats artists dominate “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” album. Businessday NG.

https://businessday.ng/arts-and-life/article/afrobeats-artists-dominate-black-panther-wakanda-forever-

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Afrobeat is a music genre that combines elements of West African styles such as fuji music and highlife with American funk and jazz influences. It has a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersecting rhythms, and percussion. The genre was developed in the 1960s by Fela Kuti, who is credited for pioneering and popularizing the style both within and outside Nigeria. (Untitled Music, 2022)

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Traditional Afrobeat have a wide range of instruments. It includes the conga, akuba, claves, shekere, gbedu, as well as the saxophone, trumpet, guitar, drums, trombone, and organ can all be heard. ( Premium Beat, nd) Below is a more detailed explanation of the instruments used.

Brass Instruments:

Trumpets, Saxophones, Trombones: Brass instruments play an important role in Afrobeat, this give the genre a more bold and solid sound.

Percussion:

Drums: Afrobeat features a variety of drums, including the drum kit, congas, bongos, and talking drums. The drumming usually has polyrhythmic patterns that gives a groovy feel.

Other percussion instruments like shekere,cowbell, claves, and agogô also adds to the rhythm section.

Guitars:

Electric Guitars: Electric guitars play a crucial role in Afrobeat, as it provides both rhythmic and melodic elements. However, guitar lines are mostly repetitive throughout the song.

Keyboards:

Electric Keyboards, Organ: Keyboards, including electric pianos and organs, it provides a harmonic structure to the song.

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Afrobeat grew from Highlife, which began in Ghana in the early 1920s. During that time, Ghanaian musicians were influenced with foreign elements and Ghanaian rhythms such as Osibisaba, a Ghanian-British afrorock band. Fela Kuti, along with his band, are credited with pioneering and popularizing the style both within and outside of Nigeria during the 1970s.

During 5 years from 1970 to 1975, Kuti's band established and performed while Afrobeat thrived among Nigerian youth. This led to the genre spreading throughout the African continent as many bands took up the style. (GigLifePro, 2022)

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Although I like traditional afrobeat because of its used of instruments, I prefer modern afrobeat. Modern afrobeat has a mix of RnB, Hiphop, and pop to it. With all these different elements, it sounds catchier and appealing to audience. An example of this can be Last Last or Its Plenty by Burna Boy.

The production quality of modern afrobeat songs is also way better than traditional afrobeat. Many modern Afrobeat artists like Burna Boy bring a youthful and a dynamic burst of energy to their music and this may be appealing to younger audiences.