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79-463: The African Muzik Magazine Awards (commonly abbreviated as AFRIMMA ) are an annual African music awards ceremony aimed to reward and celebrate musical works, talents and creativity around the African continent and accommodates all musical genres including Afrobeats , Afro-Trap , Assiko , Bongo , Coupé-décalé , Genge , Highlife , Kwaito , Congolese rumba , ndombolo , and Soukous . The event

158-634: A 200% spike in streams for Burna Boy, gaining over 11.2 million streams in the United States. By the late 2010s, Burna Boy emerged as the leading figure in Afrobeats, selling out stadiums in both the U.K and U.S, having a number one album on the UK Album Chart , amassing ten Grammy nominations and becoming the most streamed African artist, all of which was the first by an African artist. In August 2019, Mr Eazi launched emPawa Africa,

237-695: A Canadian Gold certification in 2020. Despite gaining popularity in the US there stands some contention between the African American community and the greater African Diaspora. Afrobeats has been treated as an "other" category at BET awards despite being a black genre. These awards are catered toward Black Americans highlighting their lack of solidarity the diaspora says Boima Tucker. Afrobeats artists are tired of being treated like "second class citizens" in African-American Music award shows in

316-459: A billion streams, and was number 1 in 15 countries. Drake's 2017 album More Life contains many Afrobeats and Dancehall influences. In 2017, Wizkid signed to RCA Records , which became the biggest ever deal an African musician has ever received. Wizkid and Drake have both been credited in helping popularise Afrobeats worldwide. "One Dance" has been credited with helping push afrobeats into worldwide mainstream appeal, which would only continue

395-500: A more Africanized version came containing 12/8 polyrhythms , this would be known as the "Native Blues". This style would gain popularity up until World War II when production of the records was stopped. A style of highlife that resembled western brass bands in European forts across West Africa. The military would use local musicians in their brass band regiments and taught them linear marching music . After these musicians saw how

474-640: A number 1 hit in France and the Netherlands, as well as becoming certified gold in Belgium and Switzerland. The song gained over 400 million views on YouTube. She became the first French artist to secure seven top 10 songs in the French Singles chart and the first French singer to gain a number 1 album in the Netherlands since Edith Piaf in 1967, and became the most streamed French female artist in

553-615: A pioneering hiplife artist, felt conflicted over artists in an interview with Gabriel Myers Hansen: It's like 'Oh come on! We work so hard for you to get on, and now you're gonna deny what it is that we did? Come on!' Sometimes I get that vibe, but then, in the same breath, I'm like, well, it is one Africa, and I'm pan-African to the bone. So do I really care if it's called Afrobeats or hiplife? As long as Black people are getting it, and young people are making money, feeding their kids, I think I'm okay. So, to each their own. Rockstone used "afrobeats" rather than "hiplife"—a genre often placed under

632-483: A platform in the United Kingdom. DJ Abrantee has been credited for coining the name "afrobeats". DJ Abrantee launched his Afrobeats charts on Capital Xtra in 2014. DJs and producers like DJ Black, Elom Adablah , and C-Real , were also crucial in spreading afrobeats, often giving songs a burst of popularity after being played on their shows. Ghanaian British artist Fuse ODG helped popularise afrobeats in

711-484: A political tool to express community distress and gain awareness for issues facing contemporary Africa, particularly Nigeria. In April 2021, Davido's song "Fall" became the first Nigerian afrobeats song to receive over 200 million views on YouTube. In the same year, Wizkid and Tems became the first Nigerian pop artists to earn a spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with their song " Essence ", while Burna Boy became

790-583: A role in increasing the visibility of afrobeats in the Middle East and North Africa . The song influenced a lot of recordings and parodies in the Arab World , notably from acts like Arash and Black Cats . Another method of utilising social media in order to boost a song was seen in the promotion of " Dorobucci ", released in 2014, wherein Don Jazzy encouraged people to record themselves singing

869-605: A short-lived jazz in Accra. Guy Warren was one notable musician who played with E.T. Mensah and the Tempos before moving to America and working with musicians such as Red Saunders to record the album Africa Speaks, America Answers , as well as playing with Duke Ellington in Chicago for a short time. Warren is credited with introducing highlife to the United States in an attempt to bring African-American musicians back in touch with

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948-463: A talent incubation initiative to nurture and support up-and-coming artistes in Africa. The platform will be used to help promote upcoming artists and give them a major platform. The initiative is also supported by YouTube Music. The latter half of the 2010s also saw prominent American artists experiment with Afrobeats music. This is notable due to the difficulty Afrobeats has previously had in accessing

1027-502: A traditional dance called Etighi . Another dance was popularised by Nigerian artist Davido when he released " Skelewu " in 2013. Davido promoted the song by uploading an instructional dance video of it onto YouTube on 18 August 2013. The video was directed by Jassy Generation. The release of the instructional video accompany the announcement of the Skelewu dance competition. In order to win the competition, participants were told to watch

1106-429: Is "Picking up on trends from the U.S., Jamaica, and Trinidad, they reimagine diasporic influences and—more often than not—completely reinvent them." Afrobeats began to experience widespread global mainstream acclaim in the late 2010s, with artists achieving success across Africa, Europe, and North America. In response, it has been referred to as one of Africa's 'biggest cultural' or 'musical' exports. Afrobeats (with

1185-587: Is a clearly defined genre, afrobeats is more of an overarching term for contemporary West African pop music. The term was created in order to package these various sounds into a more easily accessible label, which were unfamiliar to the UK listeners where the term was first coined. Another, more subtle contrast between the two sounds, is that while Fela Kuti used his music to discuss and criticise contemporary politics, afrobeats typically avoids such topics, thereby making it less politically charged than afrobeat. Afrobeats

1264-508: Is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora 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

1343-498: Is known as the clave and mixes a rhythm with a normal 4/4 beat, it is commonly seen in many forms West African music. Another notable hit was " Million Pound Girl (Badder Than Bad) " by Fuse ODG, which reached 5 on the UK Singles Chart in 2014. In 2014, a genre derivative of afrobeats known as afroswing emerged in the UK, which fused the sound with influences from road rap, grime, dancehall, trap, and R&B. The genre

1422-462: Is less of a style like Afrobeat is, and more of an overarching term for the contemporary sound of African pop music and that of those influenced by it. DJ 3K criticised the label for being a contemporary marketing category. According to David Drake, the eclectic genre "reimagines diasporic influences and—more often than not—completely reinvents them". However, some caution against equating Afrobeats to contemporary pan-African music, in order to prevent

1501-426: Is most identifiable by its signature driving drum beat rhythms, whether electronic or instrumental. These beats harken to the stylings of a variety of traditional African drum beats across West Africa as well as the precursory genre Afrobeat. The beat in Afrobeats music is not just a base for the melody, but acts as a major character of the song, taking a lead role that is sometimes equal to or of greater importance than

1580-523: The Azonto dance craze. American artists such as Michelle Williams , French Montana , Rick Ross , and Kanye West have all collaborated with Afrobeats artists. Michelle Williams released " Say Yes " in 2014, a gospel song based on the Nigerian hymn When Jesus Say Yes . The song's beats are said to resemble the popular four-beat of house music, but in fact follows the 3–2 or 2–3 of Afrobeats. This beat

1659-659: The Soundcity MVP Awards Festival in 2016. Mr Eazi initially gained his popularity in the UK after Juls reached out to him resulting in the song "Bankulize". Mr Eazi soon after became a star in Ghana and Nigeria. He has stated UK, Ghanaian and Nigerian music have all influenced his music. Mr Eazi calls his music 'Banku Music'. He was the first African pop artist to gain an extensive Apple Music artist page. In 2016, Beat FM in North London became

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1738-551: The UK Album Chart , the first ever by an African artist. Rema released his debut album Raves & Roses in March 2022 and by 2023 the lead single " Calm Down " went viral with its remix featuring Selena Gomez reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached a record of more than a billion streams on Spotify. Billboard referred to the song as "Afrobeats biggest cross over hit." In 2023, Spotify organized five local workshop and media events within African cities, under

1817-717: The UK Singles Chart in 2012 (making him the first afrobeats artist to make it to the top 10 in the UK) and number 2 on the UK R&;B Chart . In 2012, P-Square remixed their 2009 hit single " E No Easy " with Matt Houston , and it became the first afrobeats song to reach top 5 on the French SNEP music chart, as well as top 10 on the Belgian Ultratop chart, spending 29 weeks and 16 weeks respectively. The song

1896-564: The foxtrot and calypso with Ghanaian rhythms like osibisaba ( Fante ). Highlife was associated with the local African aristocracy during the colonial period, and was played by numerous bands including the Jazz Kings , Cape Coast Sugar Babies , and Accra Orchestra along the country's coast. The high class audience members who enjoyed the music in select clubs gave the music its name. The dance orchestra leader Yebuah Mensah ( E.T. Mensah 's older brother) told John Collins in 1973 that

1975-461: 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. Afrobeats exemplifies this syncretism as a transnational genre that since 2019 has received international attention. David Drake writes about popular Nigerian music noting it

2054-432: The s ) is commonly conflated with and referred to as Afrobeat (without the s ); however, these two are distinct, sound differently and are not the same. Afrobeat is a genre that developed in the 1960s and 1970s, taking influences from Fuji music and highlife , mixed in with American jazz and funk . Characteristics of Afrobeat include big bands , long instrumental solos, and complex jazzy rhythms. The name

2133-517: The "Afrobeats" umbrella. 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: 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

2212-516: The "Afrobeats" umbrella. Styles of music that make up afrobeats largely began sometime in the late '90s and early to mid-2000s. With the launching of MTV Base Africa in 2005, West Africa was given a large platform through which artists could grow. Artists such as MI Abaga , Naeto C and Sarkodie were among the first to take advantage of this, however most of the artists were merely making interpretations of American hip hop and R&B. Prior to this, groups such as Trybesmen , Plantashun Boiz , and

2291-399: The 1930s, highlife spread via Ghanaian workers to Sierra Leone , Liberia , Nigeria and Gambia among other West African countries, where the music quickly gained popularity. In the 1940s, the music diverged into two distinct streams: dance band highlife and guitar band highlife. Guitar band highlife featured smaller bands and, at least initially, was most common in rural areas. Because of

2370-516: The American market. In 2016, Nigerian Popstar Ayo Jay enlisted the help of American artists Chris Brown and Fetty Wap to release a remix to his single "Your Number" . In 2017, Wizkid linked up with Chris Brown for a single titled " African Bad Gyal .” In 2018, Swae Lee and Drake released " Won't Be Late ", produced by Nigerian artist Tekno. In 2019, Janet Jackson released " Made for Now " with production by Harmony Samuels . The song

2449-608: The British Official Charts Company announced it would be creating an ' Official UK Afrobeats Chart ' to track the sales and streaming data of afrobeats songs in the UK. In the year prior, afrobeats artists had spent a collective 86 weeks on the Official Chart Top 40, compared to 24 in 2017, and the amount of afrobeats artists in the UK Top 40 had doubled in that period. The company claimed it

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2528-531: The Lekki Massacre perpetrated by SARS on 20/10/20, where the police forces killed 12 protestors at the Lekki Toll Gate. Lyrics of the song include “Twentieth of October 2020 / You carry army go kill many youth for Lekki / Na so water o, water runaway my eye / Nothing you go talk wey go justify the case of their murder.” The political nature of these songs highlights how Afrobeats has been used as

2607-608: The Remedies were early pioneers that fused modern American influences from hip-hop and R&B with local melodies. While this allowed them to build local audiences, it blocked them from a wider platform due to the language barriers in-place. P-Square released their album Game Over in 2007, which was unique for its usage of Nigerian rhythms and melodies. Meanwhile, artists such as Flavour N'abania embraced older genres, such as highlife , and remixing it into something more modern, as seen in his song " Nwa Baby (Ashawo Remix) ". By

2686-571: The Second World War its popularity came back within the Igbo people of Nigeria , taking their own traditional guitar riffs and the influence of the diverse culture and flavor of Nigeria, mixed and perfected it to form Igbo highlife which became the country's most popular music genre in the 1960s. Highlife has remained a part of popular music for Ghanaians and their diaspora globally through its integration with religious institutions and

2765-517: The U.S. Nigerian artist Burna Boy also saw some success, performing to over 9,000 people in Brooklyn , and gaining over 11.2 million streams from the US on his single "Ye". His album African Giant was nominated for 'Best World Music Album' at the Grammy Awards . Wizkid's " Come Closer " became certified RIAA Gold in 2020, 3 years after initial release. His song " Soco " also received

2844-496: The U.S. In the year prior, Wizkid had spent a collective 27 weeks on the radio domination Chart with Essence , after which Kodak Black 's "Super Gremlin" claimed the number one spot. Currently, the genre has yielded some of the biggest success stories of the young decade — including songs like Wizkid 's "Essence" featuring Tems, CKay 's "Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah)" and Fireboy DML 's "Peru". In August 2023, Burna Boy 's seventh Studio album , I Told Them debuted at number one on

2923-417: The UK afrobeats scene. Mista Silva and Skob credited Fuse ODG's "Azonto" song for encouraging them to create afrobeats. Ghanaian artist Guru also popularised his own dance in 2013 called " Alkayida " with the release of the song "Alkayida (Boys Abrɛ)". Nigerian artist MC Galaxy also popularised a dance called "Sekem". “Shekini”, off of P-Square’s “ Double Trouble ” album (released in 2014), played

3002-565: The UK. He was also the first to top the iTunes World Chart and received the Best African Act award at the 2013 MOBO Awards . In 2009, Fuse ODG described his sound as "hip hop with an African vibe". In 2011, Fuse ODG travelled to Ghana where he discovered the Azonto dance, and became inspired by hip hop-influenced Afro-pop and Naija beats. Once he returned to London, he fused the sounds he had found in Ghana into what he described as "Afrobeats, but with my U.K. thing added to it", fusing

3081-660: The US also reached music radio stations, which began airing afrobeats, something they typically would not do before. Davido's " Fall " became a top 20 radio hit in America, 24 months after it was initially released. "Fall" also began rising on the Billboard R&;B/Hip-Hop Airplay and U.S. Shazam charts, also becoming the longest charting Nigerian song in Billboard history. The song later became certified Gold in Canada and

3160-473: The United States. In December 2019, YouTube announced it would be supporting four afrobeats artists: Kizz Daniel , Reekado Banks , Simi , and Teni . Announced at an event titled "A celebration of Afrobeats" hosted in Lagos, Nigeria, YouTube stated it would be providing them with tools to "propel their music, grow their presence on YouTube and accelerate the growth of their audience globally". In July 2020,

3239-545: The West Indian regimental bandsmen practiced traditional music in their spare time it inspired them to do the same. The fusion of linear marching music with polyrhythmic local music created a danceable style called adaha , as well as a style with cheaper, local instruments called konkoma. This fusion was similar to the birth of jazz in New Orleans. In the 1920s, Ghanaian musicians incorporated foreign influences like

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3318-540: The additional focus on emotional and romantic-focused lyricism in his music. In the same month Wizkid's "Essence" became the first African song to be certified platinum and to reach the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. In March 2022, the United States Billboard announced it would be creating an ' Official U.S Afrobeats Songs Chart ' to track the sales and streaming data of afrobeat songs in

3397-513: The backgrounds of the performers. Another distinction within Afrobeats is the notably West African, specifically Nigerian or Ghanaian, accented English that is often blended with local slangs, pidgin English, as well as local Nigerian or Ghanaian languages depending on the backgrounds of the performers. Sampling is sometimes used within Afrobeats music. Burna Boy and Wizkid, for example, have both sampled Fela Kuti. London -based DJ Abrantee

3476-542: The communities stems from the religious institution's ability to provide social and cultural infrastructure for the Ghanaian diaspora in Germany. E.T. Mensah and Kofi Ghanaba were important musicians in Ghana. From the late 1950s, famous jazz musicians began to visit Ghana, such as Ahmad Jamal and Louis Armstrong who played in Ghana (1956 and 1960). Armstrong's All Stars member Edmond Hall came to Ghana in 1959 to set up

3555-581: The erasure of local musical contributions. Some artists have distanced themselves from the term 'afrobeats' due to the overt similarity it has with 'afrobeat', even though they are different sounds. Afrobeats is also sometimes referred to as Afro-pop and Afro-fusion . A few artists have used the same alternative names to describe their music; Don Jazzy has stated he prefers "Afro-pop" rather than Afrobeats. Wizkid , Burna Boy , and Davido all use Afro-fusion or Afro-pop to describe their music. Mr Eazi also refers to his music as 'banku music' to denote

3634-403: The first African artist to earn 100 million streams across three albums each on Spotify . A range of new artists, such as Rema, Fireboy DML , Tems , Joeboy , and Ayra Starr began to gain widespread popularity around the early 2020s, with a defining sound of R&B-infused, and sometimes trap -influenced, afrobeats music. In January 2022, Fireboy DML was the first Nigerian artist to reach

3713-419: The first Afrobeats songs to be playlisted on daytime radio across the UK were Mista Silva 's "Boom Boom Tah", May7ven 's "Ten Ten", D'Banj 's " Oliver Twist ", and Moelogo 's "Pangolo" in March 2012. P-Square released " Chop My Money (Remix) " alongside popular Senegalese-American artist Akon in 2012. " Oliver Twist ", released online by Nigerian artist D'banj in the summer of 2011 charted at number 9 on

3792-532: The first British radio station dedicated to afrobeats. Nigerian artist Tekno signed a multi-million dollar deal with Columbia Records . In August 2017, he released "Pana". The song was a hit in Nigeria, but failed to propel Tekno's career into America as was hoped. On October 1, 2017, Wizkid became the first African artist to hold a sold-out headline show at the Royal Albert Hall . 2017 also saw

3871-410: The foundation set by afrobeat while also recognising that it's a different and unique sound. Nigerian artist Burna Boy has stated that he does not want his music referred to as afrobeats. However, most of these monikers, including afrobeats, have been criticised for using the 'afro' prefix, presenting Africa as a monolithic entity, rather than one with diverse cultures and sounds. Reggie Rockstone ,

3950-475: The history of stringed instruments like the seprewa in the region, musicians were happy to incorporate the guitar. They also used the dagomba style, borrowed from Kru sailors from Liberia, to create highlife's two-finger picking style. Guitar band highlife also featured singing, drums and claves. E.K. Nyame and his Akan Trio helped to popularize guitar band highlife, and would release over 400 records during Nyame's lifetime. Dance band highlife, by contrast,

4029-400: The influence Ghana has had on his music ( banku is a Ghanaian dish). Rema coined the term "Afrorave", which is a subgenre of Afrobeats with influences of Arabian and Indian music. Yeni Kuti , daughter of Fela Kuti, expressed distaste for the name 'Afrobeats' and instead preferred if people referred to it as "Nigerian pop", "Naija Afropop", or "Nigerian Afropop". Similarly, Seun Kuti ,

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4108-488: The initiative of promoting Afrobeats acts. Later that year, Tyla became the first South African artist to debut on the Billboard Hot 100 in 55 years, with her single " Water " which contains Afrobeats influences. Highlife Highlife gained popularity and the genre spread throughout West African regions. Pioneers like Cardinal Rex Lawson , E.T. Mensah , Victor Uwaifo , all perfected this sound by infusing traditional Africa drums and western "Native Blues". After

4187-554: The instructional dance video and upload videos of themselves dancing to the song. According to Pulse Nigeria, the number of dance videos uploaded to YouTube by fans aggregated to over 100,000 views. Other British afrobeats artists also emerged around 2012–2013, such as Mista Silva , Vibe Squad , Weray Ent, Naira Marley , Kwamz, Flava, Moelogo, and Timbo, who collectively set the foundation for future UK afrobeats and its derivative genre, Afroswing . Mista Silva's songs "Bo Won Sem Ma Me" and "Boom Boom Tah" were notable early hits in

4266-417: The late '90s, productions used solely electronic instruments. Considered one of the most popular music genres to both Ghanaians and its diaspora, gospel highlife has outlived burger highlife because of its success in blurring the lines between religion and pop culture. This genre is similar to burger highlife but its inspiration comes from Charismatic Christianity and Pentecostalism . Its significance within

4345-600: The late 2000s, artists within the burgeoning scene were beginning to become stars across the continent. However it was not until the launch of Choice FM's new Afrobeats radio show birthed and presented by DJ Abrantee in April 2011 that the genre gained traction and saw 'Afrobeats' trending for the first time in history. The launch of the show gained popularity and provided a launch pad for both UK based and African artists to submit songs for playlist consideration. Abrantee used his daytime show to test daytime play of Afrobeats. Some of

4424-557: The lyrics and almost always more central than the other instrumentals. Afrobeats shares a similar momentum and tempo to house music. Usually using the 4/4 time signature common in Western music, afrobeats commonly features a 3–2 or 2–3 rhythm called a clave . Another distinction within Afrobeats is the notably West African, specifically Nigerian or Ghanaian, accented English that is often blended with local slangs, pidgin English, as well as local Nigerian or Ghanaian languages depending on

4503-747: The nickname, the "King of Highlife". Also important from the 1950s onward was musician King Bruce , who served as band leader to the Black Beats. Some other early bands were, the Red Spots, the Rhythm Aces, the Ramblers and Broadway-Uhuru. Economic problems led to a mass migration of Ghanaians in the 1960s looking for more opportunities and after that political instability in the '70s and '80s would cause more people and many prominent highlife musicians to leave and create clusters of communities across

4582-460: The number two position on the UK Singles Chart with his " Peru " remix featuring Ed Sheeran . In September 2021, Ckay became the second Nigerian pop artist to debut on the Billboard Hot 100 with his song " Love Nwantiti " which peaked at number one in India, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland, and gained popularity across TikTok . CKay personally dubbed his sound 'Emo-afrobeats', noting

4661-704: The positive effect it had on immigrating Ghanaians leaving their homeland. The following arpeggiated highlife guitar part is modeled after an Afro-Cuban guajeo . The pattern of attack-points is nearly identical to the 3-2 clave motif guajeo as shown below. The bell pattern known in Cuba as clave is indigenous to Ghana, and is used in highlife. The origins of Highlife stem from colonialism and trading in West Africa through regional styles of music. Palm-wine music , also known as maringa in Sierra Leone,

4740-419: The record for the most viewed female African music video on YouTube which made her the second artist with the most views on a single video after Davido . In July 2019, Davido and Chris Brown released a music video for their collaboration “ Blow My Mind ", which at the time became the first video by a Nigerian artist to amass 2 million YouTube views within the first 24 hours of release. Afrobeats artist Rema

4819-407: The release of Lion King film released by Disney , on July 19, 2019. The album featured artists such as Burna Boy, Mr Eazi, Wizkid, P2J, Yemi Alade , Maleek Berry , Tiwa Savage , and Shatta Wale . Mr Eazi and GuiltyBeatz predicted the album would help afrobeats reach a higher level of popularity, especially in the US, than it has yet to achieve. In July 2019, Yemi Alade 's "Johnny" set

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4898-760: The rise of Shaku Shaku, another dance craze. Though the origins are not known, the dance is believed to have been popularized by street urchins in Agege around mid-2017. The Shaku Shaku dance move first appeared in Olamide 's "Wo" music video. Much like the Azonto dance, Shaku Shaku also gave rise to its own genre of music, pioneered by artists such as Mr Real, Slimcase, Idowest. In the late 2010s, international record labels Universal and Warner Music began to invest money into Afrobeats artists. In 2018, French-Malian singer Aya Nakamura released " Djadja ". The song became

4977-625: The rise within the following years. Wizkid was later entered into the Guinness Book of Records 2018 for featuring on the most streamed Spotify single of all time, "One Dance". He is the first afrobeats artist to enter the Guinness Book of Records. Nigerian artist Mr Eazi began to gain popularity in 2016 with his breakout singles "Skin Tight" and "Bankulize", both produced by British-Ghanaian producer Juls . He won Best New Artist at

5056-516: The song prior to release. The song won Best Pop Single at The Headies 2014 , and Song of the Year at the 2015 MTV Africa Music Awards . It gained over 20 million views by 2016. Ghanaian artist Sarkodie won Best International Act Africa at the MOBO Awards in 2012, and Best Hip Hop award at the 2014 MTV Africa Awards . In 2011, his song "U Go Kill Me" became a hit in Ghana and helped popularise

5135-778: The sound with influences from UK funky and grime . In 2012, he saw his first success with the song " Antenna " which peaked at number 7 on the UK Singles Chart . He followed that up with " Azonto ", which further helped popularise afrobeats and the dance in the UK. Such songs, and the Azonto dance craze, helped encourage Black Brits to embrace their African heritage rather than, as was the norm before, attempting to fit into British-Caribbean communities. Afrobeats night clubs became primary features of UK's nightlife with clubs opening in most major cities. More viral dances would follow which played an important part in popularising afrobeats. In 2011, Nigerian singer Iyanya released " Kukere ". The song became popular and known for its adaption of

5214-826: The term 'highlife' appeared in the early 1920s "as a catch-phrase for the orchestrated indigenous songs played at [exclusive] clubs by such early dance bands as the Jazz Kings, the Cape Coast Sugar Babies, the Sekondi Nanshamang and later the Accra Orchestra. The people outside called it the highlife as they did not reach the class of the couples going inside, who not only had to pay a relatively high entrance fee of about 7s 6d (seven shillings and sixpence), but also had to wear full evening dress, including top-hats if they could afford it." From

5293-530: The west with Germany being a preferred destination because of its relaxed immigration laws . Ghanaians in Germany created a secular style of highlife that combined the genre with funk, disco, and synth-pop. It is believed it was called burger highlife because the largest communities of Ghanaians resided in Hamburg . The music became associated with migrants who would travel between Germany and Ghana. It also would become defined by its use of modern technologies; by

5372-501: The world. Her sophomore album Nakamura became certified gold in France. Her rise has been notable due to the relative difficulty French black women have had in gaining mainstream popularity in France. In June 2018, prominent American rapper Kanye West released his album titled Ye . Fans of Kanye West that searched for his album also, unintentionally, came across Burna Boy's song called " Ye " (released in January). This led to

5451-427: The youngest son of Fela Kuti, has maintained that the music made by Dbanj and P-Square should be classified as Afropop. In defence, he said, "You cannot just call some pop music Afrobeat just because it's coming from Africa...". Music critic Osagie Alonge criticised the pluralisation of 'afrobeat'. Sam Onyemelukwe of Trace Nigeria, a television show, however noted that he liked 'afrobeats', noting that it acknowledges

5530-456: Was afrobeats, and became a top 10 hit on Adult R&B radio. In 2019 two prominent American artists, GoldLink and Beyoncé , both released albums with afrobeats influence. GoldLink released Diaspora on June 12, 2019, featuring an afrobeats song as the lead single, "Zulu Screams" and production from P2J . GoldLink had also previously made "No Lie" alongside Wizkid back in 2014. Beyoncé released The Lion King: The Gift , coinciding with

5609-577: Was coined by Nigerian afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti . Fela Kuti and his longtime partner, drummer Tony Allen , are often credited for laying the groundwork for what would become afrobeats. This is in contrast to the Afrobeats sound, pioneered in the 2000s and 2010s. While afrobeats takes on influences from afrobeat, it is a diverse fusion of various different genres such as British house music , hiplife , hip hop , dancehall , soca , jùjú music , highlife , R&B , ndombolo , Naija beats, Azonto, and palm-wine music . Unlike Afrobeat, which

5688-558: Was credited by The Guardian for coining the name "Afrobeats", adding an "s" to Afrobeat, in order to package and present the sound to British dancefloors. DJ Abrantee stated: I cannot say I invented Afrobeats. Afrobeats was invented before I was born. It was invented by Fela Kuti. But what you've got to remember is the genre of music artists themselves are now producing — the likes of Wizkid , Ice Prince , P-Square , Castro , May7ven are calling their music Afrobeats. So that's what I call it when I put them on my mix tapes. Afrobeats

5767-612: Was founded by Nigerian businessman Anderson Obiagwu and is presented by Big A Entertainment. The first awards ceremony took place in July 2014 at the Eisemann Center in Richardson, Texas . The awards consist of 28 prizes overseeing the achievements of African artistes within their specific regions of origin and the genre-based continental awards. Afrobeats Afrobeats , not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing ,

5846-479: Was more rooted in urban settings. In the post-war period, larger dance orchestras began to be replaced by smaller professional dance bands, typified by the success of E.T. Mensah and the Tempos. As foreign troops departed, the primary audiences became increasingly Ghanaian, and the music changed to cater to their tastes. Mensah's fame soared after he played with Louis Armstrong in Accra in May 1956, and he eventually earned

5925-544: Was one of the 'world's first official charts' for afrobeats music. During the Nigerian End SARS protests in October, Davido's song "Fem" was described as a 'protest song' for the movement. The song was prominently played outside the government secretariat in Lagos, to protest and drown out the Lagos governor who was attempting to speak to the protestors. The Burna Boy song “20 10 20” was created in response to

6004-431: Was one style that originated on coastal locations when local musicians began using portable instruments brought by traders and fused it with local string and percussion instruments. It was usually played in a syncopated 4/4 metre . This music was played in low class palm-wine bars at ports where sailors, dock workers, and working class locals would drink and listen to the music. Eventually this genre worked its way inland and

6083-553: Was popularised by J Hus . This has led to many people referring to afroswing as 'afrobeats', however the two genres are distinct from each other. Canadian artist Drake also began to experiment with afrobeats in the mid-2010s, which arguably helped afrobeats gain international mainstream appeal. In 2014, he featured on "Ojuelegba (Remix)" by Nigerian artist Wizkid alongside British MC Skepta , and in 2016 when he released " One Dance " alongside British singer Kyla and Wizkid. "One Dance" became Spotify's most streamed song, with over

6162-405: Was the first Nigerian musician to land a song on former US president Barack Obama 's yearly summer music playlist . On August 23, 2019, Jidenna released the afrobeats album 85 to Africa . On October 1, Chris Brown released "Lower Body", an afrobeats single featuring Davido. On October 25, 2019, Akon released a new afrobeats album titled Akonda . The rising attention of afrobeats in

6241-564: Was the first afrobeats summer hit in France, which in turn boosted afrobeats' visibility in the francophone countries. Mr Eazi later credited D'banj in an interview with Sway in the Morning in 2019 for helping encourage Nigerians to embrace their accents and music, rather than looking outwards and trying to emulate American accents and music. British DJs such as DJ Edu, with his show Destination Africa on BBC Radio 1Xtra , and DJ Abrantee , with his show on Choice FM , granted African music

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