SPOTLIGHT GENRE - AFROBEATS

Afrobeats (also known as Afropop or Afrofusion) is an umbrella term for various popular styles of music originating from West Africa and the diaspora. It encompasses different sub-genres such as hiplife (a fusion of traditional Ghanian music and hip hop), highlife (influenced by traditional Akan music from Ghana but played with Western instruments), juju music (Nigerian pop music derived from traditional Yoruba percussion beats) and many others.

Afrobeats music is distinctive to the ear by its strong drum beat , which is the most important component of the songs and is inspired by traditional African drum beats across West Africa. The sung language of most Afrobeats song is either English (either with Nigerian or Ghanian accents) interspersed with local slangs, pidgin English. or Nigerian and Ghanian dialects.

Some of the most popular trending artists include Burna Boy, WizKid, Davido, Tima Savage, Yemi Adelade, A-Star, Mr. Eazi and more. Ghanian British singer Fuse ODG was a major player in popularizing afrobeats in the UK after he brought the Azonto dance back to Europe from Ghana and released a song to go along with it. Many dance trends followed, which helped further popularize the music and dance genre , including Inyanya's "Kukere" song with its signature dance move inspired by the Etighi traditional Nigerian dance .

Fuse ODG - Azonto

Iyanya - Kukere

Even Drake has included Afrobeats influences in some of his recent songs, notably in his album "More Life", and collaborated with Afrobeats artists like WizKid.

The infectious rhythms of Afrobeats music and dance continue to take the world by storm. Check out these videos and you'll understand instantly what the craze is about! Psst...catch some of these moves in our classes!