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Afrobeats
West Africa's global pop sound
Afrobeats is the contemporary pop music of West Africa — Nigerian and Ghanaian in origin, built on dance rhythms, Pidgin and English lyrics, and producer-led grooves. Since the 2010s it has become one of the most widely heard sounds in global pop.
Also spelled Afro-pop, Afropop
Origin & history
Afrobeats took shape in Lagos and Accra through the 2000s, as a generation of producers folded highlife, hip-hop, dancehall and R&B into something that was unmistakably West African and built for radio and the club.
Through the 2010s it moved from diaspora parties in London and New York onto global charts, festival stages and film soundtracks, carrying Nigerian and Ghanaian artists to audiences that had never heard either country's music before.
Notable artists
Wizkid
Nigerian singer whose international collaborations helped carry Afrobeats onto global charts.
Burna Boy
Nigerian artist who calls his own blend Afro-fusion, and who brought the sound to stadium audiences.
Where it lives
Questions & Answers
What is Afrobeats?+
Afrobeats is the contemporary pop music of West Africa, chiefly Nigeria and Ghana — dance-driven, producer-led, and sung mostly in English and Pidgin.
Is Afrobeats the same as Afrobeat?+
No, and the single letter matters. Afrobeat, without the s, is the horn-driven political music Fela Kuti created in Nigeria in the late 1960s. Afrobeats, with the s, is the West African pop music that emerged decades later. They are related but they are not the same genre.
Where does Afrobeats come from?+
Lagos, Nigeria and Accra, Ghana, spreading through the West African diaspora in London and North America.
What should I listen to first?+
Start with the artists from Nigeria and Ghana on TimTim.Live, then follow the map to the cities the music actually comes from.
