Afrobeats (Afro-beat)
Afrobeats is the broad term referring to modern West African pop music, primarily Nigerian but also Ghanaian and Cameroonian. The term was popularized in the 2010s to describe a sound blending traditional African rhythms with pop, hip-hop, dancehall and R&B influences. To be distinguished from afrobeat by Fela Kuti (without the ’s’), whose sound is more complex and politically engaged.
Modern Afrobeats is dominated by artists like Wizkid (African Superstar), Burna Boy, Davido, Rema, Tems, and Tiwa Savage. This movement has conquered international charts with global hits like Essence (Wizkid ft. Tems) and Last Last (Burna Boy).
Afrobeats is characterized by syncopated percussive rhythms, popular guitar melodies, and vocal structures influenced by local languages (Yoruba, English pidgin). It has deeply marked global pop music in the 2020s.
