Lets Talk Afrobeat
Hey y'all, thanks for taking time to check out this blog, as said in my about page, it's for all you wonderful people out there, so without further ado let's begin...
I recently became very interested in the AFROBEAT genre, previously I generally thought that AFROBEAT is the present day, catchy tuned, racy and upbeat music from artists like Wizkid, Davido, Shata Wale, Diamond Platnumz and the likes, though I wasn't too far from the truth,
After I had done a little digging around the net and all, I found out that AFROBEAT is the Nigerian-Ghanaian musical style pioneered by Fela Kuti in the 1960s, in fact, Afrobeat which is actually what most of us listen to today is almost if not entirely different from AFROBEAT,
Getting confused?
Simply put Fela's AFROBEAT has no letter "s" at the end while our "new day" music has one.
With that said, what then is AFROBEAT? AFROBEAT is a musical genre or form of music with origins in West Africa, it's a combination of traditional Nigerian and Ghanaian music, Fuji, highlife and jazz music influences as well as chanted vocals, complex rhythms, orchestrated music as well as a wide range of musical instruments.
It is almost general knowledge that the iconic Fela, was the pioneer of the AFROBEAT genre but what most people don't know is it started in Ghana before spreading to Nigeria, were Fela Kuti gave it the name AFROBEAT in 1960 and also made it as popular as it is today, both in and outside Nigeria and Africa. Interesting right?
AFROBEAT got so popular that it influenced jazz musicians like, Roy Ayers and Randy Weston in the 1970s and 1990s respectively, Afrobeat also greatly influenced important contemporary producers and musicians like Brian Eno and David Byrne who credited Fela as an essential influence.
What's more surprising is that in 2009 the music label, Knitting Factory Records (KFR) produced the Broadway musical FELA!
In other words, an AFROBEAT musical was on Broadway! It was also nominated for several awards.
Now on to the next part of our quick look on the world of AFROBEAT,
Their can't be music without the various artists who write, compose, produce, sing and do all it takes to fill our world with their musical art, here are a few selected Afrobeat artists;
You can't start a list on Afrobeat artists without mentioning the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Fela was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist, musician and composer and as mentioned before the pioneer of the Afrobeat music, born 15 October 1938, Fela used his music not only for entertaining but also as a means to actively speak out against political corruption. this singular fact made me pause and wonder how many artists today still use music as a true form of expression and I mean not just emotionally but actively against corrupt practices in our societies. The late Fela continues and will always be the undisputed king of Afrobeat.
Tony Oladipo Allen is hailed as one of the greatest drummers in popular history, he was a Nigerian composer and songwriter as well as the musical director of Fela's band Africa '70 from 1968 to 1979. Tony's collaborations with Fela helped make Afrobeat the extraordinary genre it is today. In 2019, filmmaker Opiyo Okeyo released the documentary film Birth of Afrobeat, a movie about Allen's life in music.
On the 30th of April this year Tony Allen sadly passed away.
Osibisa is an African-Caribbean Afrobeat band, Formed in London by three Ghanaian and three Caribbean musicians along with a Nigerian musician in 1969, Osibisa joined jazz, funk, Caribbean, R&B, Latin and African rhythms together to create a blend that changed music across the globe. No other band achieved such great success in terms of hit singles and albums internationally as they did. The band was reformed in 1996 and remains active till today, although many of its original members have passed on.
William Ezechukwu Onyeabor a private and reclusive figure was both a successful businessman and an afrobeat artist from Nigeria, popular in the 1970s and 1980s, his song ''better change your mind'' appeared on Africa 100, psychedelic classic 3: loves a real thing.
Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti popularly known as Femi Kuti is a Nigerian musician born in 1962. He is the eldest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. Femi is still active in the music scene, releasing hit upon hit and like his father still active as a political activist, he has been nominated four times for a Grammy Award in the Best World Music Album category.
Angelique Kidjo dubbed queen of Afro music, was born in Ouidah, Benin in 1960. She was named ''Africa's premier diva'' by Time magazine,Winner of several musical awards, Angelique's influence on African music has created beautiful blends between west African music styles and foreign music styles like R&B, funk, and the likes, she is included in the list of African continents 50 most iconic figures.
The mysterious Bisade Ologunde also popularly known as Lagbaja is a multi-award winning Afrobeat musician, a singer-songwriter from Nigeria. His name Lagbaja means 'anonymous' or 'faceless one' in Yoruba. Lagbaja's anonymous nature is reflected in his choice of concealing attire which he feels reflects/potrays the common man. He won the Channel O Best Male Video Awards in 2006.
Well, that much wraps up my brief look on the Afrobeat genre, what do y'all think?
Let's talk issues
Do you think the Afrobeat and Afrobeats genres are different/the same? and why?
Do you think a single musical genre should or can be used to represent African music?
Does Africa need a single musical identity or do we already have one?
All answers are valued and let's be sure to suggest new topics we would like to read on the blog, most compelling answers to today's posts will be reviewed on the blog,
Stay Safe.
Read more on Afrobeat;
Am a fan of afrobeat cos they give real lyrics which today generation don't have. #Fela all time favorite
ReplyDeleteThank you! I agree with you, Afrobeat songs carry great meanings.
DeleteWhat do you think of the current musical styles we listen to these days do you think their lyrics is as real as Afrobeat?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat a Good time to speak of our own genre... Afrobeat is now world widewide
ReplyDeleteThank you Joseph_cjc , i believe so to although I believe not many young people are in to it.
DeleteWhat do you think?
If fela pioneereEd the afrobeat genre, that means the genre is still developing. So it's possible that the new sound we hear today-which is a derivative of the fela sound- is an evolution of the same genre.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment.
DeleteI agree with you, the Afrobeat genre is still developing, new styles are been fused in with it to create great music.
But if you check world wide, there are those who prefer that Fela's Afrobeat be left in its original form and I think that's why there can't be a new king of AFROBEAT.
What do you think?
Firstly, this is a wonderful Blog. I love it's Simplicity and composition. Well done.
ReplyDeleteI don't think this particular genre Afrobeat as explained in this blog, should be used to describe African Music. African Music Has evolved and it now has little spices fit for the time we are in. The Likes of Fireboy DML, Joeboy, Wizkid, do Afro spiced up by soul and blues. Now, Fela Anikulakpo Kuti's Afro Style cannot be 100% in play today without spicing it up. Even Anjelique Kidjo's Afro style has Variations too. Thank You.
Thank you, I really appreciate.
DeleteNow concerning your comments which I believe is really insightful, do you think the contemporary Afrobeats genre, the likes of which you mentioned earlier, should be seen as African music's new identity.
Thank you very much. Like I explained earlier, Afrobeat genre has evolved over the years. So, I think Afrobeats, the likes of which I mentioned above should be seen as African music's new identity because, you can't actually mention African Music without this People, and even Burnaboy who did Fela's major vibes (Saxophone feel) in few of his tracks. Irrespective of the fact that African Music Has a whole lot of variations, I still believe the likes of these ones should be regarded as such. Thank you.
DeleteThank you for your reply, its very insightful. And town extent I agree with you.
DeleteBut don't you think Africa as a continent is too big to have a single identify, the afro label doesn't apply to all countries, take Egypt, Sudan, Seychelles, Ethiopia etc for example. Are they fully represented by the afro label.
I'd love to hear your what you think.
To an*
DeleteYeah. Afro does not apply to some African Parts. But just like in the Days of Fela Anikulakpo Kuti, Afro is so much Pronounced. Some African countries Were influenced by other foreign countries, so is their music. Afrobeat beyond doubt, represents African Music so well. The instruments used, ranging from the shakers to the conga, etc are just so African Major. We can say that Afrobeat is the Giant of African Music, then under that, you can find different flavours of African Music. Thank you.
DeleteThank you, I understand where your coming from,
DeleteAFROBEAT is indeed Africa's giant in the African music industry.