Afrobeats

November 08, 2018

“The beat just has to move you.”

That’s how Sarz, one of Africa’s biggest music producers, defines the essence of Afrobeats, the genre of urban Nigerian pop music that’s going global. With its signature groovy percussion, autotune-heavy vocals and catchy hooks, Afrobeats is finding audiences far beyond Nigeria’s shores. Stars are performing at global music festivals, and US musicians are sampling their work, introducing them to a wider audience. (If you’ve ever heard Drake’s “One Dance,” you’ve had a tiny taste of this huge phenomenon.)

Much of Afrobeats’ growing appeal is driven by Nigeria’s vast diaspora, but beyond that, social media platforms, YouTube, and global streaming sites like Spotify are also ensuring that it’s easier than ever for people everywhere to discover—and become fans of—Nigerian music.

As Yinka Adegoke writes at Quartz, “You could argue the global rise of Afrobeats backs up the thesis behind the quote: ‘Content is king, but distribution is queen and she wears the pants.’”

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Reuters/Joe Penney

BY THE DIGITS

10,000: Number of people who turned up in May for Davido’s concert in Suriname—the smallest country in South America

$43 million: Projected consumer spending on recorded music in Nigeria last year

9: Debut number on the UK singles chart for “Oliver Twist,” a 2012 single by D’banj

103.6: Dial of The Beat FM, a London radio station that is known for its heavy rotation of Afrobeats music

20,000: Number of attendees at AfroRepublik, a music festival headlined by Afrobeats stars Wizkid, Mr Eazi, and Tiwa Savage at the London O2 Arena in May

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Quotable

“It is a cauldron of that vertiginous self-confidence that anyone who knows any Nigerians knows well. This is music that has come a long and joyous way in a very short time … Dance to it—note its persistent tone of joy—then come back and listen to it.”

—Teju Cole

Industry secrets

Everybody wants in

As Afrobeats music spreads and its stars become more popular, music label giants have began to pay serious attention to the genre. Over the past two years, Sony and Universal Music—two of the world’s biggest music labels—have both set up shop in Nigeria and have signed up several Afrobeats stars to publishing and distribution deals.

But winning the music sales business in the local Nigerian market will require solving a piracy problem that has remained rampant given Nigeria’s lax enforcement of copyright and intellectual property laws. With profitable physical album sales nearly impossible, Nigeria’s Afrobeats stars can pretty much only make money from live shows, endorsement deals, and digital streaming. And with rising mobile and internet penetration, labels like Sony and Universal are likely betting that the music streaming culture will catch on in Nigeria, just as it has globally.

It’s not just labels; mainstream US pop stars want in on Afrobeats too. After the success of Drake’s “One Dance,” featuring the Nigerian artist Wizkid, US stars are increasingly incorporating Afrobeats in their music. Migos’ Quavo featured Nigerian star Davido on his debut solo album released last month. Major Lazer has worked with several Afrobeats stars, including Burna Boy, Wizkid, and Mr Eazi, over the past year. And Ciara credited Tiwa Savage as an inspiration for “Freak Me,” a recent single which features, yep, another Afrobeats star: Tekno.

An Afrobeats who's who

Wizkid: Dubbed “Star Boy,” he’s arguably Afrobeats’ biggest global star, and has collaborated with Chris Brown, Future, Trey Songz, and French Montana.

Davido: The 2018 winner of the BET award for Best International Act. The 25-year old boasts collaborations with Meek Mill and R. Kelly.

Tiwa Savage: Nigeria’s leading female musician and recent winner of the Best African Act at the 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards.

Burna Boy: Grandson of Benson Idonije (former manager of the legendary Fela Kuti), known for his dancehall- and reggae- themed hits.

Sarz: The production powerhouse behind a raft of Afrobeats hits from Wizkid, 2face Idibia, and Niniola.

Click here for Quartz’s Afrobeats playlist

in the details

Afrobeat vs. Afrobeats

Yes, those are two different things.

Afrobeat is the big band, jazz afro-funk genre created by Nigerian music legend Fela Kuti back in the 1970s. Fela’s music was often politically charged with a consistent dose of criticism aimed at Nigeria’s military dictators. But his crusade through music proved very costly: he was arrested several times and his mother—a prominent women’s rights activist in her heyday—died in 1978 after an attack by soldiers on Fela’s home.

Modern day Afrobeats, however, tends to steer clear of politics. Its groovy beats are laced with lyrics mainly about money, love, and sex. Rather than criticizing government policy, new-school Afrobeats stars are all about getting audiences to dance.

AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda

Pop quiz

Which of these iconic concert venues has not been sold out by an Afrobeats star in the last five years?

Royal Albert Hall, LondonLe Trianon, ParisMadison Square Garden, New YorkO2 Arena, London

Correct.

Incorrect.

If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email.

Timeline

1991: Junior & Pretty’s Fufu Flavor combines rap in Pidgin English with a pop beat

2000: Plantashun Boiz’ Body & Soul: The Beginning finds regional success with a Nigerian/American R&B/boy-band sound

2004: Tuface, a former member of Plantashun Boiz, collaborates with Jamaican dancehall king Beenie Man on a remix of “Nfana Ibaga”

2011: Kanye West signs D’Banj to his G.O.O.D. Music label

2013: Femi Kuti collaborates with Wizkid on “Jaiye Jaiye”

2014: American rapper T.I. charts in Africa on P-Square’s “Ejeajo”

2016: Wizkid becomes the first Nigerian artist to top the US Billboard Hot 100 chart after featuring on Drake’s “One Dance”

2018: Mr Eazi signs licensing deal with Universal Music

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Data point

Ringback bling

Nigeria’s intellectual property problems have made revenues harder to come by for musicians and artists, but one piracy-proof stream is ringback tones, which, for a small monthly fee, play for whoever is calling you while they’re waiting for you to pick up. In 2017, Reuters reported that Sony was making “at least a third more revenue” on the function than on streaming—and, projecting a $100 million market, was the main reason it opened a Lagos office.

Department of jargon

Say what?

Much of Afrobeats lyrics are sung in Pidgin English—a Nigerian language which is a mix of English, words from local languages, and a range of street slang. Pidgin English has become mainstream enough in Nigeria and across West Africa that international media companies, including the BBC, have started broadcasting in it.

So when Davido sings “My money, my body na your own” on the remix of “If” featuring R. Kelly, what he’s saying is: “my money and body are all yours.”

Reuters/Joe Penney

Naija to the world

As Afrobeats grows globally, Nigerians often share fun stories of the most random locations outside Nigeria where they have heard hit Afrobeats songs. Like a prestigious soccer stadium in Madrid, a park on the outskirts of Singapore, an ice rink in Dubai, a Russian nightclub in Guangzhou, an electronics store in Tokyo, and a bar in Vienna.

Fun fact!

The “Afrobeats” moniker for urban Nigerian music has been attributed to DJ Abrantee, a London-based DJ who has popularized the genre in UK radio circles since 2011.

Watch this!

This Quartz News episode digs into Afrobeats’ global appeal and features a sit-down with producer Sarz who breaks down the beat of “Maradona,” one of the biggest Afrobeats songs of 2017.

Take me down this 🐰 hole!

In an hour-long audio documentary, Afropop Worldwide listens in on how Afrobeats emerged over two decades of Lagos pop music.

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Poll

What’s your favorite thing about Afrobeats?

Click here to vote

The groovy beatThe catchy lyricsThe dance moves

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In yesterday’s poll about lavender, only 19% of you said you’re not a fan in any form. 📧 Lynn said: “I actually use lavender oil most often to heal wounds. Second favorite is a lavender-scented candle when I’m traveling in areas with mosquitoes.”

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Today’s email was written by Yomi Kazeem, edited by Whet Moser, and produced by Luiz Romero.