đ” Afrobeats & Amapiano: The Rise of West African Music
Afrobeats and Amapiano are on the rise in popularity in the U.S. Find out how much and sample a few hits.
Afrobeat vs. Afrobeats
Afrobeat emphasizes percussion rhythms and features elements of jazz and funk and lyrics which are often strongly political.
Afrobeat is a clearly defined genre. However, Afrobeats is more of a macro term for contemporary West African pop music. The term was created to package these various sounds into a more easily accessible label. (source)
Side note: Fela Kuti (1938-1997) is known as the "father of Afrobeat". The Nigerian musician and activist is credited with pioneering Afrobeat in the 1960s. Kuti's style blends American blues, jazz, and funk with traditional Yoruba music.
Annual Afrobeats streams on Spotify have grown from 2 billion in 2017 to 13.5 billion in 2022 [1], while Nigerian artists generated Spotify payouts of around $14.2 million in 2022 â up 74% year-on-year[2]. (source1 source2)
According to Billboard, the 6th most popular song in the United States in 2023 was âCalm Downâ by Rema & Selena Gomez. Even though Gomez is an American star, Rema was born/raised in Nigeria, which makes âCalm Downâ not only the biggest song by a Nigerian in the United States of all time but also the biggest Afrobeats song in the United States of all time.
African genres, like Afrobeats and Amapiano, are some of the fastest-growing genres in the United States. Over the next few years, we will continue to see African musicians become global stars.
Below is a chart of the number of Google searches over the past 5 years in the U.S. for âAfrobeatsâ.
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Amapiano is a subgenre of house music (see my article about house music) that originated in South Africa in the mid-2010s. Amapiano builds upon South African House music, incorporating deeper basslines, slower tempos, and elements of Kwaito and Soul.
The word "Amapiano" is Zulu for "the pianos" or "piano people".
Below is a chart of the number of Google searches over the past 5 years in the U.S. for âAmapianoâ.
Before going any further, I must share a few playlists to give you an idea of the music.