It is said that Afrobeat is taking over the world and many are glad that the world is finally paying attention to the Nigerian music and the Nigerian sounds. But before we get excited, how sure are you that your favorite artists are making the real ‘Afro beats’ and not just infusing afrobeat in their sound (Afro-fusion). For better understanding, listen to any Fela’s songs, you will find it confrontational, heavy and at the same time very groovy.
While a lot of the artists nowadays have taken just the groove many have forgotten about the complexity of the genre. From any Fela song you, you have the sax solo then it is accompanied with the horns which are usually very aggressive and later its broken down for the drummers do their job before vocals later come in, the rhythm and progression are all born in the song, allowing listeners to feel like they are witnessing the creation of the song.
Afrobeat is such a complex sound even the content of the lyrics are not gentle to the ears, but now it has been watered down for commercial consumption (not that it’s a bad thing).
We can call the sound we hearing now an evolution but just as you can’t call Trap music rap, you shouldn’t call Afro-fusion sounds, afro beats, what is made nowadays is the mixture of POP, sometimes reggae with the Afrobeat groove.
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