Has Afrobeat Overtaken Reggae/Dancehall in Global Popularity?

[Swahili P'Bitek]

South Africans are better vocalists and have been for a long time on a mainstream level, only problem is that they don't use English at all, indicating that the music is strictly for local consumption, just like how dancehall is strictly made for Jamaica, it just happened that the rest of the world fukked with it. Reggae has more universal messages in addition to being sung in standard English making it more consumable. That's what gives Afrobeats an edge over south african music, they at least use English, be it on hooks etc. and that's key to penetrating the American market.In Africa I'll just say this, it's very difficult for any genre to surpass reggae due to its message, clarity AND dance-ability.

 

[Budda]

South Africans are better vocalists and have been for a long time on a mainstream level, only problem is that they don't use English at all, indicating that the music is strictly for local consumption, just like how dancehall is strictly made for Jamaica, it just happened that the rest of the world fukked with it. Reggae has more universal messages in addition to being sung in standard English making it more consumable. That's what gives Afrobeats an edge over south african music, they at least use English, be it on hooks etc. and that's key to penetrating the American market.In Africa I'll just say this, it's very difficult for any genre to surpass reggae due to its message, clarity AND dance-ability.

In South Africa, South Africa has a different culture with Reggae and House. West and Central Africa Afrobeats has surpassed Dancehall and Reggae already... I don’t know much about North Africa, I have only visited Egypt years and years ago before Afrobeats was even a huge thing.

 

[Secure Da Bag]

The women.

Uche Mba


Various

 

[Swahili P'Bitek]

In South Africa, South Africa has a different culture with Reggae and House. West and Central Africa Afrobeats has surpassed Dancehall and Reggae already... I don’t know much about North Africa, I have only visited Egypt years and years ago before Afrobeats was even a huge thing.

I'm from East Africa and I still can't say for sure if afrobeats has surpassed reggae, because they all receive similar airplay(with radio stations being dedicated fully to reggae and all), when the artists come over its a big deal and reggae is still played in clubs. Like it was earlier said, most Africans don't understand just how local most of their music is for the most part, It's easier to meet a Kenyan/Zimbabwean/Ugandan/Gambian who listens to Chris Martin/Busy/Chronixx etc. than one who constantly listens to Olamide, Samthing Soweto or Fally Ipupa, but when you go to their respective countries/regions, they are big.Reggae is just more spread out.

 

[Budda]

I'm from East Africa and I still can't say for sure if afrobeats has surpassed reggae, because they all receive similar airplay(with radio stations being dedicated fully to reggae and all), when the artists come over its a big deal and reggae is still played in clubs. Like it was earlier said, most Africans don't understand just how local most of their music is for the most part, It's easier to meet a Kenyan/Zimbabwean/Ugandan/Gambian who listens to Chris Martin/Busy/Chronixx etc. than one who constantly listens to Olamide, Samthing Soweto or Fally Ipupa, but when you go to their respective countries/regions, they are big.Reggae is just more spread out.

Yes I agree but I’m pretty sure most Kenyans Gambians Zimbabweans would know who Wizkid Davido or Burna Boy is.

 

[Givethanks]

Y'all really downplaying reggae huh

 

[MischievousMonkey]

Kizomba & Afro house (Angola & South Africa house)

Links?

 

[Sankofa Alwayz]

IDK if this afrobeats tho

First jont sounds like Soca, especially since Africans don’t be on no “de pum pum” explicitly like that on their music

Second jont sounds exactly like the Afro Swing shyt that’s been hot in London for a brick. That shyt be sounding smooth as a mug

 

[Sankofa Alwayz]

Don't forget Aunty Teni

Hunni fine asf

 

[Sankofa Alwayz]

Good prediction. Rap is in a toxic place right now. Drug addict rappers dying or rappers being randomly killed whether by gang members or other outside forces, rappers who put on a minstrel show act etc.

People are drained when it comes to hip hop. Even the “trap music” has toxic elements. Society misses the times when music was a lot more uptempo and it was a lot of dancing . This is a big reason why Chris Brown music is still so popular, nobody wants the melancholy thing. We are in a new era and people are starving for some organic uptempo music on a wider scale.

Especially with all that’s going on now with the police brutality, Black empowerment messages, and kneegrows acting a goddamn fool in the streets over the July 4th weekend. We’ll see if AfroBeats can overtake Hip Hop but as much as I love Hip Hop, I’m ready for there to be a new genre to supersede it, one that’s not co-opted by the vultures and the industry devils. I’ve been getting more and more into House music (the real shyt, not simply the new EDM shyt that’s been calling itself “House music” for 11 years) as an alternative to Hip Hop and it prolly explains why AfroBeats been growing on me....It has elements of House music in it as well as both the uptempo smoothness and colorful nature of New Jack Swing, I’m here for all of it

 

[Sankofa Alwayz]

Being a Chicago breh I can really appreciate this.

I could tell this is from SA right away because some of the beats and background melodies are recognizable.

I have been listening to this other shyt from SA...

This my shyt.





What I wanted to know, what is this shyt? Is it still considered afrobeat or is afrobeat only relegated to Nigeria/Ghana/CoteD'Ivoire and the rest of West Africa?

That sounds like Gqom to me. Think of it as like South Africa’s very own version of Ghetto House music. It’s a very big ass scene over there, a lot more aggressive and raunchy in nature than SA House with darker beats and powerful bass. I listen to regular SA House music more so than Gqom but I still fux wit it You got Apple Music breh? I can shoot you my SA House playlist if you want. I even got a Chicago House playlist too

 

[Sankofa Alwayz]

Check out

Mr Eazi he has less auto tune in his songs

Without as much auto tune, breh’s shyt sounds a lot more intimate


I fux wit it

 

[Sankofa Alwayz]

Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) has estimated that the Nigerian music industry will be worth US$86 million in 2020-a HUGE sum in Nigeria. This growth may be accelerated by the foreign interests in Afrobeats as well as great revenues from digital platforms, ringtones, etc

In recent years, Wizkid and Davido inked a deal with Sony RCA , Tiwa Savage has a management deal with Jay-z’s Roc Nation, Burna Boy with Warner Records and the Naija "Chris Brown" Tekno has a $4 million deal with Sony, etc




The good thing with Afrobeats is that non-blacks will never bite the genre. Imagine a cac singing in Naija Pidgin.

That’s another reason why I fux with it. It’s just like Funk music in its polyrhythmic, chaotic nature. Both genres are basically melanin put to a musical scale, the type of shyt that Cacs will have an extremely difficult, if not outright impossible, time co-opting and jacking.

 

[Secure Da Bag]

The good thing with Afrobeats is that non-blacks will never bite the genre. Imagine a cac singing in Naija Pidgin.

How many of those artists are signed to black publishing/distribution companies? None. So give it some time, they'll be some bold non-black singing in pidgin or just straight copying the music. That's how these companies do.

 

[Sankofa Alwayz]

Love koffee and Lila Ike.

black people need to go back to make uplifting and fun music and stop the overt raunchiness.

oh and stick to making black music for Black people. That’s why afrobeat is so enjoyable, African artists make music for African people not for whites.

This, all of this.

Dap+Repped