The Evolution of Afrobeats in 10 songs.

Gone from being played at African gatherings, to wafting through speakers and dominating playlists during summer parties around the world, Afrobeats’ journey to a globally recognized genre and sound has not been an overnight occurrence. Finally, a sound that represents the true essence of Africa and its people is being enjoyed everywhere across the globe. The genre in itself has evolved very much over time, from the mid 1970s when artistes like Fela Kuti and Ebo Taylor were transitioning from Afro-Jazz to ‘Afrobeat,’ then to the mid to late 2010s when present day Afrobeats superstars like Davido, Wizkid and Burna Boy were breaking into the European and North American market, and to now’s new crop of artistes like Ckay, Fireboy and Amaarae bending genres to form today’s iteration of Afrobeats. For decades, musicians from Ghana and Nigeria have actively made contributions to making the genre what it is. It is amazing how musicians from these two West African countries have painstakingly and creatively shaped this sound over these last four decades.

Here’s a look at 10 songs that chronicle the genre’s journey from what it was to what it is now.

1. Fela Kuti – Water No Get Enemy (1975)

After his soul searching journey to Ghana in 1967, the Nigerian multi-instrumentalist started developing his sound with a drummer he met while on the trip, who would later be his collaborator, Tony Allen. Tony Allen was very instrumental in creating ‘Afrobeat,’ with the rhythms he was providing. Fela’s band at the time was featuring two baritone saxophones when others were using just one, creating interlocking melodies and rhythms very evident in the ‘Water no get enemy’ track. This style would be mimicked over 4 decades later throughout Wizkid’s ‘Made in Lagos’ album.

2. Alhaji K. Frimpong – Kyenkyen Bi Adi Mawu (1976)

Alhaji K. Frimpong’s name barely comes up in conversations like this. The Ghanaian Highlife singer created a song that would later inspire the creation of a whole subgenre called Hip-life, when Ghanaian rapper Reggie Rocstone heavily sampled it for his 1998 single, ‘Keep your eyes on the road.’ Over the years, the style displayed on this song by having 2 different guitar sounds as a top line melody and as a chord progression has been widely replicated. Evidence of this is on songs like Runtown’s ‘Mad over you,’ and Wizkid’s ‘Joro.’

3. Ebo Taylor – Heaven (1977)

It is believed that, Ebo Taylor was a mentor to Tony Allen and was one of the few people Fela Kuti sought inspiration from during his trips to both London and Accra. For someone who had been releasing albums and touring since the 1960s, the Ghanaian guitarist’s sound peaked when he made his 1977 song ‘Heaven.’ He played different guitar riffs throughout the entire track over a trailing ‘shaker’ sound that dictated the rhythm of the whole song. This style would see an exact replication after more than 40 years on Fireboy DML’s debut single, ‘Jealous.’

4. V.I.P – Ahomka Womu (2003)

This song laid the foundation for the ‘Ghana bounce,’ which is widely known as the ‘kpa kpa kpa, kpa kpa’ sound; primarily made with a clap. V.I.P also popularized the use of synths and other synthetic sounds to create more upbeat melodies, because before that, earlier versions of the genre were using indigenous Highlife instruments. If you have seen a Nollywood movie from the 2000s, you would definitely appreciate the influence of this song and its accompanying video.

5. D’banj – Fall In Love (2008)

It is not known if the Nigerian singer and his frequent collaborator and producer at the time, Don Jazzy, had any idea the sound they were pioneering when they made this song. The ‘Naija bounce’ was birthed on this song, which is a 6-step rhythm in a bar, often made with a clap or any other sharp percussion sound. They took a page from the ‘Ahomka Womu’ record by using artificial instruments or synths to figure out the melodies. This same style was repeated on D’banj’s follow up hit ‘Oliver Twist,’ and later on used by Nigerian music producer Kel P for Burna Boy’s ‘On the low.’

6. Sarkodie ft E.L – U Go Kill Me (2012)

The Azonto craze in the early 2010s held the African continent and the diaspora in a chokehold. The ‘Azonto’ subgenre’s discovery is a classical illustration of how accidents in the lab have led to great discoveries. Ghanaian rapper and producer E.L, with his production collaborator Nshorna Muzik were solely responsible for creating this sound. They made use of 808s (a heavy and deep drum sound) as a substitute for the typical baseline made with a bass guitar sound. They brought a certain groove to the ‘Ghana bounce’ that had not been felt until then. This style spawned other records like Fuse ODG’s ‘Azonto’ and Davido’s ‘Skelewu.’ It also saw the advent of other subgenres like ‘Shoki,’ ‘Alkayida’ and others, creating the perfect launch pad for dance Afrobeats. A prime example also is the songs Ghanaian-British producer Juls and Mr. Eazi were making.

7. Tekno – Pana (2016)

Tekno’s ‘Pana’ was basically a cultural reset to how African dance records were made. The dancers from the ‘Azonto’ era showed musicians one important thing which had been missing all those years; Africans move to rhythms by the 4-bar count. Krizbeatz, who is the producer of the record used this to his advantage by popularizing the roll clap to transition each 4-bar stance into the next, throughout the song. Still making use of the ‘Ghana bounce,’ they decided to incorporate ‘Kyenkyen Bi Adi Mawu’s’ melody style into it by using two different guitar melodies but with a twist, and also used a number of different artificial sounds for melodies just like on D’banj’s ‘Fall in love.’ One thing that stood out was how each of the two topline melodies took turns to phase out at different intervals throughout the song.

8. Davido – If (2017)

The Afrobeats rhythm had to change, and the best person to oversee the ushering of this new age was Tekno. This was when Davido tapped the singer and producer to replicate what he did on ‘Pana,’ after a disappointing reception to his ‘Son of Mercy’ EP. Afrobeats lovers didn’t have to wait for the 4-bar transition again, this time around, it came after each bar, birthing the infamous ‘tun tun’ sound. Countless Afrobeats records which came after this bore the same technique, and even Davido’s follow up hit, ‘Fall,’ that broke into mainstream American radio did too. There was a running joke in music circles at the time, where it was recounted that artistes would sit in sessions with producers and tell them, “I need a ‘tun tun’ type of beat.”

9. Ckay ft Joeboy & Kuami Eugene – Love Nwantiti (ah ah ah) 2019

With what he calls ‘Emo-Afrobeats,’ Nigerian Afrobeats superstar Ckay had the the whole world moving to it. People’s perception of Afrobeats at the time of this song’s release were made up of upbeat movements, hence, it took some time for the whole world to come to the party. There is always something special about artistes being able to produce their own records, consequently, Ckay was able to replicate the melody style on ‘Kyenkyen Bi Adi Mawu’ and the rhythm in ‘Fall in love’ to deliver a slower and groovy iteration of the genre; leaning a lot more towards Juls’ production style.

10. Wizkid ft Tems – Essence (2020)

Afrobeats peaked on this record. If there’s someone who was supposed to go back in time to tap into the true essence, no pun intended, of Afrobeats, it had to be Big Wiz. This song and the entire ‘Made in Lagos’ record echoes the Fela ‘Anikulapo’ Kuti of the late 1970s. Most Afrobeats songs up until 2020 weren’t known to involve doing a lot on the drums, but in the case of ‘Essence,’ the producers Legendury Beatz and P2J went crazy with the soft kicks, 808s and snares. Though the song was lyrics-filled, all parties involved made sure there wasn’t too much going on at any point. As to how they did that, we are yet to know.

Afrobeats’ evolution over the past 4 decades has been a spectacle to behold. At a point, Africans wondered if there ever was going to be a sound synonymous to the continent, but due to countless efforts from musicians, DJs, radio stations, music executives and the consumers, we have seen in recent times feats like Mr. Eazi dominating UK mainstream radio, Davido penetrating North American mainstream radio in 2019, Burna Boy winning a Grammy in 2020, Ckay dominating charts all over the world, Rema breaking into the Billboard Charts Top 5 and Wizkid selling out the O2 Arena for 3 consecutive nights. These have all been iconic moments that have been etched in the hearts of lovers and well wishers of the genre. With the world finally opening up to the Afrobeats sound, one can only imagine what is going to be of this exciting genre in the near future.