Afrobeats vs Amapiano - Do you know your music facts?
In the last two decades, two musical genres with African roots have been making waves around the world, carving their own niche in the music industry. Mixing West African rhythms with genres from across the Americas, Afrobeats is for those who like to move to the beats. Originating in South Africa in the 2010s, Amapiano makes people sway to its rhythms. We take a closer look at both.
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00:00Have you ever wondered how African music crossed over into wider pop culture?
00:05Well, let me fill you in.
00:12In the last two decades, two musical genres with African roots
00:16have been making waves around the world,
00:18carving their own niche in the music industry.
00:21The term Afrobeat first echoed through the streets of Nigeria
00:25in the early new millennium.
00:27Also referred to as Afropop or Afrofusion,
00:30Afrobeats is a vibrant brand of dance music.
00:34It mixes West African rhythms with genres from across the Americas,
00:38including hip-hop, Jamaican dancehall, funk, and R&B, among other Nigerian genres.
00:44Just to get the facts straight, Afrobeats actually has a precursor,
00:48Afrobeat, which emerged almost 50 years earlier.
00:51It was pioneered by Nigeria's Fela Kuti in the 1960s.
00:56Influenced by the US-based Black Panther Party
00:59and the Black Power movements in the 60s and 70s,
01:03Kuti used his lyrics to criticize and challenge the colonial powers.
01:08Afrobeats can be thought of as an umbrella term for contemporary West African pop music.
01:14But while Afrobeats has been going from strength to strength,
01:18another genre of African music has quickly risen in popularity.
01:22In the 2010s, in the townships of South Africa,
01:25emerged a fusion of house, kwaito, and jazz sounds
01:29rooted in a distinct African house genre.
01:32It came to be known as Amapiano.
01:38The name is derived from the native tongue Zulu and means the pianos.
01:43It is characterized by its tempo, repetitive piano melodies, and catchy bass lines.
01:49Artists like Kabza the Small, DJ Maporiza,
01:52are widely regarded as some of the pioneers of the genre.
01:56Amapiano's rise to popularity can be attributed to social media platforms
02:00such as TikTok and Instagram.
02:03With a growing global fan base,
02:05including a thriving community of artists and producers,
02:09Amapiano is poised to leave a mark on the world of music for years to come.
02:14While Afrobeats is all about getting you grooving to the beat,
02:18Amapiano is more about laid-back yet infectious rhythms
02:22driven by deep bass lines and catchy piano melodies.
02:26Music to chill to, in other words.
02:29So, whether you are vibing to Afrobeats or grooving to Amapiano,
02:34African music is becoming even more of a celebration of inclusivity,
02:38diversity, and creativity.
02:41As they say, in the battle of the beats,
02:43everyone's a winner when the music's good.