Afrobeat is a combination of Yoruba music, Jazz, Highlife, and Funk rhythms, fused with percussion and vocal styles popularized in Africa in the 1970s. The genre’s creater was the Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Fela Kuti, who coined the term Afrobeat, shaped the musical structure and informed the political context of the genre in Nigeria.
Highlife originated in Ghana and spread to Sierra Leone and Nigeria in the 1920s. It is characterized by jazzy horns and multiple guitars which lead the band. Recently, it has acquired an uptempo, synth-driven sound. The genre has been very popular in Liberia and all of English-speaking West Africa, although little has been produced in other countries due to economic challenges brought on by war and instability.
Funk is an American musical style that originated in the mid- to late-1960s when African American musicians blended Soul, Jazz and R&B into a rhythmic,danceable new form. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove grounded in electric bass and drums. Unlike R&B and Soul, which feature many chord changes, Funk songs often feature the vamping of a single chord. Like much of African-inspired music, Funk typically consists of a complex groove with rhythm instruments such as electric guitar, electric bass, Hammond organ, anddrums playing interlocking rhythms. Funk bands also usually have a horn section of several saxophones, trumpets, and in some cases, a trombone, which plays rhythmic “hits.” Important artists include The Meters, The Ohio Players, Kool & The Gang, and The Commodores.
Genealogy of Kwaito 