So, is it just us or is Afrobeat everything!? We are loving the move of the continent into the mainstream. It’s a beautiful thing to have yet another musical option that celebrates Blackness. The sound was born in Nigeria and Ghana. It’s a mixture of dancehall, rap, and R&B. When you mix all those what you get is just beautiful music that makes you move your body. Since Afrobeats has made a splash stateside, there are several that have caught our eyes and ears. We thought we’d share a few of your favorites with you.
Our Top 4
Tems
You pretty much can’t turn on the radio without hearing something from Tems. We may have been first introduced to her from her song with Wizkid called Essence. That song was EVERYWHERE! She’s a singer and songwriter from Nigeria. Her star has been rising. She even won a Grammy and was nominated for an Oscar for her song on the Black Panther 2 soundtrack. Here’s one of our favorite songs by Tems.
Rema
Another of our favorites is Rema. He also hails from Nigeria. He’s a singer and rapper who found himself on President Barack Obama’s list of music he was listening to. Of course that put him on the radar of EVERYONE! And for good reason. He makes infectious music that just has good vibes. One of our favorites is Calm Down.
WizKid
We mentioned WizKid earlier. His song with Tems is what first put him on our radar. Now we have a whole playlist filled with WizKid jams! He’s a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Not surprisingly, he’s seen as one of the biggest African artists of all time. Major! He has so many songs with so many other artists. One of his most recent collaborations is with Chris Brown. Our only complaint is the song is too short. Check it out.
These are some of our favorites. If you need us, we’ll be vibing to our Afrobeats playlist. It’s massive. Feel free to share some of your faves.