By Charles Mgbolu
In the African music space, hybrids of the music genre Afrobeats such as Afro-rave, Afro-fusion, and Afro-life are growing increasingly popular, especially as top African music stars have endorsed these new sub-genres as their own unique style of music.
The multi-award-winning Afrobeats genre, which is a blend of hip-hop, cultural music, and high-life, made especially famous by artists from Nigeria, has witnessed new off-shoots, which is perhaps the strongest signal yet that a wind of change is upon the genre.
In different interviews, Nigerian stars such as Grammy award-winning singer Burna Boy, Guinness World record holder Rema, and All Africa Music Awards winner Fireboy DML are examples of artists who say their new music identity has metamorphosed from Afrobeats.
Burna, in 2015 and 2022, while promoting his album ‘Love, Damini', stressed that his sound is 'Afrofusion'.
‘’ I just mixed up a bunch of different sounds, different genres, and different cultures and turned it into one genre called Afrofusion,’’ Burna Boy told entertainment journalists in the US.
In 2019, South African music producer and artist Toya Delazy introduced a genre she called "Afrorave," which combines genres such as garage with Zulu lyrics.
In May 2021, Rema also announced he would be calling his sound "Afrorave," a subgenre of Afrobeats with influences of Arabian and Indian music.
The most recent renaming has come from Fireboy DML, who told Black Entertainment Television (BET) this month that his sound was not Afrobeats but Afro-life.
These renamings have raised strong conversations online from fans who shudder with trepidation that Afrobeats, as they know, could be changing right before their eyes.
'Lacking in soul and lyricism'
Fireboy DML, however, gave reasons for renaming his sound, saying: "The Afrobeats scene before I came in has always been beautiful. It was built on vibes and energy, percussion and instruments, and everything. But I realised that there was something lacking, and that was pure soul and lyricism in our music.
‘’That was what I brought into the game. And I figured if you're bringing something new to the table, it needs a name. That's why I call it Afro-Life—it’s Afrobeats that has some depth to it.”
His words echo the thoughts of Burna Boy, who, in an interview, granted Apple Music in August 2023 ahead of the release of his seventh album, 'I Told Them' took a swipe at the Afrobeats genre for ‘’lacking depth.’’
Burna Boy argued that the Afrobeats sound should go beyond asking fans to have a good time because it is not the true representation of life, which always presents good and bad times.
"At the end of the day, life is not an amazing time. No matter how nice of a time you have now, or you had at some point, or you plan to have, you're still going to face life.
''For me, I feel like music should be the essence of an artist and an artist is a person who has good days, bad days, great days, and worst days," said Burna in the Apple video clip posted on X.
Mixed reactions
Burna was heavily criticised for his comments by many fans who accused him of blacklisting a genre he’d grown his music and brand from. But the seed of thought was already planted, with some artists now having a rethink.
Artists like Rema, however, have urged music stars not to be unkind to Afrobeats, adding that he only renamed his sound because he wanted to globalise the African sound.
In his acceptance speech for Best Male Artiste of the Year at the 2023 Headies Awards in Atlanta, USA, Rema said: “I’m here because it is important to support our institutions. And when I said institutions, I meant the bodies that support you in being able to achieve these major successes.
“We are in a very sensitive period; if we don’t give our attention to our institutions, we will miss this chance that we have. And we will never have this chance again. Be it afrorave, afro this, afro that, eventually we will be classified under afrobeats award. So, this is our chance.’’
His words ring strongly with the proverbial quote, ‘’No matter how far you go in life, don't ever forget home.’’
Hardcore fans of Afrobeats hope Rema's words resonate and that Afrobeats is preserved as it is, but they also know that these new hybrids of Afrobeats have come to stay.
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