Black influences on popular music

Over recent years, the music genre Afrobeats has experienced dazzling success as the sound has found an international audience beyond African borders. This is thanks to artists such as Wizkid, Tiwa Savage, and Burna Boy. When I listen to Afrobeats, the rhythmic and autotuned melodies enchant and connote some type of summer feel. As a West African, Afrobeats feels culturally relevant, as it employs West African Pidgin English, which I grew up hearing around me.  

Although they are often confused with one another, “Afrobeat” and “Afrobeats” are two different genres (albeit with multiple similarities). The Afrobeat genre was pioneered by Nigerian artist Fela Kuti. According to Professor Sola Olorunyomi, “Fela’s Afrobeat also tapped a myriad of sources ranging from basic Nigerian traditional rhythms, Highlife, jazz and Latin elements—over a structure that is essentially a criss-cross African rhythm.” Highlife refers to Ghanaian blending jazz and African music traditions that emerged during Ghana’s colonial period in the 1950s. The Afrobeat genre is Pan-African in character. Interestingly enough, Fela Kuti was an activist, and through his music, he would discuss pertinent topics for his African audience. In Kuti’s song “Why Dey Black Man Suffer,” he says: “Our riches dem take away to their land / In return dem give us their colony / Dem take our culture away from us.” As the song progresses, he explores the British colonization of Nigeria and the loss of culture that ensued due to this oppression.  

On the other hand, the Afrobeats genre refers to general African popular music, including “African and Western music, juju, dancehall, soca, Naija beats, house, and hiplife, a Ghanian take on hip-hop.” Nowadays, “Afrobeat” and “Afrobeats” are used interchangeably. For the purpose of this article, I will simply refer to “Afrobeats” to encompass music coming out of the African continent. 

Like Fela Kuti, Black people have been pushing melodical boundaries and introducing new types of music throughout history. Various genres have been influenced by Black people, ranging from jazz, country, house, and techno music. Black creativity reshapes and regenerates music globally.

Recently, Black influence has had a role to play in the so-called Korean Wave. “Korean Wave” is the name given to the surge of enthusiasm regarding Korean culture. This is best exemplified through the medium of K-pop, where Korean artists take inspiration from R&B and hip-hop to create their greatest hits. 

This connection isn’t something new; K-pop has often borrowed from Black music. Sometimes, this cultural borrowing is interpreted as problematic. One could argue that certain K-pop groups engage in some type of Black cosplay and profit from it. For example, some artists have engaged in blackface, mouthed racial slurs, and utilized Black hairstyles to emulate Black culture. 

On Twitter, the song “Bolo” by South Korean rapper Penomeco ignited discussions about the emerging hybrid genre of Afrobeats and K-pop. The song is evidently inspired by Nigerian music, as the word “bolo” is Nigerian pidgin for a person that is a “fool” or “silent person.” 

I immediately listened to the song to better grasp the discussion happening on Twitter. The flow and the autotuned voice were reminiscent of the songs I grew up with. I liked it… to some extent. Closer inspection of the lyrics revealed the character of the song. There’s a hint of Nigerian pidgin with the phrase “Make I see you carry body.” Later in the song, both artists sing “Omalicha” in reference to a woman with a “perfect body.” For context, “Omalicha” is an Igbo word for “beauty.” In the song, featured artist YDG also says “It’s the dancehall,” which I assume refers to the type of song he thinks he’s making. 

From my perspective, the conglomeration of dancehall and Nigerian pidgin evokes some appeal to a manufactured “African culture” that doesn’t exist, simply because Black cultures aren’t a monolith. It’s also important to acknowledge that Penomeco discloses influences on his music—he states Nigerian artists as a major inspiration. 

I realized that I had mixed feelings because I was having a hard time deciphering if this was cultural appropriation or appreciation. I endeavoured to search Twitter in order to find an answer to my internal debate.

Users were stunned to hear this music for the first time. User @Oskwamz tweeted “South Koreans are now doing Afro beats [flushed face emoji].” Black Twitter also had conflicting opinions regarding the song. Another user (@_najthehumansaid) commented, “They better not forget to credit black people for their music.” 

Some were impressed at the international appeal of a homegrown phenomenon. User @4chibuzor tweeted: “I am impressed. Yoruba, Igbo and Pidgin English. Naija spreading the influence of Afrobeats. Good music by the way.” Others have drawn from their own experiences with racism to inform their reaction to Afrobeats K-pop: “It’s crazy how much the developed world is racist towards us but LOVE copping our sh*t!”

Many on Black Twitter believe that Africans should gatekeep Afrobeats before it is “too late.” User @loveiceprincesz tweeted: “It’s 2023, what Wizkid did for afrobeats will be forgotten because everyone is now vibing to the current biggest ‘afrobeats’ song by BTS. Gatekeep afrobeats today [thumbs up emoji].” This tweet speaks to the fear that Afrobeats will no longer be owned by Black people and will become an international genre. I can understand where this user is coming from. As Black people are exploited for their music while serving “as a ‘central creative resource’ in the industry and the culture.”

While I can appreciate this perspective, I do believe there is some irony in trying to gatekeep Afrobeats. First, when exactly will it be “too late” to rescue Afrobeats? Who makes that demarcation? Moreover, it’s normal for artists to look beyond their artistic borders to innovate their own music. Afrobeats is, in essence, an amalgamation of various types of genres both from the African continent and beyond. User @EmmanOwoniyi points at the “irony in trying to gatekeep afrobeats” because, as user @Hasan_eat emphasized, “If other genres had done gatekeeping, afrobeats wouldn’t be in existence.” 

After exploring opinions on the Black Twitterverse, I still don’t have an answer as to whether Penomeco’s song is cultural appropriation. I also find myself more confused about whether or not Africans should gatekeep Afrobeats.  

While I don’t have a full answer, I’ve come to understand the complexity of this question. I also think this discussion should be approached with nuance and grace. Ideally, in a world of mutual respect and equity, music will be free to travel across borders and enrich the lives of friendly strangers that don’t necessarily share the same cultural background.