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Afro fusion

From EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki

Afro fusion
Stylistic origins
Cultural originsSouth Africa
Typical instruments
Other topics

Search Afro fusion on Amazon.

Afro fusion (also spelled afrofusion or afro-fusion)[1][2] is a musical style developed in South Africa, in the 21st century primarily universalized by the indie rock, multi-cultural band Freshlyground.[3] The fusion genre was first characterized as intermingling jazz, blues, indie rock and certain elements of traditional South African music, in 2013.[3] As the musical style gained international prominence it invoked on fuses of various other regional and inter-continental musical cultures for instance soul, hip hop, dancehall and afrobeat.[4][5]

Term and widespread usage[edit]

Ostensibly, after the musical style was globally popularized by Freshlyground.[6] The genre's name appeared to become somewhat of a hypernym to describe both former historical as well as present-day exemplars of blending African music with other genres for instance, Western music.[7][8][9]

Precedents would be that of Stimela, a South African band formed in the 1970s by Ray Phiri. Phiri featured on Paul Simon's Graceland album as a guitarist.[10] Both Stimela and Ray Phiri were renowned for fusing mbaqanga and jazz.[7] Mbaqanga originated in South Africa in the early 1960s. The genre itself is a fusion of traditional Zulu music, jazz, European and American popular music.[11][12] American, rapper GoldLink's 2019 album, Diaspora merged African, Caribbean and North American music, inclusive of a song titled, "Zulu Screams".[13] "Zulu Screams" demonstrated Bibi Bourelly singing in Lingala alongside Maleek Berry who was described as an "afro-fusionist" by Pitchfork.[14]

History[edit]

2000s – 2010s[edit]

Freshlyground was formed in 2002, with its members citing diverse ethnic and multi-national backgrounds, which assumably played a role in the innovation of the afro-fusion musical style as each band member would thus perchance supply culturally as well as traditionally indigenous, distinctive musical elements for the band's musical compositional forms as well as performances.[3][15][16]

Freshlyground pictured in Cape Town.
Afrofusion band, Freshlyground pictured in Cape Town.

In 2010, the band alongside "The Queen of Latin Music", Columbian singer Shakira released the multilingual afro fusion and soca 2010 FIFA World Cup signature-tune "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)".[17] The fusion song is considered as one of the best selling-singles of all time and obtained number 1 status, in 15 countries.[18] The music video garnered over 3 billion views on YouTube, succeeding in it being one of the platform's most viewed, videos.[6]

Between the 2010s and 2020s the musical style appeared to have developed further into having local and regional scenes as more musicians started to experiment with afrofusion. [19][20][21][22]

In 2012, Japanese musician Sakaki Mango fused Japanese vocals and the mbira, known as deza in South Africa, limba in Tanzania, timbili in Cameroon and likembe in Congo.[9]

In 2013, Nigerian afrofusion and soul singer Villy (Oliseh John Odili) and his band the Xtreme Volumes blended afrobeat, soul and highlife amongst other genres.[4]

In 2015, Burna Boy appeared to have described afro-fusion as combining numerous genres such as afrobeats, hip hop, R'n'B and dancehall to The Fader a music magazine, in New York.[23]

In 2019, The Pearl Rhythm Foundation hosted the 7th Pearl Rhythm Festival, a festival hosted at the National Theatre of Uganda in Kampala, "to introduce and strengthen traditional and fusion music in Uganda".[24]

2020s[edit]

In 2020, rapper and singer Jidenna's "Feng Shui" song which was featured in HBO's comedy-drama TV series, Insecure was described as an 808s-meets-afrofusion inclusive of a sped-up, highlife guitar sample.[25] The song was from the singer's 85 to Africa album. Jidenna travelled between two African countries, namely South Africa and Nigeria which the album was presumably, inspired by.[8]

Cape Verde singer Nelson Freitas and Central African record producer Boddhi Satva's "Goofy" song from Freitas' Sempre Verão album was described as kizomba and afro-fusion by Nelson Freitas.[26]

In 2021, Mixmag named Magixx as "Nigeria's next big afro-fusion star". The Mavin Records signee released his debut self-titled extended play, Magixx which incorporated blends of various afropop genres, dancehall and trap.[27]

In 2022, Ghanaian musician, Supa Gaeta released his debut EP Road to DND. The EP's songs outlined Supa's path to success.[28]

Ugandan songwriter-singer Joshua Baraka's sophomore EP, Watershed which fused soul, afrofusion and R'n'B debuted at No.1 on Uganda's Apple Music.[29]

In 2023, Grammy-winning Jamaican reggae band formed in 1994, Morgan Heritage's The Homeland album "was positioned as a beautiful fusion of African and Jamaican sounds." Morgan Heritage often traveled to Ghana and toured Africa. The album included Senegalese politician and musician Youssou N'Dour, Ghanaian reggae-dancehall artist Shatta Wale, Beenie Man, Shaggy, Popcaan and Made Kuti.[30]

In an interview with Complex as reported by Daily Post, Burna Boy divulged that he introduced an original genre of music dubbed afro-fusion considering the seemingly fact that "he did not want to be boxed into the popular West African genre, afrobeats".[31] Burna's, 2023 studio-released album, I Told Them included withal concoction additions in particular reggae inclusive of the former stipulated; hip hop, dancehall and R'n'B seemingly with the aim to have had made the album internationally palatable.[5]

"Afrofusion is a big melting pot of cultures and sounds. Afrofusion is not a box. Let me break it down, why I created afro-fusion because I didn’t want to be boxed into any afrobeats or hip-hop or anything. Because I don’t believe in genres. I had to create my own."

Burna Boy, Complex

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Williams, Kyann-Sian (11 October 2023). "BNXN: meet the next Afrofusion superstar". NME. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  2. ↑ Gaanakgomo, Constance (2 October 2023). "Afro-fusion star Siphokazi chats music hiatus and new project in the pipeline". TimesLIVE. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Mshale Team, News Agencies (1 February 2013). "Freshlyground – refreshing music hailing from South Africa". Mshale. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Com, Ameyawdebrah (27 July 2013). "Villy Is A Nigerian Afro-fusion And Soul singer". News Ghana. Archived from the original on 9 April 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Okon, Wongo (5 September 2023). "Burna Boy's 'I Told Them...' finds Afrobeats taking a backseat in his vision". Uproxx. Archived from the original on 5 September 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Mukotekwa, Leeroy (25 June 2023). "'Waka Waka' hitmakers – Where did Freshlyground disappear to?". The South African. Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Ray Phiri: South Africa's Graceland star dies". BBC News. 12 July 2017. Archived from the original on 12 July 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Will, Ill (7 July 2023). "Jidenna has got another 'Afro-Fusion' album all ready to go". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Agence, France Presse (18 July 2012). "Afro-Japanese fusion music puzzles traditionalists". Arab News. Archived from the original on 24 November 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  10. ↑ Zeeman, Kyle (17 July 2017). "'Shocked' US star Paul Simon offers support to Ray Phiri's family". TimesLIVE. Archived from the original on 17 July 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  11. ↑ Lottering, Carla. "Mbaqanga South African music". South Africa Online. Archived from the original on 7 June 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  12. ↑ Mathibela, Nombuso (26 January 2022). "Mahotella Queens, the crown jewels of mbaqanga". Pan African Music (PAM). Archived from the original on 31 May 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  13. ↑ Younger, Briana (11 July 2019). "GoldLink's "Diaspora" reviewed". New Yorker. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  14. ↑ Pearce, Sheldon (19 June 2019). "Goldlink: Diaspora Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 19 June 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  15. ↑ Eyre, Banning (10 April 2013). "Freshlyground: Polished African Pop On The Global Dance Floor". NPR. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  16. ↑ Howell, Rob (17 November 2015). "Freshlyground: South Africa's secret hit-making machine". CNN. Archived from the original on 16 November 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  17. ↑ Flores, Griselda (30 November 2022). "Why Shakira remains the Queen of World Cup Music". Billboard. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  18. ↑ Smith, Courtney E. (19 June 2019). "Shakira has the biggest World Cup Song off them all. Here's how she did it". Refinery 29. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  19. ↑ ""I don't do Afrobeat, I do Afro-fusion", singer talks on Beats 1 Radio". Pulse Nigeria. 27 July 2016. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  20. ↑ Day, The News (17 May 2018). "Afro-fusion artiste Langa speaks on music career". NewsDay. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  21. ↑ Bambalele, Patience (26 July 2019). "Siphokazi streams live into history". Sowetan Live. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  22. ↑ Kasambala, Text Natty (29 January 2021). "Meet Omah Lay, Nigeria's rapid rising star and afro-fusion artiste". Dazed. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  23. ↑ Penney, Joey (25 November 2015). "Meet Burna Boy, the Nigerian singer putting Africa first". The Fader. Archived from the original on 26 November 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  24. ↑ Illado, Lucy (22 October 2019). "Behind the scenes of Afro-fusion in Uganda". Music in Africa. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  25. ↑ "Listen to Jidenna's upbeat new single 'Feng Shui'". OkayAfrica. 24 April 2020. Archived from the original on 29 April 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  26. ↑ "Boddhi Satva & Nelson Freitas' 'Goofy' Video Will Transport You to the Dance Floor". Okay Africa. 13 February 2020. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  27. ↑ Solomon, Robert (28 October 2021). "Get to know Magixx, Nigeria's next big afro-fusion star". Mixmag. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  28. ↑ Nii Okai Inusah, Attractive Mustapha (2 October 2022). "Ghanaian Afro fusion musician Supa Gaeta releases first EP". ModernGhana. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  29. ↑ Kajubi, Kalanzi (12 January 2023). "East African R&B artists to watch". Pan African Music. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  30. ↑ Hansen, Gabriel Myers (21 March 2023). "Morgan Heritage's Mr Mojo talks about Afro-fusion and reggae's global expansion". Music In Africa. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  31. ↑ Itodo, Sunny Green (24 August 2023). "Why I created afro-fusion genre – Burna Boy". Daily Post. Archived from the original on 3 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)

External links[edit]


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