When you think of the founding voices of the Afrobeats or Afropop genres, musicians like Fela Kuti, William Onyeabor and Ebo Taylor may crop up. Today, names such as Tiwa Savage, Tems, Wizkid, and Burna Boy draw more renown, featuring at the top of global charts, reaping accolades and taking the Afrobeats genre to new heights. Despite the diversity within the sound, top musicians in the genre remain predominantly men. AMAKA looks into the progression of women Afrobeats musicians to the forefront of the mainstream, their impact on Afrobeats music, and we make predictions for the AFRIMMA awards ahead of the show on the 14th of November 2021. 

When and how did Afrobeats emerge?

Afrobeats is an all-encompassing term for pop music from African musicians, which emerged around the turn of the century, gaining more traction in the early 2010s. The precursor to Afrobeats, the Afrobeat genre, is more defined and distinguishable as the creation of the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti (but don’t forget Afrobeat’s founding mothers!) in the 1960s, with influences in highlife, jazz, funk and traditional West African rhythms. Unlike their forebears, modern Afrobeats stars forego drums and other traditional African instruments for computer-generated backing tracks and synth beats.  

Fela used music as a sounding board for his frustrations at the time, with typical 10+ minute long tracks filled with critiques of politicians, world organisations and the disappointing post-colonial milieu. Today, the musical landscape is markedly less political and contentious. Instead, symphonious tunes that discuss romance, dating and everyday modern-world shenanigans are more common. The success of Afrobeats comes as no surprise, then, given its uncontroversial, relatable lyricism - mainly sung in English or Pidgin, due to the high representation of Nigerian artists - and energetic instrumentals.

The proliferation of Afrobeats worldwide 

Cast your mind back to 2012, where, following the widespread popularity of Azonto, we saw the first Afrobeats single, D’banj’s "Oliver Twist", in the UK's top 10 charts and get played at the New Year's Eve fireworks. This song welcomed new heights for the Afrobeats genre, setting the path for the contemporary Afrobeats sound that followed, with the likes of Fuse ODG's "Antenna", cementing the place of Afrobeats in mainstream music.

Where are the women?

During Fela's popularity, women were predominantly relegated to the home and domestic affairs domains, leaving little time or opportunity to forge a musical career. The picture remains somewhat bleak in his homeland, as Nigeria ranks 184 out of 193 countries in female representation in parliament. Moreover, girls still face the real prospect of child marriage and difficulties accessing education. The same is to be said for the music industry, where male musicians dominate the chart and women still face problems making it to and remaining at the top. Looking at the Official Afrobeats Chart, we see that, of the top 20 songs, just three are the product of female musicians. Yet, the increasing number of women in the Afrobeats genre signifies small steps in the right direction.

Despite the number of women Afrobeats musicians, they still face difficulties obtaining the same recognition as their male counterparts. So, we decided to profile some women trailblazers to reflect on their careers and what their representation means for the genre. 

Beyond Fela Kuti: Afrobeat's Renaissance Women 

Aya Nakamura

Aya Nakamura quickly ascended to the limelight following her 2018 hit single, "Djadja", a song about her frustrations with a guy named Djadja. "Djadja" amassed over 800 million views on YouTube, and she swiftly became the most streamed French artist in the world. Coming from a musical lineage of griots, Aya has been producing music since she was 19 and, following her signing to the Warner Brothers in 2015, released lesser-known hits such as "J’ai Mal" and "Brise". Her success as a French-Malian artist points to the diversification of Afropop music in a climate otherwise dominated by anglophone artists. 

In blending French, French Argot, Arabic and her native Bambara in her music, Nakamura refuses to be boxed in and powers ahead in creating her lane in frankly unchartered territory for French Afropop. Her music has filled a void in French-language mainstream music. By cleverly incorporating traditional African polyrhythms and blending them with Zouk and R'n'B sounds, her style epitomises a globalised 21st century sound for a generation characterised by interconnectedness. Most importantly, it ensures her position at the forefront of French Afropop music, paving the way for future successors. 

Tems

Growing up listening to a range of musicians such as Lauryn Hill, Asa, Adele and Paramore, clearly influenced Tems' bespoke and genre-bending alté sound. Tems first graced us in 2018 with her velvety tones with her single "Mr Rebel", which quickly commanded our attention. But, what makes Tems' sound fresh and distinct is her blend of a powerful neo-soul voice mixed with a flavourful Nigerian twang. And few alternative artists have managed to successfully forge a name for themselves amongst the otherwise fast-paced and catchy tunes characteristic of the Afropop landscape.

"Essence", dubbed 2021’s “song of the summer", thrust the rising star into the limelight with her deep, soulful voice providing its backbone. Soon after, she appeared on Drake’s CLB in "Fountains”, infusing it with her signature warm and ethereal vocals. Having showcased her artistry to great acclaim, she is certainly not going anywhere soon as the rightful frontwoman and pioneer for the alté movement. 

Yemi Alade 

Yemi Alade rose to prominence following a win on the Peak Talent show in 2009, seeing her signed to the Effyzzie Music Group and subsequently releasing "Fimisile". Fast forward a little later, she released her single "Johnny" in 2013, which became an international hit and thrust her into the limelight. The popularity of the song "Johnny", which sees Alade divulging into her boy troubles, is proof of what it takes to find success in mainstream music - relatability. People all over engaged with the song's lighthearted take on the frustrations of dating. Combined with the typical melodic backdrop her songs take, Alade's music pulls you in and is especially inviting.

Her feature on Beyonce's Lion King: The Gift alongside artists from Ghana, Cameroon, and South Africa was a big moment for her career. It proved to be great exposure for Yemi Alade, as both of her features are the most played on her Spotify top tracks list, demonstrating the power of collaborating with US-based artists with the type of reach as Beyoncé. 

Tiwa Savage 

Tiwa Savage is a seasoned Afrobeats artist with more than 15 years in the business. She had credits as a backup singer for George Michael, Mary J. Blige, and Whitney Houston under her belt by her early twenties. Then, following a successful audition and short stint on the X-Factor UK, she signed with Sony Music Publishing in 2009, picking up a grammy nomination in collaboration with Fantasia in 2010. Moving to Nigeria in 2012, Tiwa decided to focus on her Afrobeats career and signed to Marvin Records. Her move showed incredible foresight as it led to her cementing her position as the so-called "Queen of Afrobeats", becoming a household name, with successive hits of "Eminado", "My Darlin", and "Ma Lo", her fame and popularity grew manifold in the late 2010s. 

Like Alade, Tiwa Savage featured on Beyonce's The Gift, with "KEYS TO THE KINGDOM" alongside Mr Eazi. Her latest collaboration with Brandy in their release “Somebody's Son", which sees both artists fawned over by knight-in-shining-armour types, has proved a well-received alliance. The increasing tendency of Afrobeats musicians to collaborate with US-based artists, whilst embraced, may also point to an awareness of what it takes to stay commercially relevant and ensure the longevity of their musical careers. 

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AFRIMMA awards - AMAKA predictions

The African Muzik Magazine Awards (AFRIMMA), based in Texas, US, is devoted to recognising Africa-based music and genres and aims to propel African music to the world stage. This year, the artists we have featured have all been nominated in at least one category. Here’s how we think it will go! 

Crossing boundaries with music 

Tems and Aya Nakamura, alongside Wizkid and Burna Boy, are up for this award, and they've all crossed musical boundaries in their own ways. Beginning with Tems, it's the first time an African artist with her particular soulful alté beats has occupied the limelight. Aya Nakamura has illuminated the way for Francophone music, putting it firmly on the global map. Wizkid and Burna Boy, of course, have been the leaders in cementing the Afrobeats genre in the mainstream. We envision Aya will take this award, though, as Francophone music has been the afterthought in the Afrobeats scene for too long, it's time it gets its flowers. She has masterly managed to claim her space in the otherwise anglophone-dominant music sphere. 

Best Female West Africa 

Annoyingly, both Tems and Tiwa Savage are up for the "Best Female West Africa" award. As we established, the two artists differ quite a bit musically. Tems appears to be having her heyday and is one of the hottest rising stars, with hits with Wizkid and Drake already among her successes, so we're hazarding a guess that she will win this award. Even so, Tiwa, as the "Queen of Afrobeats", has racked years in the industry, proving her staying power, and having just unleashed a jam with Brandy, there's competition there for Tems. 

Artist of the year 

Burna Boy received a Grammy for his album Twice as Tall at the start of the year, which featured hit after hit, but Burna has been a little quiet this year, still revelling over his successful 2020 album and rightfully so. Aya Nakamura's eponymous album catapulted to the top of French and Belgian charts in 2020 but enjoyed less success outside of mainland Europe. We think Wizkid is the frontrunner here. With the hit song of the summer "Essence" and the success of his Made in Lagos album release, 2021 has indeed been his year. 

Think differently? Share your own predictions at the bottom and vote for your favourites via: https://afrimma.com/afrimma-nominees/ and catch the 8th AFRIMMA awards on 14th of November.