Afroswing, also known as Afrobashment, or less commonly Afrobbean or Afrowave,
is a genre of music that developed in the
UK during the mid-2010s, derivative of
dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...
and
afrobeats
Afrobeats, not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing, is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Ghana, Nigeria, and the UK in the 2000s and 2010s. Afrobeats is less of a st ...
, with influences from
trap,
British hip hop
UK rap, also known as British hip hop or UK hip hop or British rap, is a music genre and culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. The development of UK rap was shaped by a distinct set of regional inf ...
,
R&B, and
grime.
Commercially, the genre has been very successful, with many afroswing artists making it into the
British charts.
Characteristics
Afroswing is largely defined by its melody rather than a specific tempo.
Producer
Steel Banglez stated the key elements of afroswing were happy or dark chords that "make you feel a certain way", and that "drum pattern is the most important thing about this whole sound, it's the snare that comes on the third. In hip-hop it comes on the fourth. Coming off the third beat comes from afrobeats."
Martin Connor, an expert in vocal melodies and rap analysis, described the characteristics of the genre as being "
.technically in 4/4, what you will hear over and over again is this recurring pattern made up of three notes that are still repeated in the framework of a 4/4 time signature
.You can hear the inspirations of Jamaican music in the rhythm except Jamaican music doesn’t have a bass kick and the snare – that’s hip hop, that’s traditional rap. So this is that translation of cultures happening subtly in the instrumentation. Yet it still has a hip hop sensibility in terms of lyrical focus and music videos: cars, money, authenticity, hardness".
Origins
The rise of afroswing is in large part a result of the slow acceptance of African-derived sounds in the UK. The first genre to really embrace African influenced music and push it into the mainstream was
UK funky
UK funky (sometimes known as UKF or funky) is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England that is heavily influenced by soca, soulful house, tribal house, funky house, UK garage, broken beat and grime. Typically, UK funky ...
via artists such as
Donae'o
Ian Greenidge, better known by his stage name Donae'o ( ; meaning ''Gift from God''), is a British singer, songwriter and rapper from North-West London. He has worked with numerous British musicians throughout his career including The Streets, ...
,
and in early-2010s, afrobeats, with artists such as
Mista Silva
Papa Kwame Amponsa, known by his stage name Mista Silva, is a British-Ghanaian musician from Brockley, London with origins from West Africa Ghana. Mista Silva released his debut EP, ''Full Vim'', in 2012. Its success led to a record single deal ...
, Kwamz,
Fuse ODG, and Timbo gaining mainstream success through their afrobeats sound.
Around the same time, artists such as
Sneakbo and Timbo were incorporating melodic rap and Caribbean influences into their music. These artists collectively set the foundation for what would later turn into afroswing,
and contributed to the rise of youth embracing their African heritage.
In 2010, Sneakbo released "Touch Ah Button", an early example of the merger of dancehall and afrobeats influences. In February 2014, Timbo and Mover released "Ringtone", which DJ
Kenny Allstar credited as opening "the door to the bridge of Afro-rap and the evolution of Afroswing, which was essentially someone laying a hook over a rap record".
The rise of producers
Jae5
Jonathan Kweku Awote-Mensah (born 27 March 1992), known professionally as Jae5, is a British-Ghanaian record producer and mixing engineer from Plaistow, Newham, Plaistow, East London. He is a Grammy Award-winning producer and is signed to Blac ...
, Blairy Hendrix, Joshua Beatz, and rapper
J Hus
Momodou Lamin Jallow (born 26 October 1996) known professionally as J Hus, is a British rapper and singer who has been credited with pioneering the genre Afroswing. He is currently signed to Black Butter Records. He gained popularity in 2015 f ...
saw the sound begin to distinguish and cement itself.
Together they fused afrobeats, bashment, and trap, along with a melodic style of rapping with gritty, hood lyrical themes derivative of
road rap
UK rap, also known as British hip hop or UK hip hop or British rap, is a music genre and culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. The development of UK rap was shaped by a distinct set of regional inf ...
.
J Hus and Timbo have both received credit for pioneering the genre.
Due to being a new genre, there was some confusion on what to call it initially.
This has led to many people calling the genre 'afrobeats', and whilst there are some similarities, the genre is not quite the same.
There also appeared to be cases of the genre having been briefly referred to as almost identical French 'afro trap'.
Likewise, simply lumping it up with "UK rap" is misleading, because while it is accurate, it disregards the uniqueness of the genre that sets it apart from other strands of UK rap. Kojo Funds has explicitly stated he is not trying to be defined as an afrobeats artist and to instead refer to his music as afroswing.
Blairy Hendrix and Joshua Beatz, producers for J Hus, were in 2014 initially calling their sound "Traprobeats", denoting the various influences of afrobeats and trap music.
Around the same time, Jabz Daniels was making a similar sound and called his music "Trapfrobeat".
The name "Afroswing" was initially coined by rapper
Kojo Funds
Errol Kojo Bellot, known professionally as Kojo Funds ( ; born 30 March 1995), is an English singer, rapper and songwriter. His music blends West African and Caribbean sounds with road rap, dancehall and pop.
Kojo Funds featured on Yxng Bane ...
, as well as being pushed by prominent producer Juls.
The name was derived from "afro", which in context and quoted by Funds, attributed to
African music
The continent of Africa is vast and its music is diverse, with different regions and nations having many distinct musical traditions. African music includes the genres like makwaya, highlife, mbube, township music, jùjú, fuji, jaiva ...
, with the mixture of drums derived from R&B and dancehall which the genre "swings" between using.
Afroswing was eventually picked up by
Apple Music
Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...
as their official genre name for the sound.
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...
however, opted to go for "AfroBashment", a term coined by Austin Daboh who was hired by
BBC 1Xtra
BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts Black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been cod ...
, denoting its fusion of bashment and afrobeats styles.
In 2014, J Hus did a popular freestyle on YouTube channel
GRM Daily
GRM Daily (Grime & Rap Music Daily), formerly Grime Daily, is a British urban music outlet and entertainment platform. As the name suggests, the platform is an outlet for UK rap and its various genres, such as UK drill, afroswing, trap, and Br ...
showcasing his distinctive style.
The first notable song in the genre was released in 2015, titled "Dem Boy Paigon", quickly elevating J Hus' status and becoming a club hit, and soon after ushering in a new wave of artists making similar music.
J Hus' sound was a unique blend of
Ghana
Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
ian afro-pop, afrobeats, and British rap. J Hus was unique in that he would mix rapping with melodic singing, something uncommon in the scene at the time.
2014 also saw the emergence of
MoStack,
Tion Wayne
Dennis Junior Odunwo (born 1 September 1993), known professionally as Tion Wayne, is a British rapper and DJ from Edmonton, North London.
He appeared on three top-10 singles on UK Singles Chart as a guest – NSG's " Options", "Keisha & Becky ...
, and
Geko.
Many new artists began to crop up from 2015 onwards, such as Kojo Funds,
Not3s, Don EE, and
ZieZie.
Kojo Funds, who coined the name 'afroswing', made his break-out single "Dun Talkin'" alongside
Abra Cadabra
Aaron Philips (born 3 May 1997), known professionally as Abra Cadabra, is a British rapper and singer. He is a member of the UK drill
UK drill is a subgenre of drill music and road rap that originated in the South London district of Bri ...
in 2016.
Lotto Boyzz, a Birmingham-based group, also gained prominence and decided to call their sound 'afrobbean', denoting the fusion of African and Caribbean influences in the sound.
Success
The genre has been supported by YouTube channels such as
GRM Daily
GRM Daily (Grime & Rap Music Daily), formerly Grime Daily, is a British urban music outlet and entertainment platform. As the name suggests, the platform is an outlet for UK rap and its various genres, such as UK drill, afroswing, trap, and Br ...
,
Link Up TV, and
Mixtape Madness, which has allowed artists to easily release music videos to potentially millions of listeners and propagate the genre as a result.
Many afroswing artists, such as
J Hus
Momodou Lamin Jallow (born 26 October 1996) known professionally as J Hus, is a British rapper and singer who has been credited with pioneering the genre Afroswing. He is currently signed to Black Butter Records. He gained popularity in 2015 f ...
,
Not3s,
EO, and
Ramz, have all had very successful singles in the charts, becoming mainstream acts in their own right.
Ramz' single "
Barking" peaked at number 2 on the
UK singles chart, and sold over 500,000 copies.
EO's song "German" peaked at number 13,
and J Hus' single "
Did You See" got to number 9 on the charts and became the most-streamed single of 2017.
Another major artist in the genre,
Kojo Funds
Errol Kojo Bellot, known professionally as Kojo Funds ( ; born 30 March 1995), is an English singer, rapper and songwriter. His music blends West African and Caribbean sounds with road rap, dancehall and pop.
Kojo Funds featured on Yxng Bane ...
, gained a "Best Song Award" at the
MOBO Awards
The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Ba ...
in 2017 for his song "Dun Talkin'" with
Abra Cadabra
Aaron Philips (born 3 May 1997), known professionally as Abra Cadabra, is a British rapper and singer. He is a member of the UK drill
UK drill is a subgenre of drill music and road rap that originated in the South London district of Bri ...
.
Mostack,
Not3s, and
Kojo Funds
Errol Kojo Bellot, known professionally as Kojo Funds ( ; born 30 March 1995), is an English singer, rapper and songwriter. His music blends West African and Caribbean sounds with road rap, dancehall and pop.
Kojo Funds featured on Yxng Bane ...
all enjoyed chart success in 2017.
In 2015, a three-member group called
WSTRN gained international attention via
Drake's OVO Sound Radio; the station had played their 2015 breakout single "
In2" on
Beats1.
In 2017, J Hus released his album
Common Sense
Common sense () is "knowledge, judgement, and taste which is more or less universal and which is held more or less without reflection or argument". As such, it is often considered to represent the basic level of sound practical judgement or know ...
. The album would gain critical acclaim, entering the British charts at number 10, eventually peaking at number 6 and staying on the charts for over 90 weeks.
B Young
Bertan Jafer (born 12 January 1995), known professionally as B Young, is a British rapper and singer and songwriter from Hackney, London, Hackney, London. Before becoming a rapper, B Young spent several years as a sound engineer during which he ...
released "
Jumanji
''Jumanji'' is a 1995 American fantasy adventure film directed by Joe Johnston from a screenplay by Jonathan Hensleigh, Greg Taylor, and Jim Strain, based on the 1981 children's picture book by Chris Van Allsburg. The film is the first ins ...
" in 2018. The song became a hit, selling over 600,000 copies and garnering over 40 million streams, also peaking at number 13 on the
UK Singles Chart.
In 2018, afroswing artists such as
WSTRN,
Yxng Bane,
Not3s, and
Hardy Caprio appeared at
SXSW
South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
festival in
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
; this is the first time the genre had ever been represented at the festival.
See also
*
Afrobeats
Afrobeats, not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing, is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Ghana, Nigeria, and the UK in the 2000s and 2010s. Afrobeats is less of a st ...
*
British hip hop
UK rap, also known as British hip hop or UK hip hop or British rap, is a music genre and culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. The development of UK rap was shaped by a distinct set of regional inf ...
*
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...
*
Grime
*
Road rap
UK rap, also known as British hip hop or UK hip hop or British rap, is a music genre and culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. The development of UK rap was shaped by a distinct set of regional inf ...
*
UK drill
UK drill is a subgenre of drill music and road rap that originated in the South London district of Brixton from 2012 onwards. While being sonically distinct from Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous ...
*
UK Afrobeats Singles Chart
References
{{Use British English, date=November 2020
Hip-hop genres
2010s in music
Black British music
Music in London
Youth culture in the United Kingdom
British styles of music