“Every genre we create doesn’t have to be ‘Afro’ something” – M.anifest
Celebrated Ghanaian rapper Kwame Ametepe Tsikata, popularly known as M.anifest, has criticised the growing tendency to attach the prefix ‘Afro’ to new African music genres and their derivatives.
Ghanaian rapper M.anifest has expressed his disapproval of the trend of adding the prefix 'Afro' to African music genres and their derivatives. Speaking on the African Imagery Podcast, the hitmaker of No Shortcut to Heaven criticized the excessive use of 'Afro' in naming these genres. "We are very innovative people. Every genre we create doesn't have to be 'Afro' something.
We can create new forms. We have to let our imaginations run free," he stated. Guy Warren, also known as Kofi Ghanaba, was one of the pioneers in using the 'Afro' tag, creating Afro-Jazz in 1951. This innovation predates Fela Kuti's Afrobeat, which was developed by Kuti without the 's'. Professor John Collins notes in Highlife Time 3 that Ghanaba's idea of combining highlife with calypso and Latin American music preceded later Afro-fusion artists in West Africa.
In the 1980s, Afro-pop emerged as a broad label for African popular music, initially marketed internationally as 'Afro-pop' before being replaced by 'World Music' in 1986/87 by London-based record companies and music journalists. The term 'Afrobeats' was popularized by DJ Abrantee in the mid-2000s, initially as an umbrella term for West African pop music, which later gained prominence in Nigeria and helped bring attention to the continent.
However, some Afrobeats artists have expressed concerns about the term, favoring alternatives like Afrofusion, AfroSoul, AfroRock, or AfroDancehall.
Written by urgent.news from MyJoyOnline Ghana's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
