{
  "id": 12048052,
  "title": "“Every genre we create doesn’t have to be ‘Afro’ something” –M.anifest",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/every-genre-we-create-doesnt-have-to-be-afro-something-m-anifest",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-05T01:42:28.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Chronicle Ghana",
    "slug": "the-chronicle-ghana",
    "url": "https://thechronicle.com.gh/every-genre-we-create-doesnt-have-to-be-afro-something-m-anifest/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Award-winning Ghanaian rapper M.anifest, whose real name is Kwame Ametepe Tsikata, has voiced his disapproval of the practice of attaching the prefix 'Afro' to new African music genres and their derivatives. In an interview on the African Imaginary Podcast, the artist behind the hit song \"No Shortcut to Heaven\" expressed his disdain for the \"wanton knack\" of naming African music genres and their derivatives with 'Afro'. M.anifest pointed out that \"Every genre we create doesn't have to be 'Afro' something.\" He emphasised the need for African musicians to let their imaginations run free and create new forms of music without being confined to 'Afro' labels. The term 'Afro' was first coined by Guy Warren, also known as Kofi Ghanaba, who used it to describe his musical style, Afro-Jazz, in the late 1940s. Kofi Ghanaba and other members of the Tempos Band moved to Liberia in 1951, seeking to fuse highlife with calypso and Latin American music, while Ghanaba remained focused on blending jazz with Afro-Caribbean drumming. The 1980s saw the emergence of Afro-pop as a broad label, initially used to market African popular music internationally. It was later replaced by the term 'World Music' in the late 1980s/early 1990s. The term 'Afrobeats', popularised by DJ Abrantee in the mid-2000s, emerged as an umbrella term for West African pop music. However, some Afrobeats artists have expressed reservations about the label, preferring alternative names like Afrofusion, AfroSoul, AfroRock, or AfroDancehall for their music.",
  "summary": "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. Speaking on the African Imaginary Podcast, the No Shortcut to Heaven hitmaker said he was appalled by the wanton knack to name African music genres and their derivatives with […] The post “Every genre we…",
  "key_points": [
    "M.anifest criticizes naming African music genres with \"Afro\".",
    "Every new genre shouldn't be \"Afro\" something.",
    "Term \"Afro\" originated in late 1940s with Guy Warren."
  ],
  "editors_take": "M.anifest's criticism of prefixing African music genres with \"Afro\" signals a shift towards a more nuanced understanding of identity and creative freedom in African music.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}