American rapper Fat Joe in a recent episode of Joe and Jada which also feature Jamaican dancehall Artist Buju Banton has claimed that Afrobeats which is a vibrant, umbrella term for contemporary West African pop music, largely emerging from Nigeria and Ghana was originated by Caribbean nation Jamaica.
“Jamaica started Afrobeats. Even though everything comes from Africa” Fat Joe said, a claim which Buju Banton who was present did not dispute nor correct. Afrobeats is largely said to have emerge from both Nigeria and Ghana in the 2000s and 2010s.
It fuses traditional West African sounds with highlife, hip hop, dancehall, R&B, and house. It is currently led by stars like Wizkid, Burna Boy, and Rema, the genre has become a massive global phenomenon.
Afrobeats is said to be influenced by Afrobeat which is a 1970s Nigerian music genre pioneered by Fela Kuti and drummer Tony Allen, blending traditional Yoruba music, highlife, and funk with jazz, characterized by long, danceable tracks, intricate percussion, and social/political commentary.
