Afrofusion

History and character

Afropop (Afro-pop, African pop) is a general term for African popular music, of any genre, that combines African rhythms and melodies with Western instruments and production techniques (guitar, piano, trumpet, synths, the studio). It is not a single style: it includes highlife, jùjú, soukous, makossa, mbaqanga, mbalax, kwaito and much more. Its modern history begins with the Cuban music that spread across sub-Saharan Africa from the mid-20th century (via Radio Congo Belge in the 1940s): Congolese bands remade the Cuban son in French and created Congolese rumba, from which came soukous (Franco, Tabu Ley Rochereau, Papa Wemba, Kanda Bongo Man). The Fania All-Stars concert in Kinshasa (1974) spread salsa to Senegambia and Mali; James Brown's Nigerian tour (1968) and the Soul to Soul concert in Accra (1971) brought funk; Fela Kuti fused Yoruba music, jazz and funk. Great names of international afropop: Miriam Makeba, Salif Keita, Youssou N'Dour (mbalax), Angélique Kidjo, Manu Dibango (makossa, “Soul Makossa”, 1972), King Sunny Adé (jùjú), Ismael Lô, Ricardo Lemvo, Bambino Diabaté. Since the 2010s festivals, streaming and social media have enormously widened its reach: Wizkid, Burna Boy, Rema, Asake, Davido, Mr Eazi.

Afrofusion (Afro-fusion) is the name Burna Boy gives to his own music: a blend of afrobeat (Fela, of whom Burna is a self-declared heir), afrobeats, dancehall, reggae, hip hop, pop and R&B. Albums: L.I.F.E (2013, produced by Leriq), Outside (2018, with producers such as Juls, Steel Banglez, Fred Again, Phantom; “Ye” was the song of the year in Nigeria), African Giant (2019), Twice as Tall (2020, Grammy for Best Global/World Music Album in 2021), Love, Damini (2022, with “Last Last”, Song of the Year at the 2023 Headies), I Told Them (2023). The term is now used for many artists who mix afrobeats with dancehall, R&B, soul, reggae and alternative (Rema, Tems, Omah Lay, Joeboy, Fireboy DML, and the 'alté' scene).

Aesthetic: an Afro groove (syncopated percussion, shakers, 3-2 figures) combined with dancehall elements (heavy bass, offbeat skank), R&B melodies and samples (Fela, soul); vocals with Jamaican and Nigerian inflections, lyrics ranging from introspection to pan-African pride, love and politics; productions that are 'darker' and more layered than the average afrobeats pop. African musicians often perceive the chords of an I–IV–V–IV cycle as being of equal status, non-hierarchical (Kubik): harmony is a cycle, not a cadence.

Scales and keys

Natural minor (Aeolian)

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 — T S T T S T T (semitones 2 1 2 2 1 2 2)
• Example on G: G A Bb C D Eb F
• Characteristic note: the b6: melancholy; with the b7 (no leading tone) the minor stays 'circular'
• Diatonic triads: Gm (i) – Adim (ii°) – Bb (III) – Cm (iv) – Dm (v) – Eb (VI) – F (VII)
• Seventh chords: Gm7 (i7) – Am7b5 (iiø7) – Bbmaj7 (IIImaj7) – Cm7 (iv7) – Dm7 (v7) – Ebmaj7 (VImaj7) – F7 (VII7)
• Use in the genre: the darkest 'afrofusion' palette: i–VI–III–VII or i–iv–v loops, pads and guitars in minor; the vocal alternates between the minor pentatonic and the full scale.
• Real-world example: Burna Boy — Ye (2018) and On the Low (2019) on soft minor loops (check the keys).
• Common mistakes: adding the leading tone: the genre stays modal.

Major pentatonic

• Formula: 1 2 3 5 6 — T T 1½T T 1½T (semitones 2 2 3 2 3)
• Example on Ab: Ab Bb C Eb F
• Characteristic note: no semitones: 3 and 6 without 4 and 7, a sunny, African/folk sound, always consonant
• Use in the genre: sunny vocal melodies and hooks of afropop and afrobeats: 1 2 3 5 6.
• Real-world example: many Wizkid, Rema and Davido melodies; in soukous the guitars play pentatonic phrases in thirds.
• Common mistakes: using it over minor loops without moving the tonic (use the pentatonic of the relative).

Dorian

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7 — T S T T T S T (semitones 2 1 2 2 2 1 2)
• Example on C: C D Eb F G A Bb
• Characteristic note: the major 6 over a minor base: an 'open' minor, less sad, which gives a major IV
• Diatonic triads: Cm (i) – Dm (ii) – Eb (III) – F (IV) – Gm (v) – Adim (vi°) – Bb (VII)
• Seventh chords: Cm7 (i7) – Dm7 (ii7) – Ebmaj7 (IIImaj7) – F7 (IV7) – Gm7 (v7) – Am7b5 (viø7) – Bbmaj7 (VIImaj7)
• Use in the genre: the color that comes from Fela's afrobeat (i7–IV7 vamp) and from reggae: minor with a major 6.
• Real-world example: the 'Fela-style' horn sections in Burna Boy tracks (e.g. afrobeat samples and reinterpretations).
• Common mistakes: b6 in the horns: it breaks the color.

Major (Ionian)

• Formula: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 — T T S T T T S (semitones 2 2 1 2 2 2 1)
• Example on D: D E F# G A B C#
• Characteristic note: the 7 (leading tone) and the major 3: brightness and a strong V–I resolution
• Diatonic triads: D (I) – Em (ii) – F#m (iii) – G (IV) – A (V) – Bm (vi) – C#dim (vii°)
• Seventh chords: Dmaj7 (Imaj7) – Em7 (ii7) – F#m7 (iii7) – Gmaj7 (IVmaj7) – A7 (V7) – Bm7 (vi7) – C#m7b5 (viiø7)
• Use in the genre: soukous, makossa, mbalax, highlife-pop and many afropop productions: I–IV–V–IV and I–IV cycles, guitars in thirds and sixths.
• Real-world example: Manu Dibango — Soul Makossa (1972), tracks by Franco and Papa Wemba with major ostinato guitars.
• Common mistakes: thinking of the harmony as a cadence: it is a cycle.

Minor pentatonic

• Formula: 1 b3 4 5 b7 — 1½T T T 1½T T (semitones 3 2 2 3 2)
• Example on G: G Bb C D F
• Characteristic note: no semitones: b3 and b7 without 2 and b6, an open sound that 'can't go wrong', ideal for riffs and hooks
• Use in the genre: flow, chant, ad-libs and bass riffs with dancehall and hip hop influence.
• Real-world example: the more rhythmic choruses of Burna Boy and Rema.
• Common mistakes: melodies that are too 'rock blues'.

How to choose among the genre's scales

• Dark, introspective afrofusion → Aeolian + minor pentatonic.
• Sunny afropop, soukous, makossa → major and major pentatonic.
• Afrobeat homage, horns → Dorian.
• Dancehall/hip hop → minor pentatonic.

Harmony

Harmonic function

Cyclical: loops of 2–4 chords (i–VI–III–VII, I–IV–V–IV, i7–IV7), one chord per bar; according to Kubik, African musicians often hear the degrees of an I–IV–V–IV cycle as equivalent, without the tonic–dominant hierarchy of Western theory. In afrofusion the harmony is often defined by samples (soul, Fela) or by guitars in ostinato.

Elements

• Guitar ostinatos (highlife/soukous) in thirds and sixths.
• Offbeat skank (dancehall/reggae).
• R&B chords (m9, maj7, 11) in the softer tracks.
• Horns in riffs (afrobeat homage).

Voicings

Clean guitars in the high register, warm pads in the mid register, R&B pianos with open voicings; bass/sub kept separate.

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

Feel

It varies with the components:

• Afrofusion: 95–110 BPM, afrobeats groove (syncopated kick, clap on 2 and 4, 3-2 shaker) often mixed with dancehall (the 'riddim' kick and snare, offbeat skank) and reggae; swing 10–20%.
• Soukous: 120–140, very fast ostinato guitars, drums with continuous hi-hat and four-on-the-floor kick; instrumental 'sebene' section.
• Makossa: 110–130, very active bass, funk groove.
• Mbalax: polyrhythms of the sabar (Senegalese drums) and the tama (talking drum).

Microtiming

Percussion and skank slightly behind the beat; the vocal floats.

Drums

Kick

• Afrofusion: afrobeats figure (1, 1a, 2&, 3&) or dancehall (1, 1a, 2& with snare on 2 and 4); soukous/makossa: quarter notes.

Snare / clap

• Clap on 2 and 4; in the reggae passages rim on 3 (one drop); in dancehall snare on 2 and 4 with 3+3+2 figures.

Hi-hat, shaker, percussion

• Shaker in sixteenth notes with accents, rim in 3-2 clave, conga and talking drum, hi-hat on the offbeat; sampled Yoruba percussion.

Interaction

The bass (often heavier than in afrobeats) interlocks with the kick; the guitar/keyboard skank adds the offbeat; vocal on top.

By section

• Intro: sample or guitar.
• Verse: reduced groove.
• Hook: full percussion, backing vocals.
• Bridge: change of texture (vocal and pad only, or a horn break).

Typical mistakes

• Mixing dancehall and afrobeats without choosing which one leads (kick and snare in conflict).
• Stiff percussion without swing.

Bass

• Sound: sub/synth bass heavier than average afrobeats (dancehall influence), or electric bass in soukous and makossa.
• Rhythm: short notes syncopated with the kick, or 'riddim' lines of 1–2 bars (dancehall).
• Notes: roots, octaves, fifths; in soukous and makossa, melodic, fast lines.
• Mix: mono, saturated just enough for presence.

Harmonic instruments

• Clean guitars in ostinato (highlife/soukous), offbeat skank (reggae/dancehall).
• R&B piano and Rhodes, pads.
• Horns (homage to Fela).
• Soul, afrobeat, highlife samples.

Melody and vocals

Vocals

• Voices with Nigerian and Jamaican inflections, sing-rap, pentatonic melodies and R&B phrasing; pidgin, Yoruba, English.
• Burna Boy: baritone, warm timbre, relaxed phrasing, often 'behind the beat'.

Backing vocals and ad-libs

• Female background vocals, call-and-response, ad-libs and tags.

Effects

Soft plate, tempo-synced delay, light Auto-Tune.

Instruments

• Drum machine, percussion (conga, talking drum, shekere, shaker), drum kit
• Synth bass, sub, electric bass
• Guitars (ostinatos, skank), piano, Rhodes, pads
• Horns, samples
• Vocals, backing vocals

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• Stage-73 V — Afro-R&B Rhodes: Soft m9 and maj7 chords.
• Jun-6 V — Pads and synthetic skank: Warm pads and short offbeat stabs.
• Farfisa V — Fela-style organ: For the afrobeat homage passages.
• Mini V — Sub/synth bass: Soft but present bass with a touch of drive.
• Prophet-5 V — Dark pads: Late-night pads for the more introspective afrofusion.
• DX7 V — Marimba, kalimba and FM e.piano: Melodic ostinatos in the high register.

Song structure

Typical form (≈ 2:45–4:00)

Soukous

A slow sung first part, then the sebene: a fast, long instrumental section with ostinato guitars and 'animation' (the singer's shouts).

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

Warm, deep and layered: a heavier low end than afrobeats, defined percussion, clearly distinct guitars and samples, a warm, present vocal. References: Burna Boy — Ye, On the Low, Last Last; Manu Dibango — Soul Makossa; Franco & TPOK Jazz for soukous.

Kick

• HP 30 Hz, +2 dB at 55–65 Hz, −3 dB at 300 Hz, +1 dB at 3 kHz. Mono.

Clap / rim / snare

• HP 200 Hz, +2 dB at 1–3 kHz; short plate at 10%.

Percussion

• HP 150–300 Hz, transient shaper, panning ±30–60; shared room.

Bass / sub

• HP 25 Hz, fundamental 45–65 Hz, light saturation; mono; sidechain from the kick 2–3 dB.

Guitars and skank

• Ostinatos: HP 150 Hz, +2 dB at 3 kHz, panning ±40–60. Skank: HP 300 Hz, fast compression, panning ±30, light 1/8 delay.

Piano, pads, samples, horns

• Piano/Rhodes: HP 100 Hz, −2 dB at 400 Hz; pad: HP 250 Hz, 100% width; samples: EQ to make them sit (HP 150 Hz, −2 dB at 2–4 kHz if they compete with the vocal); horns: HP 120 Hz, plate 1.5 s.

Vocals

• EQ: HP 80–90 Hz (baritone voice: be careful not to hollow it out), −2 dB at 250–350 Hz, +2 dB at 3–4 kHz; compression 4:1 (3–4 dB) + opto; de-esser.
• Space: plate 1–1.5 s at 12–15%, filtered 1/4 delay.

Buses and groups

Drum bus, percussion bus, music bus, vocal bus with light compression.

Sidechain

Kick → bass (2–3 dB), vocal → music bus (dynamic EQ).

Master

• Chain: EQ → bus compression 2:1 → limiter −1 dBTP.
• Target: −9/−7 LUFS integrated (vintage soukous/makossa −12/−10), true peak ≤ −1 dBTP; PLR 8–10 dB.

Common mistakes

• Dancehall low end too heavy, smothering the percussion.
• Samples not tuned to the rest.
• Baritone vocal hollowed out by an HP set too high.

Reference tracks for the mix

• Burna Boy — Ye (2018)
• Burna Boy — On the Low (2019)
• Burna Boy — Last Last (2022)
• Manu Dibango — Soul Makossa (1972)

Reference listening

• Manu Dibango — Soul Makossa (1972)
• Franco & TPOK Jazz — Mario (1985)
• Youssou N'Dour feat. Neneh Cherry — 7 Seconds (1994)
• Angélique Kidjo — Agolo (1994)
• Burna Boy — Ye (2018)
• Burna Boy — On the Low (2019)
• Burna Boy — Last Last (2022)
• Rema — Calm Down (2022)