Afroswing, also known as afrowave and afrobashment,[1][2] is a genre of music developed in the UK during the mid-2010s, derivative of dancehall
| Afroswing | |
|---|---|
| Other names |
|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | 2010s United Kingdom |
Afroswing, also known as afrowave and afrobashment,[1][2] is a genre of music developed in the UK during the mid-2010s, derivative of dancehall and afrobeats, with influences from trap, hip hop, R&B, and grime.[3][4][2] The genre commonly makes extensive usage of Multicultural London English and Jamaican and African patois.[1][5] Commercially, the genre has been very successful, with many afroswing artists making it into the British charts.[1]
Afroswing is largely defined by its melody rather than a specific tempo.[2] 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".[1]
Due to being a new genre, there was some confusion on what to call it initially.[2] This has lead to many people calling the genre 'afrobeats', and whilst there are some similarities, the genre is not quite the same.[1] 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.[6]
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.[7] Lotto Boyzz, a Birmingham based group, decided to call their sound 'afrobbean', denoting the fusion of african and caribbean influences in the sound.[8][9]
The name "Afroswing" was initially coined by rapper Kojo Funds, and supported by producer Juls.[3][1][10] The name implies the fusion of "afro", from afrobeats, with the mixture drums derived from R&B and dancehall which the genre "swings" between using.[1] Afroswing was eventually picked up by Apple Music as their official genre name for the sound. Spotify however, opted to go for "AfroBashment", a term coined by Austin Daboh who was hired by BBC 1Xtra, denoting its fusion of bashment and afrobeats styles.[11]
In the early 2010s, the precursor to afroswing, Afrobeats, had begun to gain popularity in the UK and West Africa, with artists such as Mista Silva, Kwamz, Fuse ODG and Timbo gaining mainstream success through their afrobeats sound.[2][5][12] The rise of afrobeats, and later afroswing, also marked a rise of pride amongst people of African-descent in the UK of their heritage.[7][11]
By the mid-2010s, new sound began to emerge in London spearheaded by producers Jae5, Blairy Hendrix, Joshua Beatz, N2theA, and rapper J Hus.[2][13][7] The sound fused afrobeats, bashment, and afro-trap together, along with a melodic style of rapping with gritty, hood lyrical themes.
In 2014, J Hus did a popular freestyle on YouTube channel GRM Daily showcasing his distinctive style.[12] The first notable song in the genre was released in 2015, titled "Dem Boy Paigon", quickly elevating J Hus' status and becoming club hit, and soon after ushering in a new wave of artists making similar music.[2][12][7] J Hus' sound was a unique blend of Ghanaian 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.[12]
Many new artists began to crop up from 2015 onwards. Kojo Funds, who coined the name 'afroswing', made his break-out single "Dun Talkin'" in 2016.[6]
The genre has been supported by YouTube channels such as GRM Daily, LinkUp 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.[2][12] Many afroswing artists, such as J Hus, 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 500k copies.[1] EO's song "German" peaked at number 13,[14][1] and J Hus' single "Did You See" got to number 9 on the charts and became the most streamed single of 2017.[1] Another major artist in the genre, Kojo Funds, gained a "Best Song Award" at the MOBO Awards in 2017 for his song "Dun Talkin'" with Abra Cadabra.
In 2015, a three-member group called WSTRN gained international attention via Drake's OVO Sound Radio, which had played their 2015 breakout single "In2" on Beats1.[3]
In 2017, J Hus released his album Common Sense. 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.[15][11]
In 2018, afroswing artists such as WSTRN, Yxng Bane, Not3s, and Hardy Caprio appeared at SXSW festival in Texas, the first time the genre had ever been represented at the festival.[3]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
Informasi ini disarikan dari Wikipedia dan disajikan kembali untuk tujuan edukasi. Konten tersedia di bawah lisensi CC BY-SA 3.0. Kami tidak bertanggung jawab atas ketidakakuratan data yang bersumber dari kontribusi publik tersebut.