×
App Icon
The Standard e-Paper
Truth Without Fear
★★★★ - on Play Store
Download Now
Vocalize Pre-Player Loader

Audio By Vocalize

Nigeria Sensation Wizkid on stage at the Wiz Kid Live in Nairobi concert at KICC in 2017. [File, Standard]

It was another Grammy Awards season and a growing list of African nominees. For African music enthusiasts, it is heartwarming that recognition is being accorded to practitioners in the Afrobeats space.

Afrobeat and Afrobeats, although related, are quite distinct. Afrobeats is the genre that emerged when West African pop music became cool. Afrobeat, on the other hand, is what Nigerian music icon Fela Anikulapo-Kuti called his invention, which blended jazz, funk, psychedelic rock and traditional West African chant and rhythms in the early 1970s.

Premium Article

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Uncover the stories others won't tell. Subscribe now for exclusive access.
Continue Reading  →
What you get
  • Unlimited access to all premium content
  • Ad-free browsing experience
  • Mobile-optimised reading
  • Weekly newsletters & digests
Pay via
M - PESA
VISA
Airtel Money
Secure Payments Kenya's most trusted newsroom since 1902
Sports
It's fresh faces and familiar rivals as Stars prepare for 2027 Afcon
Football
SportPesa Premier League: APS Bomet edge Bandari to ease relegation fears
Rugby
Experienced Okello, Chajira named in Kenya Lionesses squad for Rugby Africa Cup
Football
McCarthy set for emotional South Africa reunion after AFCON Draw