Alegria
Afrobeats

Nigeria / Ghana, 2010s

AFROBEATS

The pan-African pop of the 2010s

Afrobeats (with an "s") refers to a new generation of pan-African pop born in Nigeria and Ghana in the late 2000s. Wizkid, Burna Boy, Davido, Rema, Tems, Ayra Starr, Ckay, and Asake fuse R&B, dancehall, hip-hop, house, and West African rhythms into short productions calibrated for the club and for streaming.

Unlike Fela's original Afrobeat — with which it shares only the name — Afrobeats is a music of 3-minute songs, danced to viral choreographies: Zanku, Shaku Shaku, Gwara Gwara, Legwork, Alkayida. Every hit comes with its own "challenge" spread on TikTok and Instagram, making Lagos and Accra the new epicenters of global pop.

How it's danced

Technique & figures

Afrobeats is danced to 4/4 tempos at 100-115 BPM. The body stays low, the knees bent, the hips active. Musicality comes from the ability to isolate each instrumental section — kick, snare, shaker, log drum — within the body. It's an improvisational dance, but every "step" has a name, a creator, and an associated track.

Styles and fundamentals

The style is made up of dozens of viral "challenges" that appear and disappear with each hit. Most are danced solo facing the camera, or in small synchronized groups. The weight stays forward, the hips work in isolation, and the arms often mime an action (phone, belt, screen).

Main figures

  • 01

    Zanku (Legwork)

    A rapid hop on the toes, hands out front. Created by Zlatan Ibile in 2019, adopted across the whole scene.

  • 02

    Shaku Shaku

    Bent knees, arms crossed in an X, bouncing shoulders. Viral in Nigeria in 2017-2018.

  • 03

    Gwara Gwara

    A South African step popularized by DJ Bongz: swinging arms and one leg scraping the ground in a circle.

  • 04

    Alkayida

    Knees knocking against each other, arms sweeping. Comes from Ghana (2013), popularized by Guru.

  • 05

    Odi

    Kenyan in origin, adopted by the Afrobeats scene: a side step with a slight jump and arm throw.

  • 06

    Sped-up hip roll

    A rapid hip roll used on the most danceable productions, inherited from West African isolations.

Reading the music

Wizkid (Essence, Ojuelegba), Burna Boy (Ye, Last Last), Davido (Fall, Unavailable), Rema (Calm Down), Tems, Ayra Starr, Asake, Ckay (Love Nwantiti). Productions at 100-115 BPM, heavily marked by shaker and amapiano log drum.

Did you know?

The "s" that changes everything

N° 01

Fela Kuti hated the idea of his music being lumped in with Nigerian pop. The "s" of Afrobeats was actually added by the London scene in the 2010s to distinguish the two genres.

Wizkid & Beyoncé

N° 02

In 2019, Beyoncé enlisted Wizkid for the album The Lion King: The Gift, cementing the global recognition of Afrobeats.

TikTok as accelerator

N° 03

Ckay's track "Love Nwantiti" became, thanks to TikTok, the first African song to surpass one billion streams on Spotify.

Explore the rhythms

Same family

Rythmes Africains

Cross connections

Styles from other families that share a common language with Afrobeats.