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Afro pop is a genre of music that goes beyond contemporary African music sound we hear today. There is more to it than just the name its called but on this post we may not detail all that as what we have to discuss is the structures of Afro pop and how to make it standard but there is a post on our blog where it is discussed to its fullness.
However, Afro pop encompasses many music style. In this origin, it has more than 50 other styles in one. This originally wasn’t in vogue at the time Fela Kuti was alive and had his name tied to Afrobeats. What I hear today is styles from the handwork of Wizkid, Davido and many other including Burnaboy. So this should not be confused. What I mean is that Fela Kuti is tied to afrobeats alone or some other kind of musics but not Afro-Pop.
It’s clearly known that Afrobeats is pioneered by Nigerian musicians Fela Kuti and Tony Allen in the 1970s, Afrobeat and it combines jazz and highlife (a mix of jazz, calypso and brass band music).
This Afrobeats is a part thats among the styles of music that make Afropop.This music includes Soukous, Tsapika, Kwaito, among others.
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Afro pop is more like a type that unifies this genre into one and who started this were the likes of Wizkid, Davido among others.
I understand if I don’t detail this as seen above people may tend to doubt me but I know its not far from the fact that Fela Kuti was so famous in Afrobeats that they tend to mistake it and associate him to afropop without knowing that afrobeats is a sub genre in afropop.
I would have loved to argue this more based on the inlined claim above but this isnt the topic for today. What we would want to discuss is the structures of Afro pop and how to make it standard. Below is the way afro pop is structured.
Now what is the structures of Afro pop and how to make it standard
Most genre of music are structured in unique ways that reflect the exact genre they represent.
Afro pop song basically follows a typical song structure which includes verse, chorus and bridges but there is a shift from this thus Afro Pop is structured in below pattern.
- Intro
- Verse 1
- Chorus
- Verse 2
- Chorus
- Bridge/chorus (sometimes omitted)
- Outro
Afro-pop comes in the following arrangement: intro, verse — chorus — verse — chorus —bridge — chorus — outro.
This is prevalent in the music of Wizkid and Davido who are the big names in the Afro Pop music. We tend to see this pattern in Burna Boy music and other musicians from african and Nigeria in Particular.
Below I am going to list some good examples of this pattern of composition that makes the structures of Afro pop.
Now lets look through the Lyrics below to see The structures of Afro pop in action.
[Intro]
(It’s Legendury Beatz)
Yea, yea, yea, yea
Wizzy baba o
Dami loun oluwa wizzy
[Verse 1]
Ni ojuelegba
They know my story, from Mo’Dogg’s studio
I be hustle to work, ehh
Ni ojuelegba, o
Me and Silly, from Mo’Dogg’s studio
We been hustle to work, ehh
Ni ojuelegba, o
My people dey there, my people suffer
Dem dey pray for blessing, ehh
Ni ojuelegba, o
My people dey there, dem dey pray for blessing
For better living, eh, eh
Kilo dale
Aiye o le to yen o
Aiye o ni double
Adura lo le se o
Call on daddy, baba God
Adura a gba o
Tisu eni ba dele
A fowo bo n je
[Chorus]
I am feeling good tonight
This thing got me thanking God for life
Oh, I can’t explain
I can’t explain, eh, yea
I am feeling good tonight
This thing got me thanking God for life
I can’t explain
I can’t explain, eh, yea
I say
[Verse 2]
Ni ojuelegba
They know my story, from Mo’Dogg’s studio
I be hustle to work, eeh
Ni ojuelegba
Me and Silly from Mo’Dogg’s studio
We been hustle to work
See eh e kira fun mummy mi o
Ojojumo lo n s’adura
Mon jaiye mi won ni won soro ju
Ojojumo owo n wole wa
E kira fun mummy mi o
Ojojumo lo n s’adura
Mon jaiye mi won ni won soro ju
Won ni won ni won soro ju
[Chorus]
I am feeling good tonight
This thing got me thanking God for life
Oh I can’t explain
I can’t explain, eh, yea
I am feeling good tonight
This thing got me thanking God for life
Oh I can’t explain
I can’t explain, eh, yea
[Outro]
Suka Sounds
Yea, eh, eh