When the top stars of the music world gather tomorrow, Sunday, for the Grammy Awards, a new award for Best African Music Performance will be presented. This award reflects the growing popularity of "afrobeats" music and other various styles from the African continent, which are gaining a global audience thanks to social media platforms like TikTok.
Afrobeats music originated in West Africa, particularly in Ghana and Nigeria. However, the term "afrobeats" is often used to refer to various music styles coming from Africa, characterized by their fusion of different rhythms and musical styles, ranging from rap to jazz, R&B, and more. Billboard correspondent Hiran Mamu stated, "Modern afrobeats music has a fun and upbeat rhythm." She added that it will reach a broader audience because it combines various musical styles and meets the diverse desires of listeners.
Afrobeats music was streamed on Spotify 13.5 billion times in 2022, up from 2 billion in 2017. In another achievement, Nigerian singer Burna Boy became the first African artist to sell out a concert in an American stadium when he performed at Citi Field in New York last summer. Among the musicians nominated for the new Grammy award tomorrow is Tella, a 22-year-old South African singer. She reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 with her song "Water," which is an example of a genre known as "Amapiano," combining jazz and piano music.
For American teenagers, TikTok is the second source for discovering music after YouTube, according to a recent survey by Media Research, which showed that 45% of people aged 16 to 19 discovered new songs through the platform. Among the artists who gained popularity on TikTok is Nigerian rapper Rema, who collaborated with Selena Gomez on the song "Calm Down," which reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 last June.
