Afro-Funk Rock
tagStarted 1970Peak 1972-1980Last big hit still activeFrom West Africa
Located in 1 route
West African Afrobeat fused with funk-rock muscle: interlocking polyrhythmic percussion and tense tenor-guitar lines over deep horn riffs, organ and a hypnotic, repetitive groove. Long, building arrangements layer call-and-response chant and saxophone solos. Trance-inducing and politically charged, it grooves hard and patiently.
History
Pioneered by Fela Kuti, who fused Nigerian highlife and Yoruba rhythm with James Brown funk and jazz into Afrobeat from the late '60s. Tony Allen's drumming and Kuti's Africa 70 defined it; a Brooklyn revival led by Antibalas and the Budos Band, plus Ghana's funk scene, carried Afro-funk rock into the 2000s.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrobeat
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fela_Kuti
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibalas