Traditional Music of Africa

Afrobeat

fusion of West African with Black American music

Apala (Akpala)

Musical genre from Nigeria in the Yoruba tribal style, used to wake up the worshippers after fasting during the ramadan.

Axe

Popular music genre from Salvador, Bania, and Brazil

Axe

Fuses the Afro-caribbean styles of the Marcha, Reggae, and Calypso, and is played by carnival bands.

Jit

A hard and fast percussive Zimbabwean dance music played on drums with guitar accompaniment, influenced by Mbira-based guitar styles.

Jive

Popular music form of South African Music featuring a lively and uninhibited variation of the jitterbug, a form of swing dance.

Juju

Popular music style from Nigeria that relies on the traditional Yoruba rhythms where the instruments are more western.

Juju

Used along with traditional Dun-dun (talking drum or square drums).

Kwassa Kwassa

Dance style that begun in Zaire (late 1980s) popularized by Kanda Bongo Man.

Kwassa Kwassa

Hips move back and forth while the arms follow the hip movements.

Marabi

South African three-cjord township music of the 1930s-1960s which evolved into African Jazz.

Marabi

Use of Keyboard style that combines American Jazz, ragtime, and blues with African roots.