Africa has had a profound influence on the development of music. Its syncopated rhythms and call-and-response form are at the heart of classic genres like blues, jazz, rock, funk, soul, salsa, and cumbia. And they’re found in essentially all styles of modern popular music, including hip-hop, house, dancehall, and reggaeton.
Africa is also home to its own diverse and thriving pop scene, which has become increasingly popular outside of the continent in recent years. Styles like Afrobeats and amapiano can be heard in clubs around the world, from London and Paris to New York City and Dubai. African stars like Wizkid, Burna Boy, Davido, and Tiwa Savage have received billions of streams, and collaborated with some of the world’s biggest artists, such as Justin Bieber, Drake, J Balvin, and Major Lazer.
Today, we’re proud to announce that African music is now an official genre on Beatsource. In addition to adding thousands of African tracks to our catalog, our curator DJames has created dozens of playlists to help DJs navigate the exciting and growing genre. We’ve also added a link to African music on our website navigation for easy access.
Check out some of our best African playlists below and browse the genre’s page here.
