Afrobeats Influence On American Music

The first song that came to mind when thinking about Afrobeats influence on American music was Wale’s “My Sweetie". Many Africans are familiar with the old school song “Let Me Love You” by Bunny Mack (Sierra Leone) but Wale decided to put a spin on it by sampling it in his hit. For those who don’t know, Wale is a Nigerian-American rapper from Maryland/DC. He’s been in the industry since 2005 and is known for his clever puns.

Here's the original by Bunny Mack:

Here's Wale's:

Rick Ross was featured on P-Square’s single “Beautiful Onyinye” which caught me by surprise when I first heard it. That infamous "M-M-M-Maybach Music" let's you know it's official! After returning from Liberia, I thought that it meant that African music had finally gone mainstream and into America, which in some aspects it did.

Fally Ipupa is from the Democratic Republic of Congo and is one of the most paid African musicians. He featured Oliva (you may remember her from G-Unit or “Candy Shop” with 50 Cent) on his single "Chaise Electrique". She was actually rumored to have dated Fally Ipupa and it seems like a nice song came out of that relationship.

Although not necessarily an Afrobeat influence on this, Beyonce’s “Run the World” definitely incorporated some African tradition. In fact, the opening dance that she performed was created by Tofo Tofo, a Mozambican kwaito dance group who she flew to the US to teach her the dance and to star in her music video.

Here's Tofo Tofo performing at a wedding:

And here they go in Beyonce's video: