Afrobeats is dominating Africa’s music scene right now. Yes, the genre is played all over the world, and tops various charts across the continent, but Africa boasts numerous more. Kuduro, Coupe Decale, Gqom, Amapiano are all various genres of African music with strong fanbases. Yet another, African electronic dance music (Afro EDM), is gaining traction and prominence with an increased presence on newly curated playlists.
Afro EDM has several defining traits: in essence, it is a mix of Afrobeat/Afro-pop and EDM. Think of it as a blend of Wizkid, Avicii, Sakordie and Marshmello.
Here are some of the Afro EDM tunes we think you should have on your playlists.
12:01 (ADM Remix) – Cina Soul
Cina Soul’s “12:01” is a remix of her original, soulful “00:00”. The Afro-EDM remix produced by Nigerian producer Pheelz has similar structure to European EDM songs.
Watch the video here:
Desole – Mestar Oscar
Ghanaian musician and songwriter, Mestar Oscar release “Desole” in 2019. The song is a high energy afro EDM with a throbbing bassline that may have you involuntarily tapping your toes.
Stream “Desole” below:
Bie Mu Remix – #IFKR
Ghanaian Disk Jockeys, DJ K3V and Eff The DJ (together, known as #IFKR) have honed their talents and are currently two of the best new school DJs in Accra. The pair features Supa Gaeta, CJ Biggerman and Magnom in the remix to their latest single “Bie Mu”. The artists released their album “U Hxve Nx Idxv” in 2018 and it featured Odunsi The Engine and Kirani Ayat – evidence that these two know how to spot talent early on.
Listen to “Bie Mu” remix here:
Dance Plug/KaaLA – Gafacci
Ghanaian artist, Gafacci, whose music productions combine local Ghanaian funk-infused music (Asopkor) with electronic dance, released “Kaala”, a song off his January 2020 EP “Face The Wall”. He followed that with “Dance Plug”. Gafacci professional music journey started in 2010 and he has since been on a roll.
Check out “Dance Plug” and “Kaala” below:
Kaizen – CH!NJONG X CH!NJONG & Sensei Lo
Camerounian musical pair, “CH!NJONG X CH!NJONG” featured Ghanaian Afro-Electronic DJ, “Sensei lo” on their latest single “Kaizen”. These musicians combine indigenous African sounds with different sounds from the rest of the world to create a unique hybrid.
Listen to “Kaizen” here:
Finders keepers/ How far – Red Red
Red Red (not the popular Ghanaian street food) a music duo made up of Ghanaian rapper “M3nsa” (one half of FOKN Boys) and Hungarian reggae artist, Elo Morton. The pair met in Accra almost a decade ago and have since gone on to produce lots of African EDMs.
Listen to “Finders Keepers” featuring Sena and watch the video to 2016 hit song, “How far”:
sbcnsly – Black coffee ft Sabrina Claudio
Ace South African Producer Black Coffee enlists Sabrina Claudio for his latest song, “SBCNSLY”. Sabrina, the rising R&B songstress, dropped amazing vocals over the rhythmic instrumental.
Stream the song now:
Good Loving – Bankyondbeatz FT dj yin
Nigerian producer BankyOnDaBeatz collaborated with DJ Yin for his single “Good Loving”. Three years on, the song, with traces of autotune, is still a banger and will get anybody moving to the rhythm.
Check out “Good Loving” below:
Winner – TMXO
Timi Aladeloba, aka TMXO, is a grammy-nominated Nigerian producer who has been making music since 2013. He has worked with Burna Boy, Ice Prince and several of Nigeria’s great. In 2020 he released “TMX001: Aladeloba” which features an impressive single titled, “Winner”.
Listen to the song here: