Given the vastness of the African continent, its music is diverse, with many distinct musical traditions among regions and nations. African music comprise Jùju, Fuji, Highlife, Makossa, Kizomba, Afrobeats, and other genres. Afrobeats seems to be the biggest and most popular.
Afrobeat emerged in the 1960s and 1970s as a fusion of traditional Yoruba music with jazz, West African highlife, and funk. Fela Kuti, a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader, coined the term in the 1960s and is credited with popularising the style both within and outside of Nigeria.
The fusion of the yoruba language in afrobeat music appears to be the underpinning element, regardless of who is singing afrobeat or where it is sung. It loses its afrobeat feel if it is not partially or entirely sung in Yoruba. This is why alot of Afrobeats artist from Nigeria adds yoruba language into their lyrics.
The yoruba people are considered to be the largest ethnic group in Africa. The Yorùbá are an African ethnic group who live in western Africa. Yoruba people number approximately 105 million people in total and with an estimated 40 million yoruba people in Africa. Members live on Nigeria’s southern and western borders, as well as in southern Benin. The majority of this population is from Nigeria, where the Yorùbá make up 21 percent of the country’s population, making them one of Africa’s largest ethnic groups, according to the CIA World Factbook. The majority of Yoruba people speak Yoruba.
Outside of Africa, the yoruba population exist in several countries in South America. This dates back to the Atlantic slave trade and now the yoruba people have communities in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Saint Lucia, Jamaica, Brazil, Grenada, and Trinidad and Tobago, among other places.
When African slaves from the west were brought to South America, they brought their Yoruba religion, language and culture with them
Yoruba people have also established large communities in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada as a result of recent migrations.
The yoruba people’s large population has had a significant positive impact on the spread of Afrobeats throughout the world. Wherever afrobeat is played in Africa, it is easily understood by the yoruba communities in that region, which they then play at their parties and events, promoting the genre.
Culture Beyond the Mainstream 