{"id":122012,"date":"2023-09-12T12:45:44","date_gmt":"2023-09-12T10:45:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/?p=122012"},"modified":"2023-09-12T17:02:30","modified_gmt":"2023-09-12T15:02:30","slug":"history-afrobeats-producers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/history-afrobeats-producers\/","title":{"rendered":"A history of Afrobeats producers, from boy bands to ballads"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Afrobeats got its first kick, gleaning off other genres. Afrobeats<\/a>  \u2014 not to be confused with the Fela<\/a> upstart, Afrobeat, \u2014 began as a potpourri of sounds,  influenced by highlife<\/a>, Afrobeat<\/a>, pop, RnB, hip-hop, dancehall, and Fuji. After being largely overshadowed by hip-hop and regional highlife records in the late 1990s, Afrobeats started to pilfer its way into the local spotlight through youth and splendour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shake Bodi with boy bands and hip-hop<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

In the beginning Afrobeats was synonymous with the rise of boy-bands such as Trybesmen, The Remedies, and Plantashaun Boiz. With their 1998 hit single “Shake Bodi,” performed by the trio Trybesmen (Eldee, KB, and Freestyle) established a rhythm that was both recognizable and distinctive. The song combined hip-hop synths with relatable lyrics over ear-pleasing drum patterns. \u201cI looked around for producers, but I couldn\u2019t find any that wanted to make what I wanted to make. My early influences showed me that it was more important to be original,<\/em>” producer, artist, and founding member of Trybesmen,  Eldee, said when I asked him about the inspiration behind the music at the time, “I knew if we could find a way to blend hip-hop, Afrobeats, and highlife, maybe we could find something unique.<\/em>\u201d Later, Trybesmen would be the first musicians to seek local music distribution via Nigeria’s now infamous Alaba Market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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