Defining Music Genres (Part 1)
African Folk - Music held to be typical of a nation or ethnic group, known to all segments of its society, and preserved usually by oral tradition.
Afro Jazz - Refers to jazz music which has been heavily influenced by African music. The music took elements of marabi, swing and American jazz and synthesized this into a unique fusion. The first band to really achieve this synthesis was the South African band Jazz Maniacs.
Afro-Beat - Is a combination of Yoruba music, jazz, Highlife, and funk rhythms, fused with African percussion and vocal styles, popularized in Africa in the 1970s.
Afro-Pop - A general term used to refer to contemporary, popular African music.
Apala - Originally derived from the Yoruba people of Nigeria. It is a percussion-based style that developed in the late 1930s, when it was used to wake worshippers after fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Assiko - is a popular dance from the South of Cameroon. The band is usually based on a singer accompanied with a guitar, and a percussionist playing the pulsating rhythm of Assiko with metal knives and forks on an empty bottle.
Batuque - is a music and dance genre from Cape Verde.
Bend Skin - is a kind of urban Cameroonian popular music. Kouchoum Mbada is the most well-known group associated with the genre.
Benga - Is a musical genre of Kenyan popular music. It evolved between the late 1940s and late 1960s, in Kenya's capital city of Nairobi.
Biguine - is a style of music that originated in Martinique in the 19th century. By combining the traditional bele music with the polka, the black musicians of Martinique created the biguine, which comprises three distinct styles, the biguine de salon, the biguine de bal and the biguines de rue.
Bikutsi - is a musical genre from Cameroon. It developed from the traditional styles of the Beti, or Ewondo, people, who live around the city of Yaounde.
Bongo Flava - it has a mix of rap, hip hop, and R&B for starters but these labels don't do it justice. It's rap, hip hop and R&B Tanzanian style: a big melting pot of tastes, history, culture and identity.
Cadence - is a particular series of intervals or chords that ends a phrase, section, or piece of music.
Calypso - is a style of Afro-Caribbean music which originated in Trinidad at about the start of the 20th century. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of African slaves, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song.
Chaabi - is a popular music of Morocco, very similar to the Algerian Rai.
Chimurenga - is a Zimbabwean popular music genre coined by and popularised by Thomas Mapfumo. Chimurenga is a Shona language word for struggle.
Watch for Part 2 of this series -- due for publication on May 28th!
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