Afro Beat (Afro Funk & Afro Rock)

At the dawn of the 1970s, Fela Kuti studied the greats of soul and funk in the U.S., then headed back to Africa to form and lead the greatest of all Afro-Beat bands. As with James Brown, with whom he shared mutual admiration, Fela became the godfather of funky African pop and the benchmark by which all Afro-Beat must be judged.

By 1973, Candido Camero, Chico Hamilton, and other drum stars were beating the skins in answer to Manu DiBango's smash "Soul Makossa." (Slews of cover versions appeared until and after the banned original was released belatedly in the U.S.). It was Africa's time in jazz and pop, and drummers everywhere heard the call. "Soul Makossa" quickly became the quintessential Afro-Beat anthem, probably for all time.

The Chakachas' "Jungle Fever" and the Beginning of the End's "Funky Nassau" were giant mainstream hits with Afro-Beat at their core. Surprisingly, there weren't as many Latin-funk and calypso-funk crossovers with Afro-Beat as there could have been, perhaps because all three idioms were seemingly short-lived, struggling hybrids themselves. Afro-Beat was heard in a few soundtracks, particularly a few obscure one by Manu DiBango. In the later 1970s and 1980s, Afro-pop was eclipsed by reggae, but lately Afro-Beat has been revived.

Buying: Get that Fela. Many Afro-Beat records have been reissued for DJs, and in the case of most "Soul Makossa" covers, 7" singles usually are preferable and easier to come by than the LPs. Antibalas is a great, current NYC band in the Fela tradition.