Afrobeat

Afrobeat on vinyl: from Lagos to London

In short: Afrobeat was born in Lagos in the late sixties: Fela Kuti and his drummer Tony Allen combined highlife, jazz, American funk and Yoruba rhythms into long, hypnotic pieces with political lyrics. Today the style lives on worldwide – especially in London. The Vinyl Room currently has 79 Afrobeat records.

What is Afrobeat?

Its heart is the drums: Tony Allen’s intricate, springy grooves, with horn sections, organ and call-and-response vocals on top. Here Allen is represented with “No Discrimination” and “Afro Disco Beat”. Collections such as “Afro Baby” show how the Afro sound developed in seventies Nigeria.

As early as the start of the seventies, South African musicians in London played Afro-rock as Assagai; today Ezra Collective and Tenderlonious carry Afrobeat into the London jazz scene.

What to look for

Besides Nigerian original pressings from the seventies, many classics exist as reissues and collections – edition and condition are noted with each copy.

From our stock

First pressings

New in

→ Tony Allen · Ezra Collective · African · Highlife · Soul & funk on vinyl · How to spot a first pressing · Grading explained

FAQ

What is Afrobeat? Music from Nigeria that combines highlife, jazz, funk and Yoruba rhythms – with long pieces and often political lyrics.

Who invented Afrobeat? Fela Kuti and his drummer Tony Allen in Lagos in the late sixties.

Is Afrobeat the same as Afrobeats? No – Afrobeats (with an s) means today’s West African pop music, Afrobeat the style of Fela Kuti and Tony Allen.

Is there new Afrobeat? Yes – here, for example, from Ezra Collective and Tenderlonious from London.