₦airaland Forum

IyfeNamikaze:
As in.... Even the Father of Afrobeat, Fela Kuti, didn't even have any entry in the genre he created. Make it make sense i feel they just picked African Queen as number 1 and then randomly picked 49 Naija songs to complete the list.

Afrobeat (fela's genre of music) is different from afrobeats (what we have ranked up there) according to oyinbo that have given the name and made the distinction.

Afrobeats is contemporary west African pop song heavy on bass and African drum, but Afrobeat is fela's music, completely different even though easy to confuse.

God1000:
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/08/2baba-wizkid-flavour-lead-billboards-afrobeats-top-songs-of-all-time-full-list/?

Afro beat without a single Fela's song LMAO 🤣😂 what an insult.

Manfromlasvegas:
Afrobeat (fela's genre of music) is different from afrobeats (what we have ranked up there) according to oyinbo that have given the name and made the distinction.

Afrobeats is contemporary west African pop song heavy on bass and African drum, but Afrobeat is fela's music, completely different even though easy to confuse.

care to elaborate more on this?

Bukola94:
There is another song by Faze that deserves to be there, where he sang Awolowo or mo ti wa tipe, just to tell you how far.

The song is titled “Originality.”

Burna - Tested, Approved and Trusted/Common Person
Olamide - Anifowose
Teni - Hustle
Wizkid - Ojuelegba
TuFace - African Queen.

In no particular order, these are among the very best.

Manfromlasvegas:
Afrobeat (fela's genre of music) is different from afrobeats (what we have ranked up there) according to oyinbo that have given the name and made the distinction.

Afrobeats is contemporary west African pop song heavy on bass and African drum, but Afrobeat is fela's music, completely different even though easy to confuse.

So na oyibo suppose give name and make distinctions for your own African music? Chai who black people offend?

IyfeNamikaze:
How they left out Angelique Kidjo in that list is what I can't understand.

It seems they are Naija list.

Jibsonified:
Seeing Ijoya is Epic for me!! That song, the video animation, Weird MC! Damn, that era was epic for Naija music

I'm telling you.

The list no complete without Shayo by Bigiano

Bukola94:
There is another song by Faze that deserves to be there, where he sang Awolowo or mo ti wa tipe, just to tell you how far.

Originality

Cmanforall:
MI didn’t make it?
Joke

MI is a rapper

What about KUKERE BY IYANYA?

Thunderfayamods:
So na oyibo suppose give name and make distinctions for your own African music? Chai who black people offend?

Na we cause am now. We look to them for validation, so they name our names, discover our lands, and tell our stories. We eye their awards, and value too much, instead of disregarding the token recognition they grudgingly bestow upon us. For many of us, we have not arrived until they say we have, we have not spoken until they say we have, this is the problem.


For instance, why do we care about the billboard top 50 Afrobeat song? When did the billboard start paying attention to Nigerian pop music? We should rather be discussing the sound city, the hip TV, the kk and D1 (kennis music) top 50 Afrobeat song. These are the true chroniclers of our contemporary popular music, they are the only voices that should matter, not some foreign media house that basically jumped on the bandwagon.

Bukola94:
Dagrin deserve to be there, whether dead or alive

I think so. The guy was good

IyfeNamikaze:
care to elaborate more on this?

Oyinbo people created the confusion and then made the distinction effectively creating the disease and providing the cure.

Basically oyinbo music people were familiar with our Fuji, highlife, JuJu, Afrobeat (fela) type of music but they did not rate our hip-hop music. They thought that Nigerians only sang those type of music not knowing that our own version of hip-hop was now ruling the street. When they finally started to rate our modern type of music they did not know what to call it. They could not call it hip-hop, because hip-hop is for them, and in any case our type of hip-hop was different, it fused/ incorporated a whole lot of traditional African musical elements. They could not also call it Fuji, highlife, JuJu, or fela's afrobeat, so they foolishly chose to call it afrobeats (with an 's') creating a needless confusion with fela's own afrobeat.

So what does afrobeats mean? Afrobeats is any contemporary popular music from Africa, especially west africa, especially Nigeria, whether it is hip-hop, or reggae, or blues, any genre at all, as far as it is not exclusively a traditional African musical genre like fuji or highlife ( meaning that traditional African musical genre like fuji or highlife with modern beats or musical style is considered now as afrobeats). It is an arbitrary term in a true musical sense that basically means modern, popular music from Africa (that is not amapiano)


This is why burna boy said he doesn't sing afrobeats that he sings afro-fusion, that calling it afrobeats doesn't make any sense because it confuses it with fela's music (Afrobeat a distinct genre). Burna boy said he sings afro-fusion because his music like those of his African contemporaries is a fusion of distinct musical styles and genres and is not Afrobeat.

Anyways, I think Burna boy is correct, but I will suggest we call it Afropop but certainly not afrobeats to avoid confusion with Afrobeat. So when you see afrobeats with s, it doesn't mean fela's music, or angelica kidjo, or Selif keita, or king sunny Ade, think of Tuface, Burna, Dbanj, Whizkid, Davido etc.

That is why in the ranking we have up there, you don't see music from those old musicians like Fela, you see only from Tuface downwards because Afrobeats does not mean Afrobeat.

IGBOSON1:
Can't believe they forgot to include Patoranking! Or did i miss seeing his name?

second list coming

God1000:
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/08/2baba-wizkid-flavour-lead-billboards-afrobeats-top-songs-of-all-time-full-list/?

Who the F*&K is billboard to draw up a list for Africans? And they even narrowed it down to 50 songs?

Just because they have seen that Africans have started shunning Grammy so they want to flatter the whole Africa with a list and gain relevance.?

ideatoprince18:
.... This is a shltty list.

SHYTTY to the highest heavens... who be Billboard to narrow the whole of Africa into a list of 50 songs?

Only Naija seff nova contain list of 100 songs without complain.

They were just trying to be clever by putting that AFRICAN QUEEN song at number one but they don't know it it not even AFROBEATS.

It pains me that Nigerians are even debating about what song should be on the list of 50 songs instead of thrashing it entirely.

Who had the most entry?

Thunderfayamods:
Afro beat without a single Fela's song LMAO 🤣😂 what an insult.

Fela was afrobeat , which was a fusion of classic jazz and Africa contemporary beats , afrobeats includes other genre of music like pop, hip hop, rock etc and besides starting something does necessary means you did it better than others

Tijani009:
Fela was afrobeat , which was a fusion of classic jazz and Africa contemporary beats , afrobeats includes other genre of music like pop, hip hop, rock etc and besides starting something does necessary means you did it better than others

The present day Afro beat is hip hop period!

Thunderfayamods:
The present day Afro beat is hip hop period!

Noooo it's mostly blend of both pop, hip hop and Africa contemporary beats
If you listen carefully you will hear local drums included

Tijani009:
Noooo it's mostly blend of both pop, hip hop and Africa contemporary beats
If you listen carefully you will hear local drums included

Ok.

tishbite41:
Useless list
How about Maga Don Pay
Hard Life
Ahead of the Game

them dey craze. Maga don pay and yahooze beat all those rubbish there. Except maybe ojuelegba

bukitt:
You see that Ahead of the game, that song will forever remain a classic and banger. The swag n video will always be ahead of the game. And maga don pay? Banger!!! What about make dem talk 2short and 9ice?

Make Dem Talk
Ruggedybaba

Ashawoman82:
lol, ojuelegba is literally one the greatest afro beat hit song, that was the song that gave Nigeria international recognition... Wizzy is a living legend...

You must be drunk

A selection of Top 50 Afrobeat Songs of All Time without the inclusion of the Hit songs of Fela Kuti, the Founder of Afrobeat music is ludicrous and without the hit song, "Beng Beng Beng" by his first son and fitst successor, Femi Kuti of 1998 is ridiculous.

Mirasteel:
Originality

God bless you and do have a nice weekend

tishbite41:
You must be drunk

lol 😂, but na hin opinion, is better how he spilled it out, I laff when I see your comment and is . You go say am drunk too or high, Africa queen supposed to be no.1 and 2, No one like you suppose to be in top10.

Manfromlasvegas:
Oyinbo people created the confusion and then made the distinction effectively creating the disease and providing the cure.

Basically oyinbo music people were familiar with our Fuji, highlife, JuJu, Afrobeat (fela) type of music but they did not rate our hip-hop music. They thought that Nigerians only sang those type of music not knowing that our own version of hip-hop was now ruling the street. When they finally started to rate our modern type of music they did not know what to call it. They could not call it hip-hop, because hip-hop is for them, and in any case our type of hip-hop was different, it fused/ incorporated a whole lot of traditional African musical elements. They could not also call it Fuji, highlife, JuJu, or fela's afrobeat, so they foolishly chose to call it afrobeats (with an 's') creating a needless confusion with fela's own afrobeat.

So what does afrobeats mean? Afrobeats is any contemporary popular music from Africa, especially west africa, especially Nigeria, whether it is hip-hop, or reggae, or blues, any genre at all, as far as it is not exclusively a traditional African musical genre like fuji or highlife ( meaning that traditional African musical genre like fuji or highlife with modern beats or musical style is considered now as afrobeats). It is an arbitrary term in a true musical sense that basically means modern, popular music from Africa (that is not amapiano)


This is why burna boy said he doesn't sing afrobeats that he sings afro-fusion, that calling it afrobeats doesn't make any sense because it confuses it with fela's music (Afrobeat a distinct genre). Burna boy said he sings afro-fusion because his music like those of his African contemporaries is a fusion of distinct musical styles and genres and is not Afrobeat.

Anyways, I think Burna boy is correct, but I will suggest we call it Afropop but certainly not afrobeats to avoid confusion with Afrobeat. So when you see afrobeats with s, it doesn't mean fela's music, or angelica kidjo, or Selif keita, or king sunny Ade, think of Tuface, Burna, Dbanj, Whizkid, Davido etc.

That is why in the ranking we have up there, you don't see music from those old musicians like Fela, you see only from Tuface downwards because Afrobeats does not mean Afrobeat.

Thank you for the explanation. I kind of understand it better now, I used to think they're all the same. So Afrobeat is Fela's music while "Afribeats" is Nigerian/African pop songs?

I agree with burna too and Afropop would be a more suitable name for the genre. No be today oyinbo start to dey mislabel our art

Where is Faze - Need Somebody?
One of Africa's greatest songs