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Africa is on the rise.
It was a bold premonition, and one without much precedent in the United States.
Given such context, theannouncementthatBillboardhas launched a U.S. Afrobeats Chart merits further interrogation.
Whether Afrobeats avoids that same convoluted path is an open question.
Its a none too subtle way of reasserting the hegemony of Western pop culture.
It ghettoizes most of the worlds music.
But the new name has led to growing pains.
The 2010s came with notable evolutions.
Spotify would later launch a Global Cultures Initiative with anAfro Hub.
Drake dropped One Dance with Lagosian superstar Wizkid netting the rapper his first Hot 100 No.
1 and recruitedalteR&B singer Tems for a feature onCertified Lover Boy.
The digital scramble for Africa was in full thrust.
The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic would send the continents cultural reach into a new stratosphere.
6 on the Rhythmic Airplay charts.
This progress has been significant.
Mainly, what is the rubric to apply for a genre?
Does it need to have an artist of African descent?
Is a pidgin or West African language required?
Are specific instruments or musical stylings necessary?
