Grammy's Afrobeats & Hiplife: African Contemporary Music

Catalog description

With active recording artists as class guests, and visits to selected recording studios, the class explores how multiple artists and musical forms from different continents have continued to influence African popular music. This course starts with a deep dive into the history of recorded music and leads to the current explosion of afrobeats in this region. From Fela to Davido, Shatta Wale, Burna Boy, Wizkid, Stoweboy, Wanlov, Fokn Bois, Becca Rema, and more. Classes will be enriched with excursions to recording studios and special events such as a possible masterclass with Universal Music Group on the business of selling African music to the world.The utility of music as an artistic tool of social expression and liberation within the African space is interrogated. With special attention to West Africa and Ghana, latest genres such as Afro beat and their impact on the modern African music scene; as well as the trends, challenges and opportunities presented by technology in the music evolutionary process are critically examined.