A Summary of African Musical Practices and it spread around the world 1900-2019

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Do you know about popular culture and its dissemination process?

If you do not know about the concept of popular culture, please feel free to leave a comment below and i will make an article to enlighten you on Popular Culture.

So music is part of the ways in which popular culture is disseminated and it is visible that African sounds have played a role in music generally just like other countries/continent have to, today post would be on African sounds and musical practices has spread around the world.

The influence of African culture on modern music globally cannot be over-emphasized, especially as many musicians  across the world have integrated elements of African music into their own, thus, creating a sound unique to their culture [1]. The African elements which include the instruments, playing style, claps, dancing, and overall energy have been absorbed by musicians around the globe. It then appears that despite cultural differences in the world, music serves as a common means by which ideas, entertainment are spread [2], and cultures harmonised. Hence, African culture, over the years, has traversed cultural boundaries by inspiring and influencing different artists and music types and styles around the world.

African culture is diverse just like the topography of the continent itself, hence, African music is also diverse. However, there are a number of common elements to the culture and music, especially within regions [3]. This is to say that even in the cultural diversity of Africa, there are certain elements that are common or similar in all of African cultures which make them unique and different from other cultures from other parts of the world [4]. Thus, with the many shrines, gods and goddesses worshipped from Tunis in North Africa to Durban in the South, from Mogadishu in the East to Dakar in the West, what seem to be common to all in religion are the animistic and polytheistic approaches, the accompaniment of music and dance, and the possession and prophecy inherent in the total involvement of the worship [5].

Looking at the above it can be said that there is a global acknowledgement of African culture.With the inter-connectedness of the world, a phenomenon known as Globalisation, which has been aided and facilitated by the advancement in technology, particularly in Information Technology and the Media,  cultures have been fused together, creating a kind of global or universal culture, hence, a global harmony. African culture has not been left out in this global development. As a matter of fact, Africa is a prominent player in global cultural exchange and diffusion, especially, when one looks at it from the musical perspective.

African cultural traits have infiltrated much of the world music from the earliest times through modern period, especially as a result of European territorial expansion and incursion into other parts of the world, notably, Africa from the 15^th century and the attendant consequences of slave trade and colonialism which led to the transportation of millions of Africans to the New World (Americas) and Europe, hence, African cultural exodus to the larger world. During slave trade in an attempt to preserve African culture African music/musical practices spread as the saves sang for almost all occasions,   “shouting” in church,[1] even the wet nurses was said to have thought the wards they were in charge of their African songs and practices. This transcended into the spread of African Culture and music.

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Also, there was globalisation of cultures through colonial activities across the world. Moreso, the  technological revolution of the century was only going to turn the world into a global village, leading to homegeneity of human society, global cutural entanglement and eventually, global harmony. 

Thus, African  culture has had tremendous influence on the modern music of the world. Suffice to mention that popular genres of music of the world are either traceable to African root or have been greatly influenced by African culture by way of the instrumentation, dance, clapping of hands and stapping of feet, songs, etc.

since the 20th century and the advancement of technology, music has been able to spread far and wide through the internet, also with the advancement of the transportation system, artist and musicians has been able to travel around the world with other artist to promote worldwide music to exchange sounds and collaborate. 21st century has also had its share in contributing to music both African and worldwide as music is now available to the world in its simplest forms. 2019 has been a year known for the enhancement of the African sound especially through technology which involves the sharing of the songs through digital platforms and African sounds getting heard around the world eg. Fela, Burna Boy etc.

To summarize this, with the evidence of documentations, African music sound despite its diverse nature has been known to/ have spread the world since earliest times and in the 15th to 20th century it spread through Slave trade and in from 20th century to the 21st Century it has spread through technology and mutual exchange of people around the globe,

Thank you Akan Etuk for contributing to this enlightening write up.

So guys feel free to leave your contribution, suggestions via the comment section, also like and share.

Remember to check other blog post.

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[1] Jacob U. Gordon, Yoruba Cosmology and Culture in Brazil: A Study of African Survivals in the New World. Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Dec., 1979), p 232

[1] Mitchell Rieley. 2012. “The Influence of African Music Around the World”.  Availaible at: The Influence of African Music Around the World_My First Blog.html. Accessed on November 10, 2017.

[2] Mitchell Rieley. 2012. “The Influence of African Music Around the World”…

[3] New World Encyclopedia Contributors. “Music of Africa”. New World Encyclopedia. Available at: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Music_of_Africa&oldid=991886. Accessed on December 23, 2017.

[4] Beier, U. 1968. Contemporary Art in Africa. New York: Praeger Pub. Inc. p. 165.

[5] Izevbigie, O. 2000. “Native African Arts and Cultures in the New World; A case Study of African retentions in the United States of America” in African Study Monographs, 21 (2).pp.45.

picture Credit: https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/african-music?sort=best&mediatype=photography&phrase=african%20music

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/zimbabwean-musician-oliver-mtukudzi-plays-guitar-as-he-news-photo/1125465725?adppopup=true

https://www.musicinafrica.net/magazine/traditional-music-africa

https://www.britannica.com/art/African-music/Musical-structure