Afrobeats is a new West African sound that gained fast popularity in the early 21st century. The term ‘Afrobeats’ was popularized by London disc jockey, DJ Abrantee. It combines modern pop and R&B with traditional African roots and themes.

Afrobeats itself is a singular genre but it incorporates and borrows from a great deal of modern African music genres including but not limited to Ghanaian "hiplife" and Nigerian "Naija music." There are also some Afrobeat influences in the rhythms and drum patterns. The genre also heavily fuses Western influences such as American hip-hop and R&B and British house music to create a unique sound.

Afrobeats had been bubbling up in the clubs as DJ’s compiled mixes of Western and African influences and artists began to experiment with the contrasting sounds. But the music was fragmented and without any formal name. In 2011, London disc jockey DJ Abrantee, who was one of the voices for popular urban radio station Choice FM (now known as Capital XTRA), brought the music to the limelight. He decided to start hosting a new segment on his radio show from 12:00 am to 2:00 am every Saturday, which he titled Afrobeats with Abrantee. The time slot was entirely dedicated to Afrobeats and launched on 16 April 2011. Over the following weeks, this segment would be one of the hottest and most tweeted about topics on Twitter. It was clear that the music was a hit when for the first time Choice FM radio station was trending on Twitter due to the excitement of this sound.

Under the new umbrella Afrobeats, new artists such as Wiz Kid and Davido began to embrace the sound and enjoy widespread popularity as the movement grew. Though the music primarily has its roots between Lagos and London, the music has began to spread into the nightlife of other major cities in Africa such as Port Harcourt, Accra, Abidjan, and Cape Town. There has also been wide adoption in cities around the world with Diasporan populations such as Washington DC, New York City, and Houston.

The music has resonated profoundly with the younger generation that views it as a bridge between modern and hip elements combined with the traditional themes from their African cultural backgrounds. The music is very “catchy” and rhythmic to dance to. It’s also majorly non-political. The music style aims to help people forget their everyday troubles, have a good time, and dance.