Afrobeats beats
Afrobeats moves the body before the words arrive: percussion that rolls around the kick, a bass that bounces, chords that stay warm. TH6 makes afrobeats beats to order, built around your melody and your references.
What afrobeats is
Afrobeats is the pop sound of West Africa, grown mainly in Nigeria and Ghana in the 2000s and 2010s. It mixes local rhythms and highlife guitars with hip-hop, R&B and dancehall, and from Lagos and Accra it reached clubs and charts across the world.
It is not the same as afrobeat without the s: that is the funk-and-jazz genre Fela Kuti built in Lagos in the 1970s, with long songs and big horn sections. Afrobeats carries some of that legacy, but it is shorter, poppier and made for the voice.
The sound of an afrobeats beat
- Tempo: 95 to 115 BPM, most often around 100 to 108.
- Drums: a kick that skips around the beat, rimshots and claps, and shakers and congas that keep everything moving.
- Groove: syncopation everywhere; the space between the hits matters as much as the hits.
- Chords and melody: warm keys, plucked guitars and bright synths, simple and repeated.
- Bass: a round bass that bounces with the kick.
Writing to an afrobeats beat
Afrobeats melodies are relaxed and repetitive, sung more than rapped. Let the percussion carry the energy and keep the vocal light on top of it. Call-and-response hooks and short phrases a crowd can sing back work especially well.
A custom afrobeats beat from TH6
Send the afrobeats songs whose bounce you want and a voice memo of your melody. TH6 builds the percussion and the chords around your voice, so the groove fits how you sing.
How a custom beat works
- Send references: two or three songs whose sound you want, your tempo if you know it, and a voice memo or demo.
- You get one price up front, based on your brief. There is no standard rate, because no two songs are the same job.
- TH6 builds a first version. You react, and the beat gets shaped around your song.
- You get the WAV, the stems and an exclusive licence in writing.
Good to know
All genres
Questions before you buy
What BPM is afrobeats?
Between 95 and 115 BPM, most often around 100 to 108.
Is afrobeats the same as afrobeat?
No. Afrobeat is the 1970s genre from Lagos, built on funk and jazz. Afrobeats is the modern West African pop sound, mixed with hip-hop, R&B and dancehall.
Is there an afrobeats beat I can lease now?
Not yet: afrobeats beats are made to order. The catalogue has hoodtrap, sexy drill and hip-hop beats from € 75.