Pop music

Where Did Pop Music Come From?

Pop, arguably one of the most popular music genres dates back to the 50s from when it has gradually transformed into the genre we very much know and enjoy today. Its origin can be traced back to the United States and the United Kingdom and was created by the creative genius of trying to create another sound by blending various styles. Thomas Edison and Emile Berliner are known to have discovered the genre as far back as the late 19th century year 1877.

Pop is generally made for a wider young audience and that’s what distinguishes it from being just popular music. The genre in its entirety is but not limited to the infusion of rock ‘n roll into other genres like techno, jazz, R&B, etc. You’ll hear different types and interpretations of pop in different countries, continents, and regions of the world as the case may be.
In Africa, there are quite a number of music genres ranging from highlife, bongo, house, fuji, akpala, ogene, afrobeat, kwaito, etc. The introduction of pop to the African space however gave African artists the creative freedom to infuse these various genres into their songs birthing what we generally know today as Afropop.

Africa’s own subgenre of pop, Afropop is characterized mainly by the beats, percussion, lyrics, and language. Pidgin English, Yoruba, Zulu, and Swahili are some of the most common languages of Afropop.

Favourite artists in Pop

Some of the most popular and fan-favourite Afropop artists include;
- Angelique Kidjo
- Adekunle Gold
- Burna Boy
- Wizkid
- Sauti Sol
- Harmonize
- Diamond Platnumz
- Cassper Nyovest
- P-square
- Yemi Alade
- Kwesi Arthur
- Efya
- Cina Soul
- Navy Kenzo
- Ben Pol

Why you should listen to modern pop

Over the years, pop in Africa has transitioned into a more modern sound to cater to the teeming audience which now even includes not just the youths but younger and older generations.

In Africa, music is a very big part of everyday life and tradition but not everyone is generally welcoming of the Afropop sound. Some listeners and enthusiasts generally refer to Afropop as adulterated because of the incorporation of western sound into the genre. This hereby puts a limitation to how welcoming they are to listening to Afropop or checking out and following up artists making this genre.

There are other reasons why people might choose not to listen and this might include religion or just sheer preference.

Convincing a first-timer to start listening to modern African pop should not be a hassle because there are not too many reasons not to. The music speaks for itself and is hard not to encounter every other day. Radio, TVs, media houses, commercial buses, markets, and most commonly clubs and parties are places where you’ll definitely encounter Afropop.

Afropop artists have transcended from being known just in their country to Africa and the world in general. Nigeria has the biggest crop of artists emerging from the country to Africa and beyond. The country boasts of a very rich musical heritage and is home to the continent’s biggest pop stars. Artists like Davido, Burna Boy, and Wizkid have dominated the scene for years now, in turn also earning recognition and awards beyond the shores of the continent.

Now, African artists can sell out concerts and venues abroad thanks to the worldwide recognition of modern African pop. African artists are now also being sought after for collaborations by other international artists and this has paved the way for their music to penetrate the market on a more global scale. Now modern African pop acts are very much included in very popular international award ceremonies. They even go on to win some of these prestigious awards as is the case with Burna Boy who won a Grammy with his album, Twice as Tall, and Wizkid who also won a Grammy with his collaboration with Beyonce on Brown Skin Girl.
The demand for Afropop in Africa and globally by extension is a need digital platforms have come to solve. However, these digital platforms are only able to provide music to a certain audience which are people who are able to afford a smartphone and also afford paying a monthly subscription fee or are able to buy the songs online as the case may be.

Download Pop Music for Free on Mdundo.com

Mdundo.com is a Pan African digital platform that solves the need of catering for a more remote audience with low-budget feature phones at no cost at all.
Mdundo.com gives users unlimited access to legally download music in mp3 for free from their favourite artists. The platform has an immense library of 80,000 plus African artists and over 1.5 million songs to choose from.

Downloading music from Mdundo is easy; anyone with any type of phone with an internet connection can do this by visiting Mdudo.com, using the search bar to find their favourite artists and songs, and clicking on download or clicking on the play link for online streaming.