Afrobeat is a combination of traditional
jazz, music
highlife,
funk, and
chanted vocals, fused with
percussion and
vocal styles, popularised in
Africa in the 1970s. It was named by
Nigerian multi-
instrumentalist and
bandleader Fela Kuti, who is responsible for the creation of the style and spreading the genre outside of
Ghana. Fela used it to revolutionize musical structure as well as the political context in his native Nigeria. It was Kuti who coined the term "afrobeat" upon his return from a U.S. tour with his group Nigeria '70 (formerly Koola Lobitos). Afrobeat features
chants,
call-and-response vocals, and complex, interacting rhythms.