Currently, it is gradually becoming a craze for Ghanaian upcoming musicians to answer when asked ‘what genre of music they do with’ – “I do Afro pop.” Unfortunately, no Ghanaian musician is currently an Afro pop musician – take it or leave it.

They think by saying they are Afro pop artistes, they transcend Ghana, meanwhile, just few kilometers out of Accra exposes most of them as only Accra artistes; not to talk of being known in many African countries. When they are asked what is Afro pop music or who an Afro pop musician is, their ignorance on what they claim to be is always further exposed!

Afro pop is not a genre of music as it is widely believed and accepted in Ghana. Afro pop is just a description of music or song. In the English lexicon, the word Afro has one of two meanings; first, Afro (as a noun) is; “a rounded thickly curled hairdo.”

Secondly, Afro (as an adjective) is prefixed to certain names to mean; “involving Africa or Africans.” The “pop” is just the short form of the word popular. There are many names or phrases in which the word Afro has been prefixed to in history with different meanings but Africa or Africans is always a constant.

They include but not limited to: Afro-wig – “a wig that gives the appearance of an African hairdo.” Afrocarpus – “dioecious evergreen trees or shrubs equatorial to southern and southeastern Africa.” Afro-Caribbean – “a person of African descent from or living in the Caribbean.”Afroasiatic -a large family of related languages spoken both in Asia and Africa.

So Afro pop music simply means a popular African music or song engineered with authentic African rhythms and beats or instrumentation. What are these African beats, rhythms and instrumentations? And have these beats, rhythms and instrumentations been accepted by all African countries or most Africans?

If popular Highlife music is Afro pop to Ghanaians, is it Afro pop to Cameroonians, Kenyans, South Africans, Malians, Zimbabweans, etc? The answer is no! Indeed, Afro pop could stand for many genres of music in different African countries. Examples: Highlife, Kwaito, Apala, Sakara, Taarab, Jùjú, Mbaqanga, Reggae, Zouglou, Kapuka aka Boomba, etc.

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