Afropop

noun

Af·​ro·​pop ˈa-frō-ˌpäp How to pronounce Afropop (audio)
: African popular music
Soulful, funky Afropop is Benin-born singer Angelique Kidjo's forte.Erin Taylor Monroney

Examples of Afropop in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
While West Africa’s Afropop has exploded in worldwide popularity in recent years, the music that had defined this small southern country for decades is now being defined by violence. Matthew Bremner, Rolling Stone, 5 Jan. 2025 The music is a variety from hip-hop to Afropop to Amapiano to dance music, EDM, everything. Lee Middleton, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Dec. 2024 The songs thrum with mystery and even menace, touched by something supernatural, with subtle resonances of exotica, tropicália, and Afropop, Paul Simon, and Canadian legend Terry Jacks. Spin Team, SPIN, 28 Nov. 2024 His entire discography and résumé of collaborators — who span hip-hop, jazz, R&B, pop, funk, and Afropop, among other genres — are proof of his popularity. Connor Garel, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2024 Her mix of upbeat Afropop with a soulful vocal register brought her to the mainstream. Delisa Shannon, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2024 Leaping from Highlife to Afropop, then Atlanta rap to ambient electronic, Amaarae undressed her conservative and feral impulses on the 2023 release that arrived three years after her debut. Pitchfork, 1 Oct. 2024 But that is enough space to nod to Chappell Roan’s meteoric rise and the hold that Brat Summer had on the collective imagination, as well as Future and Metro Boomin’s world-shaking collaboration and Tyla’s vision of Afropop. Maura Johnston, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2024 The rest of the album continues to deny itself the popular Amapiano-fication of Afropop for the styles of Afrobeats’ origins instead. Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 11 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

afro- + pop entry 6

First Known Use

1974, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Afropop was in 1974

Dictionary Entries Near Afropop

Cite this Entry

“Afropop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Afropop. Accessed 11 Jan. 2025.

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