Photo © Optimustt Productions
What is Afro Soca? The proliferation of soca subgenres on the radio and their constant release on streaming platforms have prompted many to ask this question. One can characterize the new music as Caribbean artists mixing Nigerian Afrobeats with Soca rhythms. Looking back, one can identify the start of the new music trend in 2014, when Machel Montano remixed Timaya's 'Shake Your Bum Bum.' That remix was well-received, leading to many more overtures into Afrocentric sounds.
Listening to an Afro Soca offering makes it clear that Groovy Soca, not Power Soca, infuses Afrobeats. The beat is mid-tempo and falls in the 135 and below range. How can one identify an Afro Soca track? To get an answer for that, we turn to the Red Bull Music Academy's "Essential Guide to Soca." In their assessment of Afro Soca, they had this to say regarding Afro Soca:
"Afro Soca tracks are generally analogous in tempo to Groovy Soca (slower soca in the 110 to 135 BPM range), often with a guitar melody of seeming West African origin. Lyrically, these songs tend to express a certain awareness of their role in connecting the Caribbean and Africa (Olatunji name-checks Afro Soca on “Oh Yay”; in his “Block D Road” verse, Stonebwoy calls out Trinidad & Tobago and St. Lucia). “If you look at every era of soca music, it has always been touched and tinged by contemporary sounds of the day, from disco in the ’70s all the way to EDM,” says Trinidadian producer LAZABEAM, one half of the production team Jus Now. “And now that’s happening with Afrobeats in Afro Soca.”
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Production Notes/Music Credits:
YouTube Player featuring Afro Soca Tracks
The music provided in this post is for Promotional Use Only
We have included a YouTube music player with several Afro Soca songs for your listening pleasure. This will help you identify the unique sound of Afro Soca when next you hear the vibe.
Please be advised that the music is presented here for your listening pleasure and for promotional purposes only ("Fair Use" Musical Content Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976). We intend no copyright infringement! This music, which we present here for promotional purposes only, does not belong to us. We encourage you to promote the artists and their music; please don't download and share the music and rob the artists of needed income! Music for sale should be purchased, while music distributed for promotional purposes should be treated as such and not recorded and shared!
♫Please press the music player button below to listen now (small triangle in the Music player/TV Frame).