"Afro" music

What should this kind of music be called?

"Afro Rock?"

"Afro Soul?"

"Afro R&B?"

"Afro Funk?"

I've seen the term "Afrobeat" used, as well as "Afro Fusion."

There is a genre of music that was performed in Africa from around the mid-1960s to the late 1970s.

Unlike Soukous, Benga, Highlife and Township Jive, this class of music made a much smaller effort at being uniquely African. While it did incorporate African instruments, lyrics and music styles, the artistic base was often fundamentally Black American Rhythm & Blues, Soul and Funk. It is for this reason that many of these songs rose very high on the charts in Western countries, and were often classified as "disco," "pop" or "dance music."

However, Afro music - from this point on, I will use that neutral all-encompassing term - did not maintain its popularity over the years, and despite several international successes, the artistes and their music productions have slipped into near-absolute obscurity, with a few exceptions. It did not even metamorphose into new forms, as Soukous has done. It simple vanished. This could have been a side-effect of the movement away from "disco" music, given that other African genres of modern popular music such as the earlier mentioned Soukous and Benga have enjoyed continued success throughout the 1980s to date. Many 1970s African music superstars have all along been household names (Tabu Ley, Franco, Papa Wemba) while others who had previously faded into oblivion - such as L'Orchestre Mangelepa and Orchestre Les Wanyika - have made successful comebacks, even re-recording new versions of their old hits. However, a band like Black Blood does not even have a wikipedia page, and google searches on "The Ashanti Band" and "Taso Stefano and Makonde" barely produce any worthwhile results. At best, many of the old Afro hits may be found on obscure "World music" CDs, mixed up with music from Asia, South America and the Arab world.

I believe that this body of music is substantial enough to warrant its own treatment. I also believe that the quality of Afro music would be appreciated by both those who were fans of the genre "back in the day" and by many who do not even have an idea that such music existed. (With all due respect, it is painful to hear young Kenyans say that the generation of Five Alive and Hardstone "founded Kenyan music.")

I would like to welcome all and sundry contributions from fans of Afro music from all around the world. If you have classic Afro music in whatever form - including LPs, 45" singles, foggy-sounding cassettes - let us share it here. I personally have some "dusty groove" music that I will definitely share online with "the world" ... in a legal manner, ahem ahem.

If you are aware of any website or blog that is already ahead of us in this respect, please note that they are not regarded competitors but as complementing sites to this one. I am already impressed by some of the archival gems that are displayed on the Internet. This substratum of interest in this music raises a strong possibility that, like classic R&B, Soul, Jazz from the past, much of this music will be restored to a respectable place in music history. Who knows - maybe we will one day have a "World Afro Renaissance Concert" -- just imagine!!!

"What should this kind of music be called?"

That is no as important as reviving our appreciation of the genre, and reviving the music!