NOT ALL NIGERIAN MUSIC IS AFROBEATS – TEMS

Nigerian singer and songwriter Tems has questioned the widespread practice of categorising music from Nigeria and Africa broadly as “Afrobeats”, saying her own sound draws from several genres.

Speaking in an interview, the Grammy-winning artiste described her music as alternative, Afro-Soul and R&B, while acknowledging that her sound is a blend of different influences.

“My music is alternative—Alté, but, yeah, in the world scope, in an objective view, it's alternative, Afro-Soul, R&B,” Tems said.

She explained that she did not initially approach music with a focus on genres, saying she was simply making music based on her artistic instincts.

According to Tems, the increasing global popularity of African music has also led to a broad use of the term “Afrobeats” to describe music originating from Nigeria.

“But I noticed that any music that comes out of Nigeria, people just put it under Afrobeats because it's Nigeria, it's Africa,” she said.

Tems questioned whether the practice accurately reflects the diversity of African music, noting that “Afrobeats” appears to have become a general label for music from the continent.

“Now the new name for African music seems to be Afrobeats. And I'm not—I don't know that that's right,” she added. Her comments have reignited the conversation over how African music is classified internationally, particularly as artistes from the continent continue to gain global recognition.

While Afrobeats has become one of Africa's most recognisable musical exports, the continent's music encompasses numerous styles, including Highlife, Amapiano, Afropop, Afro-Soul, R&B, Alté and traditional musical forms.