African music is bright and upbeat. African music can be identified by its subtle frenzy, which promises vibrancy, color, and verve.

However, there has been little or no intellectual inquiry into African music. The structure, form, and science of African music have yet to achieve widespread acceptance and acknowledgment. We find this proof in the distortion of African sounds and works, particularly on a worldwide platform like the Recording Academy.

The global music category appears to include all evolving sounds from throughout the region. This might be a move that elevates the Recording Academy’s image as a result of its perceived stance on colonisation. With the international music category recently overturned, it ignored the goings on in evolving sounds from Africa.

Recently, the afrobeat(s) genre has taken the entire music community by surprise. Music reviewers and art patrons are listening to Nigerian popular culture, and other African countries are borrowing from it for inclusion and relevance.

Perhaps there is nothing new about the sound that has grabbed on. The actual reality is that it is based on afrobeat music, an activist genre with a brass sound that was pioneered by Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

Afrobeat(s) is a subset of afrobeat that incorporates African influences into pop music. However, afrobeats is booming and fueled by the flames of another genre known as fuji.

Afrobeat combines highlife, free jazz, and fuji music. The spiritual origins of jazz help locate the history of afrobeats, particularly in its ability to wield influence by speaking truth to power.

Jazz is black improvisational music created by African Americans that is influenced by European harmonic structure and African rhythms.

Jazz bears the agonizing sensations of slavery and allows for freedom of expression. A jazz set is a space for exploration, tolerance, restraint, and harmony.

Highlife music originated in colonial Africa. It was the music of Ghana’s aristocrats. Lower-class residents were barred from attending concerts, so the genre became known as highlife.

The afrobeat sound’s genius is its capacity to create a fascinating mix of culture and music, merging classical rhythms while remaining egalitarian.

Afrobeat became the sound of the dispossessed because it addressed political follies while also promoting human decency and self-respect. The basic subject is reggae music, yet the lyrics are harsh and angry, sweetened with brass sounds.

Arguably, popular Nigerian music is derived from two distinct sounds: afrobeat and fuji. Their spiritual ancestors are Christians and Muslims, respectively. While afrobeat has a minor spiritual or neutral undertone, fuji is a distinctly southwestern Nigerian Islamic sound that has remained thus to this day.

While afrobeat has apparent and traceable inspirations, it is important to remember that fuji music is entirely organic and constantly growing. This could explain why, many years later, it remains popular among Nigerian pop music’s rave-makers.

According to history, fuji music began with Ajiwere, a call to prayer sung to wake up the Muslim faithful during the annual Ramadan fast.

Sikiru Ayinde Barrister is the creator of fuji music. He termed the genre fuji after an image of Mount Fuji he saw while visiting Japan. When asked about the origins of fuji music, he says it’s a mix of apala, sakara, juju, aro, afro, gudugudu, and highlife.

This fuji genre distills local sounds for export, capturing the tempers and fury of South-West Nigeria’s socio-cultural dialects, particularly Lagos. Fuji is what reggae is to Kingston, Jamaica, what hip-hop is to black America.

Fuji is a very important musical genre in Nigeria. The chronicle of Nigeria is incomplete without mentioning the enormous contributions of the pioneering fuji founders who used their voices to advocate for change during military rule. Musicians used their music to combat military oppression and cruelty, as well as to advocate for a better Nigeria for its residents. In the early 1990s, Fuji served as a melting pot. It was the national language. Dance moves from their fuji music videos were extensively emulated by people of different ages, classes, and cultural backgrounds.

Every fuji record explores themes such as life, death, riches, pride, ego, betrayal, identity, conflict, and more. The fuji music genre has a dualistic nature. The song videos featured wealthy symbols, bold fashion statements expressed through sequined agabdas, expensive cars, large gold chains, trophy women, and provocative choreography. In the same vein, practically all studio albums began with Koran references and Islamic praise songs. This paradox makes the genre more human and relevant to its audience.

Furthermore, fuji was the original ‘fighting’ genre. Long before ‘beef’ between American rappers became a global spectacle, fuji dads utilized vocabulary and metaphors to assert their dominance over one another. The most extensively publicized is the feud between two of the genre’s greats, Ayinde Barrister and Ayinla Kollington, which unfortunately never ended until the former’s death over ten years ago. There is no doubting fuji music’s influence on modern celebration culture; fuji music pioneered praise singing. Fuji musicians began singing to important individuals in the late 1970s; they were the first to market politicians and industry leaders. Since the genre’s inception, it has always served as a forum for agenda-setting.

The most profound impact fuji music has on its listeners is its inherent activism. This was particularly evident during the fight for democracy against Nigeria’s cruel military rule. Since then, fuji musicians have had an enormous influence on local communities across the South-West area of Nigeria—some of the most prolific political activism ever recorded on tape is on the genre’s B-Sides used excellently to canvass for equality—a call to end oppression.

Recognizing what has made this genre one of the most unique music genres to emerge from Africa is the way it inspires performers across the continent and even as far as Asia. When it comes to non-Africans, the genre has been reluctant to gain traction.

Fuji music is highly pervasive and identity-defining. The yellow buses that travel through Lagos’ suburban environment all bear terminology, symbols, memorabilia, and imagery of the Fuji music genre. These provide a permeable subculture that is resistant to trends and cultural shifts but may be used as a reference for future creative activity. Fuji music is like a grandfather with a large mansion and massive fences, but he keeps his pearly gates wide open.

To understand the impact of fuji music on popular music today, listen to fuji hook lines by Bankuli, a Nigerian artist who contributed vocals to Beyonce’s The Lion King album. Burna Boy, the fifth Grammy Award winner and a Nigerian, has lyrics, voice texture, and a strong foundation in fuji music.

Nigerian music performers such as Kizz Daniel, Zinolesky, and Portable are contributing to the rich effervescence of the fuji music genre. The rest of the world appears to be ignoring this. Unfortunately, today’s fuji music patrons are not recognized for their talent or contributions to the fuji music genre. The Recording Academy celebrates excellence in music by every artist, of any genre and every age. Fuji music has never been on this recognition radar, perhaps it’s about time. The statement above reminds me of Naomi Campbell’s open letter to the Recording Academy, accusing them of being tone-deaf following the outcome of the Global Music category in 2022. She claims that “changing world music to Global music is not enough; get up to speed on the state of popular music and include Afrobeats Artist of the Year, Album of the year, all the subcategories that this genre does deserve- just as any other respected and recognized music genre” . It is convenient to think of world music as a tribute to the origin myth, which refers to Africa as the cradle of humanity. Western music journalists seem to have a misunderstanding about the Grammys’ international music category.

Over time, the world music genre has come across as forced diversity. The key question is whether the evolution of the Global Album category will identify fuji music and other emerging sounds from throughout the world.

The Recording Academy might rebrand itself as a music research unit for underappreciated foreign music, resulting in a larger recognition table with disciplined categories.

In addition to his promotion for afrobeats, he has a twin-benevolent brother: Fuji music. The campaign should recognize these two music genres as cultural influencers worth studying since they are more important than any prizes they could receive.

Yes, afrobeats has made its way around the world, gaining popularity and acclaim. Yes, it is an exportable, gorgeous fuji polish with afrobeat and traces of inspirations from rhythm and blues, soul, and funk, not to mention the genre-less drum slaps and throbbing rhythms with a promise of groove.

Let us reimagine these two genres, as we shall in the prodigal son story. The errant brother was flighty, sprightly, and fanciful, whereas the other was obedient, homely, and resourceful. The elder brother who stayed at home deserves some flowers.