Call for Submissions - Vol. 6, No. 2

We are currently accepting submissions for our May-July 2022 print issue, in which authors will critically discuss The Global Rise of Afrobeats. Afrobeats has loose origins in Afrobeat, a genre of music popularized by Fela Kuti in the 1970s. In recent years, artists have reinvented the sound and texture of the genre, and to noticeable levels of success. Artists such as Burna Boy and Wizkid who have both won Grammys, as well as more recently, CKay and Tems, who have rapidly gained vast international audiences, exemplify not only the unstoppable rise of Afrobeats but also its dynamic force.

Afrobeats is not without its challenges. In many ways, the rise of Afrobeats has fostered new avenues for observing Africa’s engagement with the wider world—much of which, in recent history, has been on unequal terms. Specifically, the success of Afrobeats has invited discussions around the readiness of the world for African innovation and creativity, as well as of Africa to assert ownership of its own resources. In publishing this issue, we aim to celebrate the emergence of Afrobeats and to question the ways in which this emergence has disrupted or reinforced existing dynamics of cultural flows between Africa and the world—and to whose benefit. In so doing, we welcome submissions that will cover under-discussed and underreported aspects of Afrobeats. We especially welcome writing that will offer new perspectives and move the conversation on Afrobeat(s) forward on any of the following topics:

⎈ The rise and evolution of Afrobeats

⎈ Historical precursors to Afrobeats: Nigerian/African music-genres before/beyond Fela Kuti

⎈ The Politics of Afrobeats (with special focus on gender, sexuality, race and representation)

⎈ Women of Afrobeats

⎈ Profiles of historical and contemporary Afrobeats Musicians

⎈ Technology and the New Economics of African Music

⎈ The future of Afrobeats

⎈ Other topics relevant to Nigerian/African music

We are looking for analytical and engaging essays, lectures, speeches, reading lists and book reviews that, without sacrificing analytical rigour, can serve as authoritative/definitive subject-matter guides to both scholars and professionals that may have limited knowledge on the issue.

We expect submissions in the range of 1,500 to 3,000 words and will be accepting first drafts until 23:59 (WAT) Sunday 10 April 2022.

Authors of accepted submissions to this issue will be paid. Read our guidelines on submitting here and our style guide for details on spelling and formatting.

To submit an entry, please upload your submission here (you will need to log in or register to fill the form).