Afro R&B
Afro R&B is a blend of Afrobeats rhythms and R&B singing: smooth, slow to mid-tempo songs with West African percussion patterns.
The vocals follow R&B, with soft tone, harmonies and lyrics about love, while the drums and bounce come from Nigerian and Ghanaian pop. The label came into use in the late 2010s and 2020s, as African singers leaned into slower, moodier material and streaming services needed a name for it. It is quieter and more romantic than club-focused Afrobeats, and sits close to alté and Afro soul.
- Family
- African
- On Spotify
- A current genre
- What it is
- A genre
- From
- Nigeria and Ghana, late 2010s
- Also called
- Afro-R&B
- Trackify listeners who play it
- 3%
About 2,300 of 83,000 Trackify listeners with public profiles have afro r&b among their top artists of the last four weeks. Rounded; updated 13 November 2026.
Afro R&B artists
Tems
Asake
Wizkid
Odeal
Davido
Ayra Starr
Fireboy DML
Blaqbonez
Victony
BNXNThe afro r&b artists most Trackify listeners have in their top fifty. Each opens on Spotify.
Sources
The definition is written for this site from open sources.